35 Facts About Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias was involved in Christian apologetics for a period spanning more than forty years, authoring more than thirty books.

Ravi Zacharias hosted the radio programs Let My People Think and Just Thinking.

Ravi Zacharias was born on 26 March 1946 in Madras, India, and grew up in Delhi.

Ravi Zacharias spoke Hindi fluently, the only Indian language that he knew.

Ravi Zacharias' family was Anglican, but he was a "skeptic" until the age of 17 when he tried to commit suicide by swallowing poison.

Ravi Zacharias spent the summer of 1971 in South Vietnam, where he evangelized US soldiers as well as imprisoned Viet Cong members.

In 1983, Ravi Zacharias spoke in Amsterdam at the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association's first International Conference for Itinerant Evangelists.

In 1989, shortly after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Ravi Zacharias spoke in Moscow with students at the Lenin Military-Political Academy as well as political leaders at the Center for Geopolitical Strategy.

In 1992, Ravi Zacharias spoke at his first Veritas Forum at Harvard University, and later that year was one of the keynote speakers at Urbana.

Ravi Zacharias continued to be a frequent guest at these forums, both giving lectures and answering students in question-and-answer sessions at academic institutions including the University of Georgia, the University of Michigan, and Penn State.

Ravi Zacharias responded by asserting that Christians should not immediately condemn so-called the LDS Church's theological differences but "graciously build one step at a time in communicating our faith with clarity and conviction", stating that this would be just as effective as showing someone the faults of their faith.

The speaking engagement was nearly sabotaged by an allegation by event organizer Greg Johnson, president of Standing Together, that Ravi Zacharias had nothing to do with editing the book The Kingdom of the Cults and had only loaned his name to the latest edition; Johnson later apologized for his comment.

Ravi Zacharias was a frequent keynote lecturer within the evangelical community at events including the Future of Truth conference in 2004, the National Religious Broadcasters' Convention and Exposition in 2005, and the National Conference on Christian Apologetics in 2006.

Ravi Zacharias represented the evangelical community at occasions such as the National Day of Prayer in Washington, DC, the Annual Prayer Breakfast at the United Nations, the African Union Prayer Breakfast in Maputo, Mozambique, and was named honorary chairman of the 2008 National Day of Prayer task force.

Ravi Zacharias participated in the ecumenical Together 2016 meetings, which Pope Francis addressed, describing the event as a valiant effort.

In November 2009, Ravi Zacharias signed the ecumenical Manhattan Declaration which affirms the sanctity of human life, the dignity of marriage as a union of husband and wife, and freedom of religion as foundational principles of justice and the common good.

Ravi Zacharias argued that a coherent worldview must be able to satisfactorily answer four questions: that of origin, meaning of life, morality, and destiny.

Ravi Zacharias said that while every major religion makes exclusive claims about truth, the Christian faith is unique in its ability to answer all four of these questions.

Ravi Zacharias routinely spoke on the coherence of the Christian worldview, saying that Christianity is capable of withstanding the toughest philosophical attacks.

Ravi Zacharias believed that the apologist must argue from three levels: from logic to make it tenable; from feelings to make it liveable; and from whether one has the right to use it to make moral judgments.

Ravi Zacharias argued that the dominance of the visual in modern communication systems has impacted people's capacity for abstract reasoning altering their way of perceiving things; however, the integration of abstract reasoning into one's worldview is important to have its base grounded in absolutes rather than on relative feelings and fads.

Ravi Zacharias often claimed in books and sermons that he was invited to be a visiting scholar at Cambridge, where he focused his studies on Romantic writers and moralist philosophers.

The veracity of Ravi Zacharias's purported academic positions at the universities of Oxford and Cambridge was questioned.

Christian academic Warren Throckmorton stated that Ravi Zacharias "wasn't being truthful" in his claims, pointing out that he had been a visiting scholar at Ridley Hall, a theology school in the city of Cambridge which is unaffiliated with the university.

In 2017, Christianity Today reported accusations that Ravi Zacharias had exaggerated his academic credentials; for instance that he had referred to himself in multiple articles and videos with the title "Doctor" or "Dr ", despite lacking a PhD qualification.

Ruth Malhotra, a former member of RZIM, claims that suspicions regarding Ravi Zacharias' behavior had existed during his lifetime but that RZIM employees were not allowed to investigate.

Ravi Zacharias never came forward because she thought, "who would believe me" against a famous Christian leader.

Some therapists reported that Ravi Zacharias paid well or would leave large tips and gave gifts that were at times lavish, such as a Persian rug or a Louis Vuitton wallet with $500 inside.

Ravi Zacharias often traveled alone to Bangkok and other parts of Southeast Asia for substantial time.

Ravi Zacharias said Zacharias "made her pray with him to thank God for the 'opportunity' they both received" and, as with other victims, "called her his 'reward' for living a life of service to God," the report says.

Vicki Blue maintains that Ravi Zacharias threatened to make her and her daughter Becca miserable if she disclosed abuse.

At the time Blue believed Ravi Zacharias was in love with her.

Blue maintains her daughter Becca said Ravi Zacharias molested her and six other spa therapists complained he had done something perverted or molested them.

On 7 May 1972, Ravi Zacharias married Margaret "Margie" Reynolds, whom he met at his church's youth group.

In March 2020, Ravi Zacharias announced that he had been diagnosed with sarcoma of the sacrum, and on 19 May 2020, he died of that cancer at his home in Atlanta at the age of 74.