How I Came to Believe the Accusations Against Ravi Zacharias

Before you think that I am digging up old dirt on a person who has been dead for years, I want you to know that in many ways this post in not about Ravi Zacharias.

I remember what it was like after apologist Ravi Zacharias died. Accusations of sexual harassment and other abuse were beginning to emerge. The apologetics community rose up in defence of Ravi Zacharias, respecting the work he had done and believing in his innocence.

What did I think? I did not know for sure, but I was fairly convinced this was an anti-Christian attack on an effective Christian apologist. And yet…

A Doctor or Not a Doctor?

One of the first things that I realized were not quite right was the use of “Doctor” in introducing Ravi Zacharias at events.

Ravi Zacharias did not have any earned doctorates but he had several honorary doctorates, including one from a school I attended and one from a school I taught at.

I think honorary doctorates are great and I respect those who receive them. But technically you are not supposed to use them as your title. Only those who have earned doctorates can refer to themselves as Dr. So and So.

At first I thought this was a whole lot about nothing. Yes, this was a technical break in protocol, but most people don’t know about these rules and really, who cares? Plus I know of other Christian leaders, as matter of respect, who have been introduced as Dr. (e.g. Billy Graham).

The problem was that Ravi Zacharias was presenting himself as more of an academic scholar than he really was. Yes, he was an effective communicator and evangelist, but neither his talks nor his books were overly scholarly. But this scholarly reputation was something that seemed to be something he was grasping for.

The other red flag was this. I can totally understand if Ravi Zacharias did not know that he was not supposed to use it for himself. But his organization, RZIM, should have known. It was their job to know if this was allowed or not.

Cambridge and Oxford

To be honest, the honorary doctorate question was not enough to make me question the integrity of Ravi Zacharias. It was a minor crack but by itself, it would not lead to anything else. But the crack widened…

I had read many of his books, heard him on the radio and on podcasts, and had attended one of his events. He talked about studying at Cambridge and teaching at Oxford. That seemed pretty impressive and gave him a certain authority.

I was curious about his studies at Cambridge. I know that he had a MDiv from North America, but no further degrees and nothing from England. What were these studies?

What Ravi Zacharias had done was audit a course at Cambridge. There is nothing wrong with that. I would love to do that. But that is not how he was using that experience. While not going into detail about what he actually did, he allowed people to believe that he had a formal education at Cambridge. I know many people who assumed that.

And then there was his position at Oxford. He had an an honorary position at a school adjacent to Oxford. He did not teach at Oxford. Again, there is nothing wrong with that. What is wrong is using that experience to send a message that was not correct.

Surely RZIM knew that the claims were not accurate, especially since much of the leadership was his family? Why did they allow him to continue with false claims? Why not warn him to stop? Ultimately, the exalted image was helping the ministry.

Considering the Charges

As I said, at first I did not take the sexual charges against Ravi Zacharias seriously. But when I realized how deceptive he was in other areas of his ministry, creating an image that was not who he really was, I was more open.

Of course misusing an honorary doctorate or exaggerating other academic claims does not make one a sexual predator. What these things did do, however, is make me take the charges seriously and to be open to listening to the evidence.

What We Learn

I said that this is not really about Ravi Zacharias. The truth is that Ravi Zacharias is not all that unique, even if his fall was more unexpected and more painful for many.

Plenty of Christian leaders are trying to create a platform. They probably have good intentions. If they can get a greater audience, there are more people to share Jesus with. A noble goal.

Part of building a platform is demonstrating authority. I am interested in digital marketing, and this is a part of the game in every kind of organization or business. There is a reason why I have a link to my C.V. on this site.

None of this is wrong.

The problem is that there are temptations to mislead, exaggerate, or even outright lie in order to grow the platform. Think of examples of pastors having their church purchase high numbers of their book to get them on the New York Times Bestseller list.

All leaders, Christian or not, have a bank account of integrity and credibility. This gets built up from a small amount at the beginning. It gets spent when we make mistakes and even mis-speak.

The decisions we make throughout our ministry determine if that bank account is growing or decreasing. When we get low and face a major crisis, there is no overdraft.

I am not suggesting that a leader who has always built and demonstrated integrity could not be guilty of sexual abuse or some other crime. They can.

But most often, if we look closely enough, there were signs. It might include protection from the organization. It may be a ban on criticism of the leader. It could be anything.

The point is that a Ravi Zacharias-type fall will happen again (numerous have happened since). Any Christian leader could follow his example, even if it will attract less media attention.

Build integrity in the small things and don’t take the first small steps toward a bigger fall.