The Zacharian Imposture

An oak has surely fallen. The Zacharian age has come to an end. People, from all over the world, are mourning the passing of one of the greatest theological voices of our time, renowned apologist and theologian, Mr. Ravi Zacharias. His name is a familiar one in the majority of Christian households, especially in India. Frankly, if you’re an evangelical in India, you’d have to have been living under a rock if you’d never heard of him. Born and raised in India, Ravi grew up to become one of the greatest apologists of this century. The story of his suicide attempt as a young teenager, his subsequent conversion to Christ, the inception of RZIM, and his many, many years of faithful and incredibly fruitful ministry is well known. He was indeed a pillar of clear and unbridled truth, and the fight that he fought, the race that he ran for the kingdom of God, is a remarkable testimony, one that will be remembered for many generations to come.

In the wake of his exemplary life and ministry, I must admit that it is with great caution, and a tiny bit of trepidation, that I write this article. While I offer it as a tribute to the substantial legacy left behind by this beloved man of God, I’m afraid that, in the process, I may offend some of you who read this article, but only if you’re dishonest. You’ll see what I mean. I hope, I pray.

One of the most stunning, and quite amusing, aspects of his ministry was that everybody wanted to have a claim over him. When he showed up for a talk in India, you’d have a room full of denominational varieties that would put the biggest buffet in the world to shame. You would never see such a diverse crowd show up to hear one man talk unless it was Ravi Zacharias. Everybody wanted to claim him as their own. After all, he was the Indian apologist that gave the likes of Dawkins and Hitchens a run for their money. He defended the Christian faith like a skilled soldier against the philosophical, historical, and theological attacks of Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Atheism, you name it. You know what we all did when we came across a complicated problem or contradiction pointed out by our friends or colleagues regarding the faith that we were unable to respond to? You know what most of us still do? Open up an internet browser and see what Ravi Zacharias had to say about it. Odds are, he has answered the question already, and if he has, you now had the herculean task of somehow accurately conveying the beautifully crafted, brilliant response to your friend or colleague. Few are up to the task. The man was a genius orator. He knew not only what to say, but also how to say it, so that when he was done, you’d pick up the pieces of whatever was left of your question, and return home a healthier man. Everybody loved him, and it wasn’t simply out of admiration of his great skill, but because of the graciousness he displayed whenever he dealt with people, on-stage or off of it. He was a kind and gentle man. We all loved him. We all wished we could be like him. We all will miss him dearly.

But…

Here we go.

I watch today, as Christians and non-Christians alike, pay tribute to one of the greatest philosophical minds of our time, and I wonder how many actually get it. I wonder how many Christians understand what Ravi’s legacy really is. Now, it is obvious that not all who hashtag #ThankYouRavi, are necessarily thanking him for all that he stood for. Most people thank him for what touched them most from this man’s extraordinary life, for what he meant to them personally. However, the self-professing Christian believer must not stop there and overlook something so much greater than that. We, of all people, must understand it. As tributes to Ravi flood the internet, I am reminded of two things – first, the impact of a godly man’s life on the world and across the world, and second, the facade of the ignoramus. Let me go out on a limb here and say that not all Christians who use the hashtag #ThankYouRavi actually recognise the greatest contribution of this man. What are we thanking Ravi for? His apologetic finesse? His oratory genius, and logical swiftness? His incredible memory with which he thundered out quotes and poetry and scripture without pause? His brilliant Q&A sessions? Or the fact that we would have probably given up on the Christian faith and termed it indefensible if he hadn’t shown up? Yes, all these are greatly deserving of our gratitude, but if that’s all you see, then you have eyes that have not seen and ears that have not heard. Because if that’s all you see, then that’s all you’ll emulate. You will copy his arguments, recount his anecdotes, borrow his vocabulary, and employ it all in your own apologetic endeavours, perhaps even to some degree of success.

But…

But the heart of the matter is that what Ravi taught us to value the most is not philosophy, or apologetics, or Q&As, or even himself, for, above all these, he modelled for us how we are to treasure the triune God of the Bible, pursue fellowship with Him, and conform our lives unashamedly and unapologetically to the truth of Scripture. He was a man who loved Jesus, lived Jesus, and died to go and be with Jesus. Not the popular Jesus of cultural Christianity, mind! The Jesus of the Bible. Now, that, there, is a substantial point, because so many of the people who use #ThankYouRavi also proudly propagate the false gospel of cultural Christianity and say ‘thank you’ to many of the proponents of the very world-views that Ravi so strongly opposed. Many who go vocal on Facebook and Twitter in praise of Ravi don’t seem to see this hypocrisy. He was a man of the word before he was a man of anything else. His life, his passion, and his years of unwavering commitment did not come primarily from textbooks or other preachers or teachers, but from the Bible. That’s his legacy! The same legacy of those who went before him, from St. Paul in the 1st century to R.C Sproul in the 21st century. They were men of God who stood on the sure foundation of His word. What about you? If you see that, if you really, really see that, then that’s what you’ll try to emulate – to imitate these men in their devotion and love for God.

A lot of people now ask the question, “Who’s going to take Ravi’s place? Who is going to be the next Ravi Zacharias?” My answer – that’s a question that suggests to me that you have not understood his legacy. The work of such men are not meant to create a “successor” who will be capable of filling their shoes, or picking up their mantle, or anything else to do with some other part of their clothing. Their ministry is not even to raise up one special person who will love God just the way they loved God, but rather to raise entire nations and peoples after God. Who’s next? You’re next! You, me, and every other trigger-happy hash-tagger out there. That’s who’s next! If we have received, through the life and ministry of Ravi Zacharias, the message of the Gospel, the centrality of the inerrant word of God in Christian life, and the reasoned defence of the faith that we “must be prepared to give in season and out”, then we must prove it. If we’re honest, these truths transform our lives so that we might pick up the Bible and devote our lives to God in the same manner. However, if we’re not being honest in this regard, chances are all we’re setting out to do is to play look-alike. We’d pretty much plagiarise Ravi’s great quotes and anecdotes, and leave aside the root of the substance that made up that man. We would simply become Zacharian impostors, nothing more. If you truly want to honour this man’s legacy, then make it real. Get off the lazy chair of worldly comfort, go on your knees, pick up the word, and get to work. Let His people think! Read, hear, understand, believe and then go out and stand in the world, preaching and teaching accurately, out of the truth of God’s word that is transforming your life. Be men of the word as Ravi was, and refuse to be only a hash-tagging impostor who knows nothing about the passions of the truly converted Christian heart. The heart that we saw in Zacharias, Sproul and countless others who came before. For being so bright a lamp set upon so high a hill, for showing us what it means to be humans in God’s hands, for teaching us to believe without wavering, my heart cannot help but say #ThankYouRavi, and I suddenly imagine you looking at me so intently, hand stretched out toward me as though pointing into my very soul, reminding me, one last time, to never forget to say #ThankYouGod.