November 14 1994

ARTICLE TOOLS

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Ravi Zacharias believes the church should be spending more time on the fundamentals. Evangelist, apologist, and host of the weekly radio program "Let My People Think," for over 20 years Zacharias has been addressing basic questions—such as, Does God exist? Who is Jesus? Can I trust the Bible?—and intellectual doubts of the thinking nonbeliever. And since his appearance at Amsterdam '83, Billy Graham's landmark international conference on evangelism, Zacharias has been in demand as a speaker on university campuses throughout the world.

A native of India, Zacharias was born into a family of prestige and power. His father served in key positions under the governments of Prime Ministers Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi. Even as a boy, Zacharias felt overwhelmed by the pressure of following in his father's steps. This pressure sent him off on a personal quest for purpose and truth in life-a quest that took him to the very depths of despair. Ultimately, he found the purpose and truth he sought in the Christian faith. Today he is determined to help others make that same discovery.

"We are living in a world of graduate-level skepticism," says Zacharias. "An undergraduate response will not do. We must be equipped to answer the world's toughest questions." In Zacharias's latest book, "Can Man Live Without God" (Word), he challenges Christians to answer those tough questions with relevance and reason. He recently spoke to CT about his life and ministry.

CHRISTIANITY TODAY:

Five generations ago your ancestors were from the highest of the Hindu priesthood. With such a strong cultural and religious heritage, what led to your conversion to Christianity?

RAVI ZACHARIAS:

Although my ancestors were Hindu, my immediate family was nominally ...