I have waited a while to comment here, not because I didn’t
have thoughts when the information about Ravi Zacharias came out, but because
time tends to allow for more reasoned reflection. Initial disclaimer: Nothing I offer in this
post is a defense of what Ravi Zacharias did.
Ravi Zacharias was a self-described Christian philosopher
and apologist. His speaking engagements covered the world. He wrote numerous
books. Both his speaking and writing helped many recognize their faith could be
reasonable and rational. I certainly enjoyed
listening to his radio show, talks on YouTube, and reading several of his
books.
Yet, recent revelations indicate Ravi was living a double
life. He was apparently having sexual encounters of various kinds with women
who were not his wife. He had numerous
explicit photographs on his phone(s) of women in various stages of undress. His
phone(s) contained text messages that no Christian man should have created or
received.
Never mind how this could be, as any Christian should
already know the answer: SIN. We all have proclivities and we all know where
our weak spots are. But we sure love to see someone like Ravi fall. Why?
Because we all know that the danger of sin isn’t in its
danger, it’s in its desirability. There
was an old television commercial trying to get people to stay away from drugs
that said something like the following: no kid ever says they’re going to grow
up to be a heroin addict. While true, it
avoids the underlying issue: people use drugs, certainly at least initially,
because they like the way it makes them feel.
No Christian seeks out sin because it’s sin; no, rather, Christians this
side of heaven seek out sin because they like it. In Ravi’s case he apparently
craved sexual gratification.
Is it okay that Ravi did the things he did? Of course not.
He violated the commandments against looking at women lustfully and against
committing adultery. No Christian can justify his conduct under any
circumstances.
What troubles me, however, is that the women who engaged in
these behaviors with Ravi are given a pass, even by Christians. The reporting on Ravi’s conduct indicates
that almost all [and maybe all] of his sexual encounters were voluntary – apparently
some of the women he approached told him no and he accepted their response. One
woman says he raped her. That may well be true and, if true, would indicate
depravity of a heightened order. Given the reporting thus far, the rape
allegation seems strained, especially given that Ravi was apparently willing to
accept no as an answer to his sexual requests from others.
More importantly, however, we have a situation in which the
women are uniformly portrayed as victims. Yet, we know many of them actively
and willingly performed sexual favors for him, perhaps for money, perhaps in
exchange for promises of some sort (kept or unkept we don’t know). This is most
certainly not victimization. To treat adult women as if they have no volition
whatsoever smacks of the very kind of treatment feminists, including the
evangelical variety, deplore.
Again, and I can’t say this enough, I’m NOT defending
Ravi’s actions.
But, and yes, there is a but, when will we stop pretending
that women are utterly virtuous and without sin and volition? From what I read,
many of the women involved performed sexual favors in exchange for money. If
that is the case, are you seriously willing to accept the pathetically unlikely
view that Ravi was the sole patron who did this? If so, you are living in a
world where unicorns and fairies constantly dot the landscape. Guess what?
Women who will perform sexual favors for money have a name: prostitutes.
I understand what I am writing doesn’t fit within the spirit
of this age. Whenever someone does what
Ravi did we love to immediately pile on, often viciously. Ironically, however, at least for Christians,
the this piling on smacks of the very kind of holier-than-thou attitude all of
us routinely condemn. (Yes, I get the irony that arises in writing these
words).
When will we accept that conforming ourselves to Christ is a
lifelong task, not a momentary obtaining of some sort of salvific salve that
immediately heals all wounds and fixes whatever ails us? Nothing in Scripture tells us once we’re
saved we suddenly become perfect and never sin again. Quite the contrary, again and again we’re
told to work on ourselves – we have a responsibility to engage in spiritual
disciplines designed for our good and God’s glory. Let us seek out Christ-likeness day by day,
hour by hour, minute by minute.
Ravi Zacharias failed miserably in conforming himself to
Christ. I suspect (knowing my own
propensity for intellectualizing things) that part of his problem was
Christianity was more of an intellectual problem for him to solve than it was
an all-encompassing means of living his life.
As a consequence, he likely neglected his responsibility to engage in
spiritual disciplines as effectively as he should have and no doubt could
have. Perhaps it was, in part, ego,
given his notoriety. Perhaps Ravi
Zacharias ought to have had, but did not have, someone close who had permission
to throw cold water on the hot ego from time to time?
What about church attendance? As a bible teacher for roughly 30 years, I
have told people that if they will just read their bible regularly, pray
regularly, and attend church regularly, they’ve gone a long way towards
managing the Christian life well. One
has to conclude Ravi Zacharias wasn’t attending church regularly as he wasn’t
at home regularly.
One might then reasonably ask: did he truly read his Bible
and pray as often as he should have? Why
weren’t there brothers and sisters prompting him and asking him these
questions?
Ravi sinned and he sinned in serious ways. So did many of the women with whom he engaged in his activities. This isn’t a man vs. woman thing. This is a “but for the grace of God there go I” thing. Are we not all sinners? There are only two kinds of people, really: sinners who’ve been saved by the grace of God (Eph. 2:8-9) and sinners who have not been saved by the grace of God. Maybe it’s time we all acknowledged this reality. Rather than unceremoniously cancelling Ravi Zacharias, maybe it’s time we all gave ourselves a good look in the mirror. I will agree it starts with me.
