Has anyone heard of Ravi Zacharias?
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The ministry of RZIM is not affiliated with any particular denomination, and our staff represents a variety of different denominations. Dr. Zacharias is ordained by the Christian and Missionary Alliance Church. From FAQ | RZIM
This gave me a good laugh , If possible we shall continue this on thee second day of the week , sabbath is approching and you have your day of rest as well.
Knowing these things are incorrect for a beliver in Christ to partake of , The Truth still stands. Unless these men depart themself from such a union , they partake with others in there sins.
My suggestion is still standing for us all , that we should write letters to these men , in the hope that God may open there eyes to thee deception. That perhaps they may notice from a diffrent stand point upon what they have sign or join themselves to while there is time left. After all at the end of the day this is about souls , not likes or little green tic tacks on our profiles.
Now after we have done the work , and they themselves have discarded this truth . There blood be on there own heads.
The true Gospel must be upheld , because there is a counterfeit that leads to destruction.
Shalom
Is there a calling such as an apologist in the Bible? Any example of an apologist among the apostles/disciples?
Didn't Jesus or Paul or the other apostles just lay out the truth, without worrying about doors being closed?
But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and be ready always to give an answer to every man who asketh you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear. 1 Peter 3:15
Some would say Paul is/was the greatest apologist of all
Sure. However, he stood out for Christ to the extent of being condemned by those whose views differed from the teachings of Jesus. He openly challenged the Jews, and openly refuted circumcision and other erroneous beliefs. He never held back from even opposing the apostle Peter to his face. Most "Men of God" faced opposition and persecution. This cannot be said of today's preachers, because they handle the Word of God in a very diplomatic way.But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and be ready always to give an answer to every man who asketh you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear. 1 Peter 3:15
Some would say Paul is/was the greatest apologist of all
I understand that the two roles are neither antithetical nor mutually exclusive. Agree, that these may overlap to varying extents in different people.
I made point no 4, because there are a large numbers of preachers (great orators) with n-number of honorary doctorates, who write bestsellers and are very popular. However their personal lives reek of greed for money. There are many who make careers out of preaching and earn substantial incomes from their books, etc. Some of these activities amount to peddling the Word of God.
Was earlier wondering if RZ was one of them, but it does not seem so.
Jesus warned his disciples to watch out for wolves in sheep's clothing. He emphasized on the fact that great deceivers would arise in the last days. They will conceal their motives, and even deceive the elect.
Yes, there is a difference between an apologist and a preacher, in both their delivery and audience, though the core message is often the same, of course, being Biblical and based upon our need of God and Jesus Christ, even if the apologist must incorporate awareness of many outside beliefs into their repertoire, simply so they can be informed of and comfortably address the errors inherent in such systems of thought.
Apologetics comes from the word apologia in 1 Peter 3:15 which Magenta quoted above.
It's directly from the Bible.
All Christians are told to do this, but historically we seem to always find people who are especially gifted for it.
It doesn't necessarily need to be separated from traditional ministry, but there does seem to be an extreme need for apologetics in the modern world. As attacks on Christianity become more and more brutal from the world of secularism and secular science, there seems to have naturally arisen a number of Christians who are especially gifted to answer these attacks.
These people seem to be naturally filling a need within the body of Christ.
The Bible does not specifically call for individuals to "specialize" in apologetics, but in the modern world, and under the current attacks from secularism, there does seem to be a genuine need for people to specialize in it... a need which seems to be naturally filled by men who seem especially gifted for it.
So, there is this thing called apologia which God tells all of us to do.
There seems to be a need for some people to be especially gifted at it,
and God seems to have raised up people to fill this need...
just as he has raised up people to fill needs in many kinds of ministry,
and in many vocations.
It's not mysterious.
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The fact that a "sheep in wolves clothing" is a thing which exists, does NOT mean you have grounds to just arbitrarily label any particular person as a "wolf".
Ordinary ministers don't magically turn into wolves because you don't happen to agree with everything tiny thing they do.
Every Christian who does some little thing slightly different than us isn't a minister of Satan... we really need to stop being so ridiculous.
If the tiniest little difference of opinion can get one person labeled as being Satanic, then the tiniest difference of opinion can get YOU labeled as Satanic.
This whole thread is just becoming silly.
Guys, if we're going to accuse people of rubbish through arguments that are just logically incoherent, then answering them all becomes something akin to beating my head on a wall.
I'm going to have to pass on the rest of this thread.
You guys have fun.
I'm going to have to pass on the rest of this thread.
You guys have fun.
Mister Zacharias isn't a doctor, because his two doctorates are honorary ones. Everyone in the academic field knows they don't count.
Plus, when RZ goes to commencements, he's not wearing the robe of the doctors. I think he has a master's degree in something.
RaviWatch - Investigating the false claims of evangelist Ravi Zacharias :
EVANGELIST RAVI ZACHARIAS’ ACADEMIC CREDENTIALS: 12 FISHY CLAIMS
Claim
1. "Visiting Scholar at Cambridge University"
False, per Cambridge. RZ removed the claim from his website after I informed him of my intent to expose it as false in the summer of 2015
More info
2. "Senior Research Fellow at Oxford University"
False. RZ held an honorary Senior Research Fellow position at an "affiliated institution" of Oxford University. RZ modified the claim at his website after I informed him that I was investigating his credentials. He has since removed the Oxford claim entirely from his website.
More info
3. RZ frequently claims to having studied quantum physics at Cambridge University and refers to Cambridge's Dr. John Polkinghorne as "my professor in quantum physics." (Autobiography p. 206)
False: Dr. Polkinghorne retired from physics in 1979 to become a priest. In 1990, the year RZ was on sabbatical, Dr. Polkinghorne taught two courses, “Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism” and "The Modern Dialogue of Science and Theology." He taught no physics class that year.
See my video on the issue.
More info
4. "Chair of the Department Evangelism and Contemporary Thought at Alliance Theological Seminary."
False. Such a department never existed. RZ fabricated the title to bolster his scholarly image.
More info
5. "I am an official lecturer at Oxford" where I lecture "three times a year."
False. The University informed me that it has no record of Ravi being on their payroll. Wycliffe Hall told me that Ravi has never held a formal teaching position there.
More info
6. "Cambridge educated"
False. RZ’s B.A. and M.Div. degrees are from fairly obscure institutions. While on a 2-3 month sabatical at a place called Ridley Hall, RZ attended some classes and lectures at Cambridge University on a part-time basis. This is the sole basis for the claim that RZ is "Cambridge educated."
More info
7. RZ's references to himself in his press materials as "Dr. Zacharias"
Misleading. RZ has no academic degree beyond a B.A. from the Ontario Bible College. (He also holds a non-academic professional M.Div degree.) RZ has not earned a doctorate degree.
More info
8. "Zacharias holds three doctoral degrees"
False. RZ has no earned doctorates, only honorary ones, and, despite criticism, has repeatedly failed to disclose that his doctorates are merely honorary.
More info
9. Ravi claims he won the "Asian Youth Preacher Award" at an international preaching competition.
False. The Award appears not to exist, and the only preaching competition Ravi won was India only.
More info
10. "I have spoken on almost every major campus - Berkeley, Princeton, Cornell, you name it."
Misleading. It appears that RZ's college lectures are mainly (almost exclusively?) self-organized or pursuant to invitations from student clubs, not invitations from the faculties of these universities. RZ does not clearly disclose this.
More info
11. RZ’s book bio describes him as a "Recognized authority on comparative religions, cults, and philosophy."
False. RZ has no scholarly publications and bears exactly none of the indicia required to make one a "recognized authority" in an academic field.
More info
12. In his autobiography RZ claims partial credit for the idea of The Veritas Forum
False. The Veritas Forum was fully underway before its founder, Kelly Monroe, ever heard of RZ.
More info
Check out these videos that prove this true,
because what the deans read off is what he
gave them about himself. You only have to
listen to the first five minutes or so of each.
BTW, note the curious use of triangles in both.
[video=vimeo;127081133]https://vimeo.com/127081133[/video]
The next video is on the following post.
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Show me a man that sounds bigger than life describing himself,
and I'll show you a man who is a braggart and a fraud.
Do you know why the majority believes RZ is some great one?
Because other great ones says he is.
This is what happens when we don't check things out like the Bereans did.
and I'll show you a man who is a braggart and a fraud.
Do you know why the majority believes RZ is some great one?
Because other great ones says he is.
This is what happens when we don't check things out like the Bereans did.
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In 2015, Ravi Zacharias was outed for manufacturing claims about his scholarship regarding being a visiting scholar at Cambridge University. This led to him acknowledging and then removing the claim from his website. This year, the same person who did the first investigation has done a second video demonstrating that Ravi has lied again, this time about studying quantum physics at Cambridge University:
Why does Ravi have the need to continuously pad his credentials? We all agree that lying is a sin, therefore as a leader of an international ministry, why doesn’t he seem to understand that making fraudulent claims about oneself is wrong? It’s simply unjustifiable. To call Ravi to be truthful in his actions and descriptions about himself, we are asking those who are interested in the truth to send Ravi an email at the following address: [email protected]
The subject line is as follows: Did Ravi Zacharias really study quantum physics at Cambridge?
The email body is as follows:
Dear Mr. Zacharias and Ms. Malhotra:
I write you in a spirit of inquiry, not challenge. Serious allegations, purporting to be carefully-researched and based on publicly available information, have been made that Mr. Zacharias has systematically exaggerated his academic credentials.
And while I have formed no conclusion as to the merits of these charges, I can see no harm in Mr. Zacharias publicly responding to them. Indeed, given the growing concern about these allegations, it seems that no legitimate purpose will be served by Mr. Zacharias continuing to remain silent.
In furtherance of the truth, might you kindly address the following questions?
Did Ravi Zacharias ever enroll in, or audit, a physics class taught by John Polkinghorne at Cambridge University?
Was Mr. Zacharias ever “a visiting scholar at Cambridge University”? If so, is there a reason that this claim was removed from his website after he was criticized for making it? How does Mr. Zacharias respond to the email statement allegedly made by the Cambridge Office of External Affairs that his attending classes at the University whilst on sabbatical at Ridley Hall would not have made him a visiting scholar at their University?
At page 205 of his autobiography, Mr. Zacharias writes about spending time at Cambridge University where, he says, “I was invited to be a visiting scholar.” Given that Mr. Zacharias’ sabbatical supervisor, Jeremy Begbie, has stated, in writing, that Mr. Zacharias was only a “visiting scholar” at Ridley Hall (which is not a constituent part of the University), might you kindly state who it was who invited Mr. Zacharias to be a visiting scholar at Cambridge University itself?
Mr. Zacharias has claimed to have been “a senior research fellow” at Oxford University. Is this claim true? Was the position in fact an honorary one? If so, is there a reason that in February of 2103 Mr. Zacharias said in an Apologetics315 interview “If I’m in an academic forum, then the fact that I’m a senior research fellow at Wycliffe Hall Oxford University, that’s a credential with which I work in the academy”? Is there a reason the entire Senior Research Fellow claim has been removed from his website?
Mr. Zacharias’s bio and publicity materials refer to him as “Dr. Zacharias.” Does Mr. Zacharias have a PhD or other academic doctorate? If not, how might he reply to the concern that his routine use of the title “Dr.” is likely to create a false impression in significant numbers of people?
The jacket of Mr. Zacharias’s book New Birth or Rebirth? says “Zacharias holds three doctoral degrees.” His publisher bios at Random House and Penguin refer to him holding multiple doctoral degrees. These make no mention of such degrees being honorary. What responsibility does Mr. Zacharias have to ensure that those promoting the sales of his books make clear that his doctorates are exclusively honorary? (This question may, of course, be disregarded if Mr. Zacharias has in fact earned an academic doctorate.)
BTW, how can a man with no previous schooling in the higher sciences study Quantum physics in a university?
I write you in a spirit of inquiry, not challenge. Serious allegations, purporting to be carefully-researched and based on publicly available information, have been made that Mr. Zacharias has systematically exaggerated his academic credentials.
And while I have formed no conclusion as to the merits of these charges, I can see no harm in Mr. Zacharias publicly responding to them. Indeed, given the growing concern about these allegations, it seems that no legitimate purpose will be served by Mr. Zacharias continuing to remain silent.
In furtherance of the truth, might you kindly address the following questions?
Did Ravi Zacharias ever enroll in, or audit, a physics class taught by John Polkinghorne at Cambridge University?
Was Mr. Zacharias ever “a visiting scholar at Cambridge University”? If so, is there a reason that this claim was removed from his website after he was criticized for making it? How does Mr. Zacharias respond to the email statement allegedly made by the Cambridge Office of External Affairs that his attending classes at the University whilst on sabbatical at Ridley Hall would not have made him a visiting scholar at their University?
At page 205 of his autobiography, Mr. Zacharias writes about spending time at Cambridge University where, he says, “I was invited to be a visiting scholar.” Given that Mr. Zacharias’ sabbatical supervisor, Jeremy Begbie, has stated, in writing, that Mr. Zacharias was only a “visiting scholar” at Ridley Hall (which is not a constituent part of the University), might you kindly state who it was who invited Mr. Zacharias to be a visiting scholar at Cambridge University itself?
Mr. Zacharias has claimed to have been “a senior research fellow” at Oxford University. Is this claim true? Was the position in fact an honorary one? If so, is there a reason that in February of 2103 Mr. Zacharias said in an Apologetics315 interview “If I’m in an academic forum, then the fact that I’m a senior research fellow at Wycliffe Hall Oxford University, that’s a credential with which I work in the academy”? Is there a reason the entire Senior Research Fellow claim has been removed from his website?
Mr. Zacharias’s bio and publicity materials refer to him as “Dr. Zacharias.” Does Mr. Zacharias have a PhD or other academic doctorate? If not, how might he reply to the concern that his routine use of the title “Dr.” is likely to create a false impression in significant numbers of people?
The jacket of Mr. Zacharias’s book New Birth or Rebirth? says “Zacharias holds three doctoral degrees.” His publisher bios at Random House and Penguin refer to him holding multiple doctoral degrees. These make no mention of such degrees being honorary. What responsibility does Mr. Zacharias have to ensure that those promoting the sales of his books make clear that his doctorates are exclusively honorary? (This question may, of course, be disregarded if Mr. Zacharias has in fact earned an academic doctorate.)
BTW, how can a man with no previous schooling in the higher sciences study Quantum physics in a university?
Still wondering if there is such a calling for anyone to exclusively be an apologist, such as the calling that RZ appears to have received (as some of you say).
Paul was primarily an Apostle to the lost Gentiles. His role was to be a witness for Jesus and save the lost. "Apologia" (noun) or defense was something he did when his faith was questioned. It is true that every "believer" must be prepared to defend his faith when questioned. However, he is known as a believer; a disciple; a follower of Christ, etc. "Apologeomai" (verb) is what he must do when his faith is questioned.
In Luke 12:11-12, Jesus told the disciples not to worry what to speak in their defense, as the Holy Spirit would teach them that very hour what to say.
Secondly, Paul was direct. He never beat around the bush, like RZ does in most of his answers. Paul made it a custom to go to the synagogues to reason out with the Jews. However, he did not bother to be diplomatic and "nice." He laid the truth out, that Jesus was the Son of God, and therefore was always in danger of being arrested or killed.