Ravi Zacharias at Wycliffe Hall

Ravi Zacharias in Oxford Wycliffe Hall
It was a great privilege for me to have met Christian apologist Ravi Zacharias the other day (Thursday 20th November 2008.) I greatly admire the ministry the Lord has equipped this man with. He stopped by at Wycliffe Hall in Oxford to speak to the Diploma of Biblical and Theological Students (DBTS) students on certain topics from his book ‘End of Reason’.

I’d like to highlight just a few key things he spoke so passionately about in the hour and a half sermon. A what an hour and a half it was. I praise God for Ravi and pray that the Lord uses him more in these last hours. I would also ask that you remember him and his ministry in your prayers. My notes are rather random so I will try to capture in essense the message he brought before the next generation of ministers, students, preachers, evangelists, teachers and apologists. You can catch a glimpse of Nathan (Ravi’s son in the back with the white shirt).

The Challenge

• Radical Islam – The threat they feel towards their culture from the West. Their ideological, political, religious and even cultural war against the so-called west.
• Secularism – Anti-theism in particular. In a bid to promote a more secular society (as opposed to religious) in New York a new bus campaign was released trying to do away with Christmas and that you don’t have to believe in religion to celebrate Christmas.

6 Components to a Worldview
Everyone holds a worldview. Whether you are religious or not, you view the world in one way or another. Here Ravi gave six points which define the standards for a truthful, sound and coherent worldview.

1. Strong factual support;
2. High degree of coherency and internal consistency;
3. Must have explanatory power;
4. Not too simplistic, not too complex (e.g. Buddhism is far too complex);
5. More than one line of evidence or arguing (e.g. atheism hanging on one hanger);
6. Able to refute contrary worldviews.

Test of Truth
There are so many claims of truth in this world. One person claims to have arrived at truth which is contrary to another persons claims to have also arrived at truth. But how do we establish who and what is true. This test helps us as any claim to truth should meet the below standard:

1. Logical consistency;
2. Empirical adequacy;
3. Experiential relevance.

Who has the answers?
Barack Obama in the build up to his election was asked a very interesting question. ‘When does life begin?’  To which he replied ‘that is above my payscale.’ In other words, he didn’t have a the answer to such a poignant question. The very people who are leading this world and claim to have answers don’t know some of the basic fundamental questions in life. To this Ravi argues that we as Christians ought to have the answers because we are supposed to be the light and salt of the world. We must be ready in season and out season to preach the Gospel and give an answer to anyone who asks.

Ravi also challenged Christian believers to live a life beyond reproach. He stated that ‘I am no longer worried about the absurdities of atheism and their pushing the boundaries of the moral framework, but am more concerned and worried about believers in living in the truth and the light of the Scriptures.’

Conclusion
Ravi then went on to take a look at some of the recent developments in the world i.e. India persecution of Christians, newly discovered drugs which supress guilt and remorse after rape and the political drama that recently took place. He took some questions from the students to which he gave some very insightful answers.

The challenge is on and I like what Ravi said at the end. “I am ready to fight this with every breath in my body.’ Amen and praise God.

Tags: DBTS, Oxford, Ravi, Ravi Zacharias, RZIM, Vic, Wycliffe, Wycliffe Hall

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