“Culture,” wrote sociologist Daniel Bell, “is the effort to provide a coherent set of answers to the existential predicaments that confront all human beings in the passage of their lives.” Yet we no longer have a coherent set of answers to the predicaments of a society and we have lost our ability to think critically on such essential questions as who we are as human beings. This lecture examines these challenges and proposes a deeper and hopeful understanding of who we are and who we are meant to be.”

Ravi Zacharias is a noted author and speaker who has been invited to present the claims of the Judeo-Christian worldview on university campuses, in halls of government, and numerous forums around the world for 44 years. He has addressed writers of the peace accord in South Africa, the president’s cabinet and parliament in Peru, military officers at the Lenin Military Academy and the Center for Geopolitical Strategy in Moscow as well as students at Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard, Johns Hopkins, and elsewhere. Dr. Zacharias has twice spoken at the Annual Prayer Breakfast at the United Nations, which marks the opening day of the UN General Assembly, and has also addressed National Prayer Breakfasts at the seats of government in Ottawa, Canada, and London, England. As the 2008 Honorary Chairman of the National Day of Prayer, he gave addresses at the White House, the Pentagon, and The Cannon House. He is the author of more than twenty books spanning the fields of theology, apologetics, comparative religions, and philosophy. For his lifetime of work, Dr. Zacharias has been conferred with seven honorary doctorates, most recently a Doctor of Public Service and a Doctor of Laws (2016). He hosts the international radio programs Let My People Think and Just Thinking and is Founder and President of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries.

Abdu Murray is North American Director with Ravi Zacharias International Ministries and is the author of two books, including his latest, Grand Central Question: Answering the Critical Concerns of the Major Worldviews. For most of his life, Abdu was a proud Muslim who studied the Qur’an and Islam. After a nine year investigation into the historical, philosophical, and scientific underpinnings of the major world religions and views, Abdu discovered that the historic Christian faith alone can answer the questions of the mind and the longings of the heart. Abdu has spoken to diverse international audiences and has participated in debates and dialogues across the globe. He has appeared as a guest on numerous radio and televisions programs all over the world and hosts Embrace the Truth with Abdu Murray, a radio show heard on WLQV AM 1500 in Detroit and worldwide on the internet and podcast. Abdu holds a BA in Psychology from the University of Michigan and earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Michigan Law School. As an attorney, Abdu was named several times in Best Lawyers in America and Michigan Super Lawyer. Abdu is the Scholar in Residence of Christian Thought and Apologetics at the Josh McDowell Institute of Oklahoma Wesleyan University. Abdu lives in the Detroit area with his wife and their three children.