About
Vinoth Ramachandra was born in Colombo, Sri Lanka, where he also had his secondary schooling. He holds both bachelors and doctoral degrees in nuclear engineering from the University of London. Instead of pursuing an academic career in the UK, he returned to Sri Lanka in 1980 and helped to develop an inter-denominational Christian university ministry in that country.
He is an international lecturer and writer. He served on the IFES Senior Leadership Team as Secretary for Dialogue & Social Engagement. His multi-faceted, international ministry includes promoting among students and professors a holistic, dialogical engagement with the world of the university; and helping Christian professionals act with Christian integrity in the face of the social, cultural and political challenges they face in their national contexts throughout the world.
Vinoth’s Danish wife Karin, whom he married in 1998, passed away in 2018. Vinoth has also been involved with the Civil Rights Movement in Sri Lanka, as well as with the global Micah Network (a network of development and justice organizations) and A Rocha (a world-wide biodiversity conservation organization). He is also on the International Advisory Council of the Faraday Institute for Science and Religion, based in Cambridge, England. He is the author of several essays, articles and books including Gods That Fail (2nd ed. 2016), Subverting Global Myths: Theology and the Public Issues that Shape Our World (2008) and Sarah’s Laughter: Doubt, Tears and Christian Hope (Langham, 2020)
56 Responses to "About"
I have been recommending the Subverting Global Myths book to almost everyone I know 🙂 Thanks.
It is a opportunity to get to know different views. Now we ( Sri lankan ) are talking about slumdog justice. and about your blog.
Gerard
Great to see you blogging! Thanks for what you’ve written and I look forward to seeing future posts.
I’ve added a link from my blog
Mark
Great to meet you here. And I hope to catch up During your visit to New Delhi Aug 09
Dear Sir
Condolences on your loss. I was glad to be part of your sharing at NUS on tues, and am wondering whether you would object if i emailed you some thoughts and questions on what you had shared if you somehow had time….
Hope u had a safe trip back.
Daryl
I am a student at Fuller Theological Seminary in the “Global Leadership” degree program and we have read a couple of your books. Your work is extremely helpful and I appreciate your thoughtfulness to some of the most challenging questions of our day. I live in Los Angeles and have been helped by your discussions on uncritically used words like tolerance, secular, and conversion.
Thanks!
[…] at an InterVarsity conference on ‘Following Christ’, Vinoth Ramachandra says […]
Dear Vinoth,
it is so nice to read about your brief introduction I would be interested in having the book tittled ‘Theology and public issue that shape our world 2008
thanks
shadrach
I love those who aren’t afraid of exploring the connection between the mind and the soul. Your writings move me intellectually which leads me spiritually.
David
http://www.redletterbelievers.com
“Salt and Light”
Subverting Global Myths is a very important book and essential for those who want to peel back the layers the popular press insist we read, as well as sharpen our theological mind towards mission in a world fraught with contradictions and injustice. Thank you for your work.
Keep the faith Vinoth.
Dear Vinoth,
This is Josué emailing you from Latin America. My wife and I serve in the IFES sister movement in Ecuador (CECE). I have listened your lectures delivered in Malaysia for the IFES International Meeting about engaging the University, I have a couple of questions I would like to ask you. May I have your email so we can talk about it? Thanks.
Josué
[…] Dr Ramachandra lives in Sri Lanka with his Danish wife, Karin, whom he married in 1998. She is a trained counsellor and Bible teacher. Dr Ramachandra has been involved for many years with the Civil Rights Movement in Sri Lanka, as well as with the global Micah Network and A Rocha (a world-wide biodiversity conservation organization). He is the author of several essays and books of which the most recent is Subverting Global Myths: Theology and the Public Issues that Shape Our World (2008). (Source, HERE) […]
Dear Vinoth,
Your book ‘Gods That Fail’ has taught me so many things. I would rate the book as one of those books that helped me much in my Christian journey. May your tribe increase!
Dear Mr. Ramachandra
We met few months ago, at Korean IFES (IVF) center in Seoul, where I asked you some personal questions. Recently a staff working for IVF let me know that you were actually trying to reach me! What a pleasant surprise 🙂
So I came to visit your blog but here I don’t see your e-mail address. It would be very grateful if you’d e-mail me at i_withme@hanmail.net.
Sincerely,
Y. Kim
I just like the helpful information you provide in your articles. I’ll bookmark your weblog and check once more right here regularly. I am moderately sure I’ll be told lots of new stuff right right here! Good luck for the next!
Merry Christmas, Vinoth & Karin & blessings all year!
Guy & Brenda
Dr Vinoth Ramachandra,
It’s a pleasure to have discovered you. My name is Marlon Meira, I am an evangelical christian theology and history major from Brazil. I am interested in Integral Mission (the theology university I go to specializes in Integral Mission Theology), as well as christian ethics.
I’ve had the opportunity to read only two of your articles, Nuclear déjà vu and States of Terror, and that’s why I say it’s a pleasure to have discovered you. A couple of years ago I decided that, as a commited christian, I wasns’t anymore going to be ignorant about Middle East history and current affairs. I have been writing on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict from a christian standpoint, and I was deeply glad to have read States of Terror about an hour ago. Also, as an honest christian, I can’t turn a blind eye to US and EU war crimes against humanity, so on January 23 I wrote an article called Terrorist attack against Iran, where I expose my indignation towards the embargo, and my position is similar to yours when you say it’s the common people who suffer the most.
I just hope you find some time to read this personal and informal commentary and wish to see you in Brazil sometime soon.
I plan to read more of your articles in the next couple of months. I feel God has introduced you to me through your writings. Hence I pray for your ministry and that God will continue to bless you and your family.
The (history) university I go to has weekly IFES meetings, but unfortunately they take place in the morning, when I’m at work.
Although my website is in Portuguese only, here’s the address, if you’d like to check it out sometime: http://marlonmeira.com/.
Well, thank you for your time and writings. God bless.
Sincerely yours, Marlon Meira.
Hello Vinoth, I would like to keep in touch with you and discuss matters relating to the western church in the 21st century. I met with you briefly Almost 10 years ago at a seminar held at the consortium of theological collages in Colombo, where I gave a brief talk on the emergence of the church where you were present. I am now a minister/lecturer in Melbourne.
Hello Vinoth, I would like to keep in touch with you and discuss matters relating to the church in a materialistic society. I met with you briefly Almost 10 years ago at a seminar held at the consortium of theological collages in Colombo, where I gave a brief talk on the emergence of the church where you were present. I am now a minister/lecturer in Melbourne.
[…] I was a Christian, but towards the end of my studies I went to a GBU conference where I heard Vinoth Ramachandra, an Indian staff worker from IFES, speak. He talked about the game of marbles. Sometimes we try to […]
[…] neither ignored nor downplayed in the interests of a superficial harmony.” – Vinoth Ramachandra Like this:LikeBe the first to like this post. This entry was posted in Worldview and tagged […]
[…] Vinoth Ramachandra (Christian lecturer and author): War, poverty and ecological degradation often go hand in hand. We have to deal with them together. […]
É interessante conhecer a história do Sri Lanka, bem como o de suas etnias. O texto foi elucidativo a ponto de nos fazer compreender os principais aspectos históricos envolvidos no atual conflito que atualmente aflige o norte do país..
are you on twitter?
No.
[…] Dr Vinoth Ramachandra serves on the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students (IFES) Senior Leadership Team as Secretary for Dialogue & Social Engagement. […]
[…] Dr Vinoth Ramachandra serves on the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students (IFES) Senior Leadership Team as Secretary for Dialogue & Social Engagement. […]
[…] Dr Vinoth Ramachandra serves on the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students (IFES) Senior Leadership Team as Secretary for Dialogue & Social Engagement. […]
[…] Dr Vinoth Ramachandra serves on the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students (IFES) Senior Leadership Team as Secretary for Dialogue & Social Engagement. […]
[…] spent my last couple of posts exploring an important lecture by Vinoth Ramachandra. We’ve already had a brief look at the world of the university. Now, let’s ask what it […]
[…] time to wrap up my survey of Vinoth Ramachandra’s lecture, ‘Engaging the university’. Ramachandra concludes by presenting a vision for […]
[…] Since then, I haven’t heard from him. Yet, with all that said, I continued to follow TGC’s desire to distribute their theological resources to other parts of the world. Then it happened – I actually saw the title of this project – “Theological Famine Relief.” I was again frustrated and disheartened. I asked a few friends and colleagues about their impression of this project and the disconcerting use of the word “Famine” and was led to a blog post entitled, “Reformed Amnesia” by Vinoth Ramachandra. […]
Greetings to you, and to Karin. Please tell her I met up with Athang Touthang in Perth this year – he was in the Humanities school in Pune – she may remember him! Blessings as you follow the King!
Dear Vinoth,
I’ve recently come across your book, Gods That Fail, and wonder if I could pick your brains about the culture of idolatry, past and present to help me with a writing project that I am currently working on.
Could we possibly correspond? npfranks@gmail.com
My wife and I were in Sri Lanka in April 2013 for our honeymoon – wonderful!
In Jesus
Nick Franks
[…] Dr Vinoth Ramachandra serves on the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students (IFES) Senior Leadership Team as Secretary for Dialogue & Social Engagement. […]
Subverting Global Myths is quoted every weekend in my church weekends talks at Lee Abbey…. encouraging Churches to engage in the public space… especially with reference to taking an interest in other people’s cultures… thank you… Still a very helpful and challenging book.
How can I sign up to receive your blog postings?
Dear Vinoth, we at Katoikos.eu would be interested in republishing your recent blog article entitled “Brexit: Democracy at Work?” Would that be possible? Best regards, Daniel
Dear Dr. Vinoth,
Its a pleasure to read your blog… I have previously met Karin and would like to meet with her again..Would it be possible to ask her to email me her phone number to cerulleansky@gmail.com.
Thanks You
Sincerely,
Mrs. Chandrika Abeysekera
[…] Second, the cultural diversity of the MTD community, combined with the importance of ensuring that our studies are contextually relevant, means it is imperative to include non-Western authors in our reading. Inevitably, they open my eyes to dimensions of Biblical teaching, and the application of that teaching, that previously I had only seen dimly or not at all. Let me mention just one such writer: Vinoth Ramachandra. He frequently crops up in our MTD reading. If you would like a wee taste I encourage you to visit his blog site https://vinothramachandra.wordpress.com/about/ […]
[…] precious virtual friend Vinoth Ramachandra, the IFES Secretary for Dialogue & Social Engagement, wrote today in an […]
[…] on the sites of ‘The GlobalChurch Project‘ and the ‘Langham Partnership‘. Vinoth Ramachandra, a leader in IFES from Sri Lanka, has been an important contributor to theological and […]
Vinoth, You come from a great Hindu background. I have heard about your father’s father N. Vaithilingam pioneer of the Hardware merchants in Sri Lanka. How did you embrace christianity ? Since you will know both religions, could you please state the similarities and dissimilarities as I have an interest in comparative religions. Thank you
Great Sir! I have heard your profound talk interrelating science and faith while I was a college student. It was in Hyderabad in 1988. I was quite motivated by it . May God bless you to be a blessing for youth of many nations.
Thank you, for your insightful writings and for scripting independent narratives as a South Asian Christian thought leader, Dr. Ramachandra. Looking forward to reading more of your work in the days to come. I should also thank Sathish Simon for sending me the link to your website. God bless.
Dear Brother, I have been moved to tears by reading Faiths in Conflict?and The Recovery of Mission. Thank you for your exceptional thinking, deep feeling and fiery love for Christ, the Church and the world. I will be quoting you and sharing some of your thoughts in my sermon next Sunday. You have challenged my mind and stirred my heart. Now may the Lord change my living! Thank you.
Dear Dr. Ramachandra,
On Monday I attended the discussion you were apart of concerning human rights in the west. I appreciated your thoughts and I would like to share some of them with friends. Is there any chance that you might be able to send me a copy of the document that you were reading from?
Thank you for presenting!
Josh Glaab
Dear Joshua,
I am sorry I cannot send you my text as I plan to rework it and use elsewhere. However, since you have found my Bog, the following posts echo some of the material I used in my lecture: 16 October 2009, 12 May 2012, 07 July 2012, 28 July 2014
It qas great listening to uou about covid 19.
U made it so simple to understand and changing the view, interpreting through right Biblical prospective. Indeed death is the reality we face every day, hour and second why to be panic only for this pandemic. Thank you.
Dear Ramachandra, I had my Ph.D. studies at the University of Colombo 2014-2018 as an International student from Nigeria. I was deeply involved in Calvary Church Kirulapone Colombo – Pastor Tissa and the FourSquare church at the branch headed by Dr. Romesh. However, my deeper burden for the campus ministry in Sri Lanka could not be filled as I noticed a huge gap, Am currently a senior university lecturer in Nigeria, and the burden to see a greater impact on the campus in Sri Lanka still subsist. I am open to being involved. I want to return as a volunteer as opportunities come. Thank you
I’m trying to find a copy of your ‘What is Integral Mission’ article. It used to be on the micah network website, but is no longer there. Do you know where a copy can be found as I do not think it is published elsewhere. Thanks
One of the most refreshing perspectives from the Global church that I have encountered.
[…] group, which discussed contemporary literature and film, and included David Turner, John Wyatt, Vinoth Ramachandra, and Dhyanchand […]
Warmest greetings from the Philippines dear Vinoth. Most likely you have already forgotten me, one of your Filipino friends in Diliman Bible Church in the mid70s. But I haven’t forgotten you. I’ve been following your career and ministry until the sad news re the passing of your wife in 2018. I missed your going to All Souls Church in London which I attended when I was studying in London and Sussex in 1985-1989. I am praying and planning to visit Sri Lanka this year. I hope I can find you in Colombo. Can I possibly get your address, eM and contact numbers? Aaronic blessings 🙏🙌✝️🇵🇭
Vinoth Ramachandra 
1 | Sathish Simon
February 27, 2009 at 3:56 am
I did glimpse through your book Global Myths-in fact all your books reveal how you dare to think out of the box/the mundane. God has Blessed you for all of us too.
Sathish