
Walking from East to West : God in the Shadows
by Ravi Zacharias with R. S. B. SawyerRent Book
Rent Digital
New Book
We're Sorry
Sold Out
Used Book
We're Sorry
Sold Out
How Marketplace Works:
- This item is offered by an independent seller and not shipped from our warehouse
- Item details like edition and cover design may differ from our description; see seller's comments before ordering.
- Sellers much confirm and ship within two business days; otherwise, the order will be cancelled and refunded.
- Marketplace purchases cannot be returned to eCampus.com. Contact the seller directly for inquiries; if no response within two days, contact customer service.
- Additional shipping costs apply to Marketplace purchases. Review shipping costs at checkout.
Summary
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments | 9 | (2) | |||
Preface | 11 | (4) | |||
PART 1: CAST | |||||
|
15 | (14) | |||
|
29 | (12) | |||
|
41 | (10) | |||
|
51 | (12) | |||
|
63 | (12) | |||
|
75 | (10) | |||
|
85 | (16) | |||
|
101 | (8) | |||
|
109 | (14) | |||
|
123 | (16) | |||
PART 2: EAST TO WEST | |||||
|
139 | (12) | |||
|
151 | (22) | |||
|
173 | (22) | |||
|
195 | (16) | |||
|
211 | (16) | |||
PART 3: WEST TO EAST | |||||
|
227 |
Excerpts
Copyright © 2006 by Ravi Zacharias
This title is also available as a Zondervan ebook product.
Visit www.zondervan.com/ebooks for more information.
This title is also available as a Zondervan audio product.
Visit www.zondervan.com/audiopages for more information.
Requests for information should be addressed to:
Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49530
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Zacharias, Ravi K.
Walking from east to west : God in the shadows / Ravi Zacharias
with R. S. Sawyer — 1st ed.
p. cm.
ISBN – 13: 978-0-310-25915-2
ISBN – 10: 0-310-25915-0
1. Zacharias, Ravi K. 2. Christian
biography — India. 3. Christian
biography — Canada. I. Sawyer, Scott. II. Title.
BR1725.Z33A3 2006
269'.2'092 — dc22
2005020433
This edition printed on acid-free paper.
All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible: New International
Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by
permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,
or transmitted in any form or by any means — electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or
any other — except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the
publisher.
Published in association with the literary agency of Wolgemuth and Associates, Inc.
Part 3 title page photos by Tigert Communications, Nashville, TN, USA
Interior design by Beth Shagene
Printed in the United States of America
We want to hear from you. Please send your comments about this
book to us in care of zreview@zondervan.com. Thank you.
Preface
Some books are difficult to write; others border on the almost
impossible. This one is in the latter category. Many friends and even
strangers over the years have asked if I would pen such a story, and
when Zondervan asked me to write a book of my memoirs, I concluded
that the time had come. The difficulty lies on many fronts.
First is that of accurate recall. How does one piece together all of the
past? How does one be truly objective when one’s own feelings are
locked in to the situation? Then arises a very personal matter. How
do you tell a story of such intimate issues and not at the same time
make someone else look unduly bad or good? That was the toughest
challenge of all. It is one thing for an individual to disclose his or her
own heart, but to do so for someone else runs an unfortunate risk. If
I have erred here, I sincerely hope it is not because of any personal ill
will but only because I know the story did not end as it had begun.
As I struggled with these issues, the publisher agreed to have me
tell the story to another writer, who would spend hours with me and
others to cull the material and then write it in the way it unfolded.
I took the narrative he penned and wrote the story line in my own
words, along with his. Throughout this process, the publisher asked
if I would keep it at a simple level of reach and not make it inaccessible
in content and depth. The goal was simple: “Tell us your story in
the simplest terms with your heart on your sleeve.” I suppose being
accustomed to writing on philosophical themes, this was a reminder
to me as “a word to the wise.”
So that has been the approach. Much more could have been said
and said at a lofty level portraying all my philosophical struggles and
so on. But we avoided that. Maybe some instances in the narrative
12 preface
need not have been shared, but were in order to show the backdrop
of what was shaping me all along. What I do know is that as I retraced
steps and memories, some of them were hard to relive, while others
brought a renewed sense of happiness; some memories brought the
depth of tears to the surface, and yet others brought to mind cherished
moments long forgotten. I have concluded that it is an exercise that
is well undertaken by everybody — to journal and write down one’s
thoughts at shorter intervals. Memories are good reminders of what
God has done and where we could have done better. I remember the
time an older man asked me when I was young, “Do you know what
you are doing now?” I thought it was some kind of trick question.
“Tell me,” I said.
“You are building your memories,” he replied, “so make them good
ones.”
If each reader would glean just that from the book, then it will
have been worth it.
But there is something greater here, and it is this: as life progresses,
you wish there were some safeguards you had taken along the way,
and even some different decisions you had made along the way. For
one, I wish I had talked more to my parents about their past and about
my ancestors. What did they know? What were the stories of their
lives? What made each one the way they were? Now it is too late for
that, for my parents have both passed away. I nevertheless come away
with the absolute certainty that God has ordered my steps and that
God was there, even in the darkest moments of my life. I know this
as surely as I know I exist. He never abandoned me and has brought
me by His grace and mercy this far. This is the most certain truth I
possess, and it is truly liberating.
One other great enrichment was to think back on my youth in
India, even as now the West has become home. India gave me much
that I can never repay. It really is an intriguing culture — weaknesses
and ironies notwithstanding. Now living first in Canada and then in
America, these countries have become home. I am so grateful to God
for the privilege of living here. Beyond my residences, the heart has
found its home in my faith and love for Jesus Christ. I sincerely hope
and pray that as you read these pages, you will feel Him near to you
and that you will be guided by His wisdom and kept by His grace.
Without Him, this story would not be worth telling or reading.
Part 1
East
Chapter 1
A Life Out of Nothing
One of my earliest memories is of the old man on my street, a mystic
who wore only a loincloth. He was tall, with matted hair and piercing
eyes, quite fearsome to look at. Mud was caked all over his bony frame,
his face was scarred by deep gashes that were self-inflicted from his
religious devotion, and his skin was burned by constant exposure to
the torrid heat of the midday sun. “How did he come to look like
this?” I wondered as a boy. “What had he done to himself?”
I found out soon enough. Two or three times each week he would
appear on our street; then, almost like a coiled rope unwinding, he
would lie down on that filthy road and begin his routine. Cow dung
and dog droppings littered the path, to say nothing of the stones or
sharp objects that cluttered it as well, yet he would roll down the
length of the street with a howl that sounded as if it came from the
depths of a cavern.
“Govinda! Govinda! Govinda!”
I had no clue what his cry was about — I only knew it terrified me.
Excerpted from Walking from East to West: God in the Shadows by Ravi Zacharias
All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
An electronic version of this book is available through VitalSource.
This book is viewable on PC, Mac, iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, and most smartphones.
By purchasing, you will be able to view this book online, as well as download it, for the chosen number of days.
Digital License
You are licensing a digital product for a set duration. Durations are set forth in the product description, with "Lifetime" typically meaning five (5) years of online access and permanent download to a supported device. All licenses are non-transferable.
More details can be found here.
A downloadable version of this book is available through the eCampus Reader or compatible Adobe readers.
Applications are available on iOS, Android, PC, Mac, and Windows Mobile platforms.
Please view the compatibility matrix prior to purchase.