Ravi Zacharias (full name Frederick Antony Ravi Kumar Zacharias, born 1946) is an Indian-born, Canadian-American evangelical Christian philosopher, apologist and evangelist. Zacharias is a descendant of two rich religious traditions, first Hindu priests (of the Nambudiri Brahmin caste), and later as Christian ministers. In one of his lectures, Zacharias asserts that a Swiss-German priest spoke to one of his ancestors about Christianity, and thereafter that branch of the family was converted and the family name was changed from Nambudiri to Zacharias. The biography Zacharias offers about himself is that he grew up in a nominally Anglican household, and was an atheist until the age of 17, when he unsuccessfully tried to commit suicide by swallowing poison. According to one of his books (Cries of the Heart), someone instructed his mother to read out the Gospel of John to him as he lay on a hospital bed in Delhi. Following that, he made the decision to become a Christian. He began preaching while still in his teens, and in 1974, shortly before the Khmer Rouge took over Cambodia, he was sent there to minister to the people in the country. He was also sent to Vietnam during the Vietnam War to minister to U.S. soldiers. , “Madras” redirects here. ... Tamil Nadu (தமிழ் நாடு, Land of the Tamils) is a state at the southern tip of India. ... Christianity percentage by country, purple is highest, orange is lowest Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Wycliffe Tyndale · Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Year 1946 (MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full 1946 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      The word evangelicalism often refers to... Christianity percentage by country, purple is highest, orange is lowest Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Wycliffe Tyndale · Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch... It is proposed that this article be deleted, because of the following concern: Filled with OR and completely unsourced. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Wycliffe Tyndale · Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      Christian apologetics is the... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Hinduism (known as in modern Indian languages[1]) is a religious tradition[2] that originated in the Indian subcontinent. ... The Nambudiri Brahmins are a small, high-ranking caste in the state of Kerala, India. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Wycliffe Tyndale · Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      Anglicanism is the term used to encapsulate... “Atheist” redirects here. ... Rather than surrender to US soldiers, the Mayor (Bürgermeister) of Leipzig Germany, committed suicide along with his wife and daughter on April 20, 1945. ... The Gospel of John is the fourth gospel in the canon of the New Testament, traditionally ascribed to John the Evangelist. ... , Delhi ( , Hindi: , Punjabi: , Urdu: ) sometimes referred to as Dilli, is the second-largest metropolis in India after Mumbai with a population of 13 million. ... Flag of Democratic Kampuchea Photos of genocide victims on display at the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum The Khmer Rouge (Khmer: ) was the ruling political party of Cambodia -- which it renamed to Democratic Kampuchea -- from 1975 to 1979. ... Combatants Republic of Vietnam United States Republic of Korea Thailand Australia New Zealand The Philippines National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam Democratic Republic of Vietnam People’s Republic of China Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea Strength US 1,000,000 South Korea 300,000 Australia 48,000...

Biography

Zacharias was born near Madras, India and grew up in Delhi. In 1966, he and his family emigrated to Toronto; he is currently based outside Atlanta, Georgia. He holds dual U.S. and Canadian citizenship. Madras refers to: the Indian city of Chennai, formerly known as Madras, the former Indian state, now known as Tamil Nadu (Plural of Madra): Ancient people of Iranian affinites, who lived in northwest Panjab in the Uttarapatha division of ancient India. ... Hotlanta redirects here. ...

He briefly attended the University of Delhi as a pre-med student before transferring to the Institute of Hotel Management in Delhi. After moving to Canada, he worked in the hotel management business before enrolling in the Ontario Bible College in Toronto. Following that, he completed his Master of Divinity degree at the Trinity Evangelical Divinity School near Chicago. He was a visiting scholar at Cambridge University when he wrote his first book, A Shattered Visage: the Real Face of Atheism. Zacharias received honorary Doctor of Divinity degrees from Houghton College, NY, and from Tyndale University College and Seminary (the renamed Ontario Bible College). He also received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Asbury College in Kentucky. He is presently a Visiting Professor at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford University in Oxford, England. The University of Delhi (Hindi: दिल्ली विश्वविद्यालय) is a university in India. ... Tyndale University College and Seminary is an evangelical Christian and transdenominational post-secondary educational institution located in Toronto, Ontario Canada. ... Master of Divinity is a common degree among theological seminaries and is considered the minimum academic requirement for ordination into pastoral ministry. ... Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (TEDS) is an evangelical Christian seminary located in Deerfield, Illinois. ... Flag Seal Nickname: The Windy City Motto: Urbs In Horto (Latin: City in a Garden), I Will Location Location in Chicagoland and northern Illinois Coordinates , Government Country State Counties United States Illinois Cook, DuPage Mayor Richard M. Daley (D) Geographical characteristics Area     City 606. ... The University of Cambridge (often Cambridge University), located in Cambridge, England, is the second-oldest university in the English-speaking world and has a reputation as one of the worlds most prestigious universities. ... Houghton College is a 4-year Christian liberal arts college, operated by the Wesleyan Church[1]. Houghtons main rural campus is in the Genesee Valley of southwestern New York (Houghton, New York), and a secondary suburban campus is in West Seneca, New York, a suburb of Buffalo, New York. ... Asbury College is a Christian liberal arts institution located in Wilmore, Kentucky. ... Wycliffe Hall is a Church of England theological college, and one of the constituent institutions of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. ... The University of Oxford, located in the city of Oxford in England, is the oldest university in the English-speaking world. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ...

Zacharias is a frequent speaker at international conferences for Christian ministers, and has been the keynote speaker for both the National Day of Prayer at Washington, D.C. and the Annual Prayer Breakfast for the United Nations in New York City. He has spoken at the Center for Geopolitical Strategy in Moscow. He has written several books on Christianity, including Can Man Live Without God? (1994), The Lotus and the Cross: Jesus Talks with Buddha (2001), "The Lamb and the Fuhrer: Jesus Talks with Hitler" (2005), Light in the Shadow of Jihad (2002) and Sense and Sensuality: Jesus Talks with Oscar Wilde (2002). The National Day of Prayer is a day designated by the United States Congress as a day when all Americans regardless of faith are asked to come together and pray in their own way. ... Nickname: Motto: Justitia Omnibus (Justice for All) Location of Washington, D.C., in relation to the states Maryland and Virginia Coordinates: , Country United States Federal District District of Columbia Government  - Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D)  - D.C. Council Chairperson: Vincent C. Gray (D) Ward 1: Jim Graham (D) Ward 2... The foundation of the U.N. The United Nations (UN) is an international organization whose stated aims are to facilitate co-operation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress and human rights issues. ... New York, New York and NYC redirect here. ... Position of Moscow in Europe Coordinates: , Country District Subdivision Russia Central Federal District Federal City Government  - Mayor Yuriy Luzhkov Area  - City 1,081 km²  (417. ... See also: 1993 in literature, other events of 1994, 1995 in literature, list of years in literature. ... See also: 2000 in literature, other events of 2001, 2002 in literature, list of years in literature. ... See also: 2001 in literature, other events of 2002, 2003 in literature, list of years in literature. ...

He is the president of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM), which is headquartered in Norcross, Georgia. RZIM was formed in 1984 in Toronto, Canada and now has offices in India, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and the United Arab Emirates. Dr. Zacharias holds ministerial papers with the Christian and Missionary Alliance. Ravi Zacharias International Ministries is a Christian non-profit organization based in Atlanta, GA, with offices in Canada, England, India, Singapore, and the United Arab Emirates. ... Norcross is a city in Gwinnett County, Georgia, United States. ... The Christian and Missionary Alliance (C&MA) is an Evangelical Protestant denomination within Christianity. ...

Zacharias regularly speaks at various American and Canadian university campuses, and at events such as the Veritas forum. He is well-known for his question and answer sessions where he fields questions by college students about the Christian faith. He is also frequently invited to speak at international venues including war-torn countries and his native India. The Veritas Forum is a non-profit organization that works with Christian students on college campuses to host lectures and forums dealing with questions of philosophy and religion. ...

On November 14, 2004, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) opened its signature pulpit in the Salt Lake Tabernacle, for the first time in more than a century, to an outside evangelist: Ravi Zacharias. Zacharias addressed some 7,000 lay-persons and scholars from both LDS and Protestant camps with a sermon in an initiatory move towards open dialog between the camps. The sermon was on "Who Is the Truth? Defending Jesus Christ as The Way, The Truth and The Life".^[1][2][3] The Salt Lake Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the largest attraction in the citys Temple Square. ... The Salt Lake Tabernacle, also known as the Mormon Tabernacle, is located in Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah along with the Salt Lake Assembly Hall and Salt Lake Temple. ...

In 2003, while Zacharias was ministering in Tirana, Albania, he and his ministry companions were given the honor of examining a handwritten copy of the Greek New Testament by John Chrysostom, archbishop of Constantinople, composed in the 5th century and later excavated in Albania in the 10th century. He noted that the words were lined up remarkably straight, as if produced by computer, and each letter was written in golden ink. Tirana (Albanian: Tiranë or Tirana) is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Albania. ... John Chrysostom (349– ca. ... Europe in 450 The 5th century is the period from 401 to 500 in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Christian Era. ... As a means of recording the passage of time, the 10th century was that century which lasted from 901 to 1000. ...

He is also the general editor of the latest editions of the Christian apologetics book written by the late Christian apologist/polemicist Walter Martin, The Kingdom of the Cults (2003), ISBN 0-7642-2821-8, which contains a 66-page chapter on The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Wycliffe Tyndale · Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      Christian apologetics is the... Apologetics is the field of study concerned with the systematic defense of a position. ... Polemic is the art or practice of disputation or controversy, as in religious, philosophical, or political matters. ... Dr. Walter Ralston Martin (September 10, 1928 – June 26, 1989), was an American Evangelical minister, author, and Christian apologist who founded the Christian Research Institute in 1960 as a para-church ministry specialising as a clearing-house of information in both general Christian apologetics and in countercult apologetics. ...

References

1. ^ DeseretNews
2. ^ ExistenceOfGod
3. ^ Standing Together news

External links

• Official website for Ravi Zacharias International Ministries
• Podcast for the "Just Thinking" radio program by Ravi Zacharias
• Podcast for the "Let My People Think" radio program by Ravi Zacharias
• Bio
• Interview with Ravi Zacharias by Major John Carter of the Salvation Army
• Hindu American Foundation response to Zacharias' comments
• India Abroad Article that prompted response from the Hindu American Foundation
• Walking from East to West - Autobiography of Ravi Zacharias