this is genuinely shocking. Well done to Ijaz for making it more widely known..
Ravi Zacharias of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries is being called upon by the public to respond to allegations of manufacturing his theological and academic qualifications. Touted as a “Dr” who is alleged to be a visiting scholar at Cambridge University, UK, Ravi Zacharias is facing claims of being a fraudster. Popular YouTuber FriendlyBanjo attempted to verify the academic qualifications of Mr. Zacharias and found them to be absolutely false. In a damning video, showing clear manipulation of academic credentials and falsifying biographical details, the inter-faith community is calling on Mr. Zacharias to tender his resignation, and return monies stolen under false pretenses. Mr. Zacharias is the founder of an international evangelical ministry which attempts to spread the “Gospel” worldwide, specifically targeting Atheists and Muslims. An acclaimed author and international speaker, Mr. Zacharias is now being labeled as an Ergun Caner 2.0, a complete and total fraudster who attempted to pass of…
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Categories: Islam
Blogging Theology 
Another one bites the dust
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Quoting Beau Baez from Calling Christians: “I am a full professor at a law school (i.e., an academic). The vast majority of lawyers do not have a Ph.D., yet there are times when I am called “Doctor” by someone. For these short conversations I never correct them–it seems out of place. I think this addresses your concern that Ravi has been called “Doctor” by others in public settings. Second, there are people that use the word “doctor” for honorary degrees. Not something I would do, but I recognize that it is not that uncommon. Third, when I saw the degrees that he listed on his website I immediately recognized them as honorary degrees. I see no reason to list the obviousness nature of the degrees–he was not hiding anything. By the way, it is a great honor to receive one of these degrees. He has six. Fourth, when you go to the Ridley website it is unclear what their affiliation is with Cambridge University. The British University system is quite different from our own, so it is possible that Ravi was unaware of the loose affiliation Ridley now has with Cambridge University.
So it comes down to this. Do we impute ill motive to Ravi or do we use the same grace we extend to ourselves when we are misunderstood by others. From what I understand, as soon as any question was raised about his credentials he quickly clarified them on his website. That demonstrates he is operating in good faith. Why not also assume that his prior representations were also made in good faith. When I have encountered charlatans, there have been no half measures. They completely lied. That is not the case here. So given the circumstances I would err on the side of an innocent representation rather than assuming this is scandalous.”
My own comments follow below:
I would just like to say that it is interesting to see a double standard among some. When Hamza Tzortzis was accused of participating on the Ashley Madison website, Muslims were very quick to deny it and defend Tzortzis, even following his attempts to label the website as Halal, even when the website is intentionally marketed towards infidelity. I do not know what took place with Mr. Tzortzis, and neither does anyone except Mr. Tzortzis, God, and perhaps a third party if one is indeed involved. Yet, Ravi received honorary degrees and did participate in Theological studies yet Muslims automatically conclude that he is a fraud. To compare him with Ergun Caner I think is entirely inappropriate. I certainly don’t think such knee-jerk reactions are warranted. I would urge Muslims and Christians alike to exercise humility, and not use the current scandals as something to jump on the bandwagon on. We are all human beings, and none of us should feel boastful to expose others as some kind of way to make us forget about our own shortcomings. How about instead of attacking either camp or jumping to hasty conclusions, we pray for these men and their families?
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Good points. By the way not all Muslims are defending Hamza. Some are saying the allegations are entirely plausible.
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Fair comment, Paul.
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