Conversation With Ravi Zacharias, Christian Apologist

Ravi Zacharias

Christian apologist Ravi Zacharias has spoken about the Christian faith in more than 50 countries. In 1983, 1986 and 2000 he was a plenary speaker at Billy Graham’s International Conferences for Evangelists, in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. In this interview he tells how the cross of Christ makes Christianity unique among the world’s religionsâ€"and how the cross can change our lives.

Jim Dailey: Recent events have focused a great deal of attention on world religions. How do adherents of other religions view Christianity?

Ravi Zacharias: Every culture is basically an expression of its worldview and its religion. Theologian Paul Tillich said, “Religion is the substance of culture; culture is the form of religion.”[1] In most countries religion has worked itself into the fabric of the culture. Therefore, when people view Christianity, it is inescapable that they will view it within the framework of their historical experience.

In India, for example, many people find it impossible to separate Christianity from the days of the British rule. That was a national exposure to what they thought was the Christian faith. If you go to certain parts of the world where imperialism had its bad days, then Christianity is associated with imperialistic tendencies.

However, I think much change has occurred in recent times. Some of my good friends in India made a surprising comment to me on the heels of September 11. They said that they were watching America’s reaction, and they recognized that they were witnessing a “nation with a Christian ethos” respond to a criminal act. I was impressed to hear how many of these friends asserted that they were touched by America’s patience and its measured response, as well as the number of Americans who attended church services. A prominent Islamic scholar in the United States commented that had such an attack happened in some Muslim countries, there would have been a violent reaction. When people of other faiths make comments such as these, I think it is a credit to the Christian faith.

JD: How is the cross of Christ perceived by adherents of other religions?

RZ: It varies. Muslims believe that Jesus did not actually die on the cross. They make that comment based on the Koran. It is strange because, also based on the Koran, they recognize that Jesus had the power to raise the dead, a power they do not attribute to Mohammad, so that’s a conflicting response.

As a Christian apologist, I present a defense of the Christian faith in various settings around the globe. I have found that if you build a proper foundation for what the Christian faith is all about, as you lead up to the cross, the listeners sit in stunned silence. They immediately recognize that Christianity stands in stark contrast to everything that other worldviews affirm and assert. They know that true power is being expressed in the crossâ€"restraint, mercy, forgivenessâ€"all when the very One who is offering those things had the capacity to counter instead with force and with domination.

In contract, consider the radicals in the Islamic movement, for whom power is always present, always political, always military and always violent. The cross will always be a stumbling block to them because it challenges the very core of their thinking. Jesus’ way is completely different from theirs. In Jesus’ way, winning comes through love and a change of heart.

So the way of the cross is in counter-perspective to every other belief system. The cross seems the way of defeat, but it is the means to victory. It shows meekness, yet it is the ultimate expression of strength. It brings everything that is of eternal value into current perspective......

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TOPICS: Culture/Society
KEYWORDS: 911; christianity; cross; india; jesus; mohammed; pakistan; usa
Ravi is very enlightening. Enjoy and comments welcome.
1 posted on 29 يونيو, 2002 06:22:46 م by Freedom'sWorthIt
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To: RnMomof7
Have you read much from Ravi Zacharias? If not - would you read this article - and if interested, ping some others? Thanks.
2 posted on 29 يونيو, 2002 07:10:06 م by Freedom'sWorthIt
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To: Freedom'sWorthIt
In contract, consider the radicals in the Islamic movement, for whom power is always present, always political, always military and always violent. The cross will always be a stumbling block to them because it challenges the very core of their thinking. Jesus’ way is completely different from theirs. In Jesus’ way, winning comes through love and a change of heart."

Ann Coulter said this week, in response to Katie Couric's challenge of her post 9/11 remarks, that she'd seen nothing that could change lives like Christianity. I think these statements give the reason why this is so.
3 posted on 29 يونيو, 2002 07:13:03 م by Endeavor
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To: Freedom'sWorthIt; RnMomof7
Dr. Zacharias is a fascinating teacher-- I first discovered him when I started going to school in Buffalo, and he was on the radio. I personally find his approach -- using philosophy, long the domain of secualarists -- fascinating.

He's got a good perspective on other religions, given that he was raised in a nation where the largest 2 religions are Hinduism and Islam. So he knows what each teaches, and the shortcomings of each.