Viktor Frankl's book, Man's Search for Meaning, is a powerful and insightful book, however, is the central message intertwined with his religious beliefs? Frankl's book shares the same concerns as religion: first, its belief in having nothing will give a higher purpose; second, his belief that we must change to become worthy; and third, that we must fill an “empty soul” with God to find meaning. The first of Frankl's beliefs includes that one must have nothing to have a Higher Purpose and his view of determinism. As for me, I share similar views in Buddhism and agree and disagree with some of his views. I strongly disagree with this statement simply because it states that I cannot find meaning nor advance to a high state of mind because I have not endured as much suffering and “being naked” as Frankl has suffered. A Christian and Catholic writer, Peter Kreeft, shares the same ideas with Frankl. Kreeft wrote in Three Philosophies of Life; “Not all of us lose our children, our health, our possessions and our trust in one day. But we all must learn to lose everything except God…” This is an example of why I disagree with Frankl and Kreeft because I don't believe in a Higher Power like God. There is one example I believe in and that is the his rejection of determinism. Jeff McMahon, an English professor, writes the definition in his article Is Man's Search for Meaning a Religion? “…we are the product of environmental and biological aspects that we cannot control…” However, people who believe in determinism argue that every single thing they do is predetermined. An example of this is if a person robs a store and is arrested, that person claims it was "God's will". Frankl’s second belief includes that one… middle of paper… in my opinion uses Frankl can argue: “Because the meaning of life differs from man to man, from day to day, and from hour to hour. What matters, therefore, is not the meaning of life in general, but rather the specific meaning of a person's life at a given moment." He warns us not to turn meaning into an illusion. All in all, Frankl clearly shows the amount of religious dependence in his central message. With its belief in having nothing, to change and fill our empty souls to find meaning with a Higher Power. We must use our experiences and our morals to determine what we believe. Works Cited http://www.dailygrail.com/category/News/Religion-and-Spirituality http://flowingmotion.jojordan.org/2010/05/19/one -of-the-all-time-classics-viktor -frankl-via-ted/http://herculodge.typepad.com/breakthrough_writer/2011/05/mcmahons-guide-to-mans-search-for-meaning-. html