Ravi Zacharias - Apologetics of Abuse

It is now becoming clear that Ravi Zacharias, famed apologeticist, was also an abuser. The evidence of his abuse is widespread and global. In fact, even while settling one abuse case, he was continuing to abuse others. “According to the investigative report, however, Zacharias continued soliciting sexual images of women as he settled the case with the Thompsons, defended himself publicly, and assured the RZIM leadership and staff he did nothing wrong and there was no need to investigate.” (CT, 2.11.21)

A detailed report tells the story of a man who integrated abuse into ministry and life.

“A 12-page report released Thursday by Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM) confirms abuse by Zacharias at day spas he owned in Atlanta and uncovers five additional victims in the US, as well as evidence of sexual abuse in Thailand, India, and Malaysia.

Even a limited review of Zacharias’s old devices revealed contacts for more than 200 massage therapists in the US and Asia and hundreds of images of young women, including some that showed the women naked. Zacharias solicited and received photos until a few months before his death in May 2020 at age 74.” (CT, 2.11.21)


Lori Anne Thompson, who was a victim that was silenced with an NDA, told her story this week: https://julieroys.com/open-letter-to-rzim-from-brad-lori-anne-thompson/

For all the people looking for a hidden ring of abusers, consider looking inward. Things are not well inside the church. And until people are ready to face them head on, abuse will continue. Abuse that destroys its victims. Abuse that happens in the name of Christ. This must stop.

#ChurchToo an Abuse Reality

Hannah Paasch wrote an article on Huffington Post that talks about the #churchtoo hashtag and what it represents for women abused by the church. In, Sexual Abuse Happens In #ChurchToo — We’re Living Proof, she states: 

“The deep cognitive dissonance of purity culture demands that women trust men as leaders, protectors and providers while blaming ourselves when our boundaries are inevitably crossed.”
— Hannah Paasch, Huffington Post

For many women raised inside the conservative church, they have no understanding about what abused, discrimination, and bias look like. They may know that something is wrong, but don't have the ability to name it. And, on top of that, they often have no ownership over their own bodies, in that they were taught that their bodies ultimately belong to the men they will one day marry. Ignorance and bad theology create an environment where women, especially but not exclusively, are abused by the church.

“ChurchToo is a platform not only where survivors can out their abusers — yes, names and all — but also where Christians, ex-evangelicals and agnostics alike can ask one another: How can we do better? What would a theology of consent and autonomy look like? How would we build a world in which that sort of church was not the exception?

The stories that have poured in through the hashtag prove to me that the evangelical church, in its current iteration, actively supports the confessing abuser over the victim and, in the name of “having no appearance of evil,” has managed to silence thousands of sexual and physical abuse allegations throughout the years.

We are saying “enough” now. There are decades-old stories with this hashtag. The rot has metastasized, and with #ChurchToo, we are digging it out. No rock shall remain unturned. ”
— Hannah Paasch, Huffington Post