The unraveling of Ravi Zacharias
Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash
Since the Ravi Zacharias abuse story broke, I’ve had several people reach out asking for my thoughts.
I’m an Exvangelical who now simply identifies as a Christian. A majority of my Christian friends are now Exvangelicals as well. Over the past several years, I’ve been a part of more private conversations concerning the disparities between Evangelical culture and the teachings of Jesus than I can count.
In 2020, I started taking some of those conversations public here on Medium after I realized my personal experiences and conversations with others could help Christians navigate the many contradictions found in Evangelical culture, contradictions that have only skyrocketed during the Trump years.
I wasn’t exactly prepared to answer questions about the extensive and disturbing report that showed the scope of Zacharias’ sexual abuse of women. I don’t keep up with his namesake organization Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM). The Washington Post has a summary of the report’s findings that is telling:
“Ravi Zacharias, a towering Indian American evangelist who helped legions worldwide believe in Christianity through a ministry focused on open questioning and truth-seeking, led a double life, pressuring multiple massage therapists for sexual attention — including women who accused him of sexual aggression and one who accused him of rape, according to an independent report released Thursday.
Multiple witnesses in the report, none of whom were named, described Zacharias as using a familiar pattern of asking about their family history, financial and spiritual situations, and then initiating sexual contact.”
Evangelical culture is based on a system of broken and corrupt patriarchy
As shocking as what Ravi Zacharias did is, we should not be surprised. In white evangelical culture, a corrupted version of patriarchy is often placed in sky-high importance above the greatest commandment of Jesus: loving God and your neighbor (Matthew 22:34–40).
Simply put: white evangelical culture is mostly ruled over by older white men, with a smaller number of male minorities in the ranks of the elite. And there is often little to no accountability for this elite. The case of Ravi Zacharias is a textbook example of this reality.
Far too often, white evangelical pastors and elders choose to protect their own power and the power of other male leaders (the patriarchy) over the safety and well-being of their own congregants, supporters, the faith they claim to love, and others who may be outside of their churches.
Insular leadership like this paves the way to a culture of arrogance and an us vs. them mentality. Those with legitimate concerns or evidence of abuse are often victimized, ignored, and gaslighted by the leaders who are supposed to protect and empower them. As the years go by and as leaders see they won’t be held accountable by their peers, they become more arrogant and increasingly willing to engage in more destructive behavior, especially if it benefits them personally.
The damaging results are everywhere in white American evangelicalism today. There are entire websites dedicated to sharing egregious examples of sexual abuse by Evangelical leaders. There have been many high-profile abuse cases eerily similar to Ravi Zacharias. The abuse extends well beyond sexual crimes too. White evangelical culture is rife with verbal and psychological abuse, and other forms of physical abuse occur.
But the damage is also seen in the more mundane, day-to-day experience of life in white evangelical culture. For example, many decades-old churches struggle to communicate effectively in the modern world, because the patriarchy doesn't allow younger generations to enter leadership roles, much less update communication methods to the needs of the day that they understand well. This cripples their own churches, but the patriarchy is often more interested in preventing any and all change, out of fear that small changes will lead up to bigger ones that threaten their own power.
Simply put, patriarchy in white evangelical culture is not about leadership. It is about control. I personally know men and women who have had their faith and lives brutally upended by male church leaders who were drunk on their own power. I share in having some of their experiences. As I’ve written about before, the term exvangelical exists for a reason.
This is why we should be shocked, but not surprised, at the uncovering of this behavior, nor should we be surprised that widespread efforts were made to protect Ravi Zacharias from criticism as stories of abuse started popping up years ago. The idolatrous worship of patriarchy in Evangelical culture is par for the course. And that’s how Zacharias got away with his criminal behavior, destroying who knows how many lives along the way.
David French has published an extremely detailed piece that helps provide more context for how RZIM — the organization Zacharias led — failed to stop, punish, and prevent this abusive behavior. His account is a refreshingly honest one that is rare in evangelical culture.
White evangelical leaders are already expressing sadness at the downfall of a great man and one of our own. Yes, many have also expressed alarm at the Zacharias revelations. Some have even expressed support for the women he abused. Many also claim they are keeping his books and admire his life’s work. For many in the white evangelical patriarchy, the ends ultimately justify the means, even though the ends are now being ripped to shreds too.
Closing Thoughts
David French ends his piece with some common sense advice that white evangelical leaders would do well to heed. Conflicts of interest, the lack of robust investigations, and opaque leadership just can’t continue. Non-disclosure agreements are poison. Trusting friendships over evidence is wrong. The cult of evangelical celebrity is a massive liability to the American Church and needs to be done away with. Most importantly though, French writes:
“The goal of any organization facing claims of abuse should be discerning truth, not discrediting accusers. All accusers should be treated immediately — publicly and privately — with dignity and respect.”
French is correct in all of these points, though I doubt many white evangelical leaders will take his suggestions seriously in the long run. The only thing I would add to his list of suggestions is that patriarchy is a broken cultural relic that is destroying lives, the faith of believers with less power, and ultimately the American Church. It can’t be fixed because of the nature of what it is.
Patriarchy needs to be abolished.
I’m currently reading Kristin Kobes Du Mez’s book Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation. It’s a well-researched and beautifully-written historical account of American Evangelicalism. Du Mez covers quite a bit of ground, but a recurring theme in her research is how white evangelical leaders up and down the chain of command have spent decades fortifying the patriarchy for political, social, and personal gain, often doing so in the name of Jesus, even though many of their actions were grossly anti-Gospel. Mixed in along the way were toxic versions of masculinity, rank nationalism, and militarized worldviews glorifying violence.
We are not living in the aftermath of these realities. They are still very much among us. As Du Mez correctly points out in her writings, white evangelical support for Donald Trump was not the great shock many made it out to be. Instead, it is the logical conclusion of decades of worshipping broken and corrupted patriarchy, the white evangelical addiction to flashy celebrities, and more. And if most white evangelicals can support a man like Donald Trump, it isn’t a stretch to understand why there is so much abuse in white evangelical culture, especially when the leaders creating the conditions for abuse to be committed consider their role in the institution of patriarchy as righteous as Jesus himself.
One can easily imagine that RZIM’s colossal failures will lend to the debate over the role of patriarchy in American society. Sadly, within white evangelical culture, this debate will continue to be performative and tightly controlled by the patriarchy itself, so that any victories are only symbolic and nothing of substance changes.
This will take on many familiar forms that vary from congregation to congregation and denomination to denomination. Scripture will be used to justify the continued existence of the patriarchy, and any good-faith questions with regards to the culture of the time certain passages were written in will be scoffed at as absurd suggestions. Pastors and elders will sometimes acknowledge problems brought on by the existence of patriarchy, but shrug their shoulders at potential solutions, half the time not even realizing they have weaponized the powerful tool that is listening. And yes, verbal abuse will sometimes be wielded to strike down legitimate challenges to the patriarchy, even when it comes to the most mundane of practical challenges in a given congregation.
Diversifying leadership in white American evangelicalism is the only real solution here. It won’t stop all instances of abuse, but having women, younger generations, and people who aren’t white in more leadership roles can significantly reduce destructive behavior like this over time.
When those who are most frequently abused are finally well-represented throughout leadership, the consequences for abuse go up and the incentives for such behavior gradually begin to weaken.
If you genuinely believe making space for a more diverse group of people in leadership threatens the future of the Church or is reason to call into question someone’s faith in and love for Jesus, then the version of God you have made for yourself is very small indeed.
I explore faith and American church culture from Memphis, TN. Never miss an article by signing up for my free newsletter or becoming a member. You can also subscribe to my podcast.
