Christian Apologist Sexually Assaulted Several Women

[Paul of Tarsus]

The late Christian apologist Ravi Zacharias (died 19 May 2020 (aged 74)), has been accused of sexual misconduct by several women including his groping them, masturbating in front of them, and propositioning them. Wikipedia quoting Christianity Today says of the apologist's alleged misconduct:

Zacharias masturbated in front of one of the women more than 50 times, according to her recollection. He told her he was burdened by the demands of the ministry, and he needed this "therapy." He also asked her to have sex with him twice, she said, and requested explicit photos of her...

"He would touch my leg, which was kind of by his hand, but then he would run his hand up to the middle of my thighs and then to the private area," one woman said. Another woman recalled Zacharias touching her lower back. It seemed friendly, almost comforting. Then he moved his hand down and inside of her pants. Several other times, he moved his hand up her side and touched her breast.

These allegations are especially revealing considering that Zacharias often blamed society's ills on unbelief.

How are other Christian apologists responding to these revelations? Frank Turek, who worked with Zacharias at times, admits that Zacharias is guilty of the allegations but that Christianity is not to blame.



Is it true that we cannot blame Christian faith for these sad events, or is Christian faith responsible in some ways?"

[Miles]

Is it true that we cannot blame Christian faith for these sad events, or is Christian faith responsible in some ways?"

A person is shaped by all kinds of interactions in life, so while I doubt blame for his misbehavior could be fixed on any one aspect of it, his Christian faith can't be ruled out as a contributing factor.


.

[Purple Knight]

Is it true that we cannot blame Christian faith for these sad events, or is Christian faith responsible in some ways?

It's responsible just as all power structures are responsible. Christianity is extra-specially dangerous in this way because the wolves are attracted to the smell of so many fat edible sheep all clustered together who don't fight back as long as you have more authority in the church than they do. But it's not unique. Give people power and they sexualise it. They abuse their power, they grope or demand sex or rape or what have you. If you've ever had a job you've probably had to pass tests on how not to sexually harass people. This is because it's a problem fundamentally with people + power, not specifically religion. Though as I said, religion can especially attract it.

The only thing that can fix this is to 1) neuter people or 2) to live in a society where everyone has equal power. Option 2 would mean no more bosses, no more politicians, and no more religious figures. It's unworkable and insane, at least, from any perspective I can see things from now.

[otseng]

For reference, a thread was created on this several months ago - RZIM sexual misconduct scandal.

Is it true that we cannot blame Christian faith for these sad events, or is Christian faith responsible in some ways?"

Certainly not a great testimony, but Ravi Zacharias is not our Lord and Savior, Jesus is. So, no, cannot really blame the Christian faith for this.

The Christian faith recognizes that everyone is inherently capable of the vilest sins, even from one of the world's top Christian apologists. (This is discussed in Are people good or bad?). Thus, we all need God's mercy and salvation.

James 3:1 says, "Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness."

RZ has not been the only one that has fallen into sexual misconduct, but because of his position, he is though held to be more accountable.

[nobspeople]

[Replying to Paul of Tarsus in post #1]

Is it true that we cannot blame Christian faith for these sad events, or is Christian faith responsible in some ways?"

Without people there is no Christian faith. Or faith of any kind. So I don't think the faith, itself, is to blame, but the teachers, practitioners and members of said faith are to blame.
People need to have common sense. If their religion says it's OK to do XYZ (or says nothing either way about XYZ), but they know that XYZ isn't right to do, they should abstain from doing XYZ.
But people tend to hide behind faiths to promote bad and evil things.

[Paul of Tarsus]

Is it true that we cannot blame Christian faith for these sad events, or is Christian faith responsible in some ways?"

A person is shaped by all kinds of interactions in life, so while I doubt blame for his misbehavior could be fixed on any one aspect of it, his Christian faith can't be ruled out as a contributing factor.

Yes. If we rule out any contributing factor for Ravi's hurting people, then we do his victims a disservice. We need to root out any cause for his behavior and warn people about it. Who knows? If Ravi was an atheist, and his atheism caused him to harm people sexually, then I'd be the first to speak out against it. Christianity should not be privileged either.

I feel strongly about this issue because I was abused by Christians myself, and some of the abuse was sexual.

[Paul of Tarsus]

For reference, a thread was created on this several months ago - RZIM sexual misconduct scandal.

Is it true that we cannot blame Christian faith for these sad events, or is Christian faith responsible in some ways?"

Certainly not a great testimony, but Ravi Zacharias is not our Lord and Savior, Jesus is. So, no, cannot really blame the Christian faith for this.

I do hope you aren't denying the influence that Christianity had on Ravi. The Wikipedia article reports:

Zacharias warned the woman—a fellow believer—if she ever spoke out against him, she would be responsible for millions of souls lost when his reputation was damaged.

We can see here that Zacharias used or tried to use Christian faith to cover up his sexual abuse. I have personally known Christians who have used their beliefs to harm me. So like Ravi's victims, I know what it's like to be hurt that way. It's a truly terrible experience.

The Christian faith recognizes that everyone is inherently capable of the vilest sins, even from one of the world's top Christian apologists. (This is discussed in Are people good or bad?). Thus, we all need God's mercy and salvation.

I think you may have unearthed the problem right here. Christianity has a very negative view of human nature characterizing our natural sexual urges as evil and sinful. Ravi was a man who like most men wanted sex, but his Christian beliefs deemed those urges to be "adultery in his heart." Knowing that other Christians would not tolerate his looking at porn or strippers or something else that would be a harmless outlet for his lust, he went "under cover" to get his sexual gratification with women who should have been out of bounds for him sexually. It's much healthier for us to see sex as a healthy and normal part of our behavior and provide outlets for people to enjoy sex harmlessly.

RZ has not been the only one that has fallen into sexual misconduct, but because of his position, he is though held to be more accountable.

Of course, but as with any case of sexual misconduct we need to consider the circumstances and the potential causes of that misconduct. If we hide our heads in the sand, then the harm will go on. And I do hope you agree with me that we need to protect people from sexual abuse and all abuse, and we can perpetuate that abuse if we give a higher priority to what we'd rather believe.

[Paul of Tarsus]

Is it true that we cannot blame Christian faith for these sad events, or is Christian faith responsible in some ways?

It's responsible just as all power structures are responsible. Christianity is extra-specially dangerous in this way because the wolves are attracted to the smell of so many fat edible sheep all clustered together who don't fight back as long as you have more authority in the church than they do. But it's not unique. Give people power and they sexualise it. They abuse their power, they grope or demand sex or rape or what have you. If you've ever had a job you've probably had to pass tests on how not to sexually harass people. This is because it's a problem fundamentally with people + power, not specifically religion. Though as I said, religion can especially attract it.

The only thing that can fix this is to 1) neuter people or 2) to live in a society where everyone has equal power. Option 2 would mean no more bosses, no more politicians, and no more religious figures. It's unworkable and insane, at least, from any perspective I can see things from now.

Do you think that sexual abuse among the clergy might be a result of Christianity suppressing natural sexual urges? To do so seems like asking for trouble.

On the flip side of this issue, I've often wondered if these corrupt Christian leaders are closet atheists who know they can use Christian faith to take advantage of people financially and sexually. In addition to Ravi Zacharias we have Jimmy Swaggart from the 1980s who was one of the most prominent TV evangelists of that time. Swaggart was defrocked when he was caught with a prostitute in New Orleans. Some insiders have testified that Swaggart's whole ministry had little to do with Christianity and much to do with power and money. Jesus was just a means to that end.

[Tcg]

Is it true that we cannot blame Christian faith for these sad events, or is Christian faith responsible in some ways?"

That depends on what you mean by "Christian faith." If this refers to the faith some Christians have, probably not. However, the subcultures that form around certain branches of Christianity are most certainly responsible. These subcultures often include an effort to hide or cover up the abuse perpetrated by those seen as holy, special, chosen by God, or even as more important than the average Christian. Oh, and by the way, this isn't an issue of a lone individual abusing their power due to their fallen nature, but rather a conspiracy by many to hide the reality of what takes place in some Christian groups:

Jehovah's Witnesses' handling of child sex abuse

Cover-up allegations

In some cases, members of Jehovah's Witnesses have been prevented or deterred from reporting child molestation to civil authorities.[55][56] Particularly since around 2000, the Jehovah's Witnesses organization has been accused of covering up cases of child molestation committed by its members. In March 2001, Christianity Today printed an article reporting allegations that Jehovah's Witnesses' policies made reporting sexual abuse difficult for members, and did not conform to typical treatment of such cases. The article also included a response by representatives of Jehovah's Witnesses.[57] The Australian Royal Commission heard that an elder discouraged an abuse victim from going to the Commission by saying, "Do you really want to drag Jehovah's name through the mud?"[9] In Ireland in 2016, two Jehovah's Witness elders were removed from their positions as punishment for reporting a child molester to the police after the London Branch legal department told them not to.[58]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jehovah%2 ... llegations

Newly leaked letter details allegations that Southern Baptist leaders mishandled sex abuse claims

Moore’s letter took direct aim at several members of the SBC’s Executive Committee, the group based in Nashville that runs the business of the convention and handles its finances. He described the “spiritual and psychological abuse of sexual abuse survivors by the Executive Committee itself,” as well as “a pattern of attempted intimidation of those who speak on such matters.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/religion ... legations/

Catholic Priests Abused 1,000 Children in Pennsylvania, Report Says

Bishops and other leaders of the Roman Catholic Church in Pennsylvania covered up child sexual abuse by more than 300 priests over a period of 70 years, persuading victims not to report the abuse and law enforcement not to investigate it, according to a searing report issued by a grand jury on Tuesday.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/14/us/c ... vania.html

This problem is clearly not limited to just one dude who abused women based on his special position as one of God's chosen servants, but rather a problem that is both rampant and encouraged due to its cover up within the ranks of Christian leaders.


Tcg

[JehovahsWitness]

Is it true that we cannot blame Christian faith for these sad events, or is Christian faith responsible in some ways?"

Why would one blame Christianity for doing something that violates the tenets of Christanity? Is this not like blaming soccer for fouls? Granted if there was no match there would be no fouls in the match, but there would also be no match!

FOUL

1.
(in sport) an unfair or invalid stroke or piece of play, especially one involving interference with an opponent.

Christianity neither mandates nor prescribes sexual immorality or sexually deviant and abusive behavious, indeed it prohibits such things, so it cannot be blamed for them.


JEHOVAH'S WITNESS