Ravi Zacharias was born on March 26, 1946 in Chennai, India and raised in New Delhi. In a article he wrote for Christianity TodayMr. Zacharias said his ancestors belonged to the highest caste of Hindu priests, but at one point his family was converted to Christianity by Swiss German missionaries. Still, he wasn’t very religious growing up.
According to the story Mr. Zacharias tells, his moment on the road to Damascus came when he attempted suicide at age 17 by swallowing chemicals. He had felt shame and anxiety at being a poor student. While he was recovering in the hospital, a young pastor brought him a Bible.
“Five days after being taken to the emergency room, I left a changed person,” Mr. Zacharias wrote.
After moving with his family to Canada in the 1960s, Mr. Zacharias enrolled at Ontario Bible College, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in theology. He then earned his master’s degree from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois. It was at Trinity that Mr. Zacharias studied under two great apological thinkers, John Warwick Montgomery and Norman Geisler, and came to believe “the importance of trying to connect the gospel with the life of the spirit ”, like Alister McGrath, a Northern Irish theologian, wrote in an online tribute.
After teaching at Alliance Theological Seminary in Nyack, NY, Mr. Zacharias established Ravi Zacharias International Ministries, or RZIM, in 1984, with financial backing from wealthy businessman David Dale Davis. The ministry, headquartered in Alpharetta, Georgia, and with offices around the world, raises millions of dollars each year to further its mission.
In 2017, Mr. Zacharias, who for years presented himself as Dr. Zacharias on his website and in advertising materials, was accused of exaggerate your academic qualifications. He later recognized that his doctorates were honorary and stopped referring to himself by that title.