The Ravi Zacharias scandal and....his books on my shelves.

[mindlight]

For those of you who may not have heard, Ravi Zacharias was a well-known Christian Evangelical apologist who passed away several months ago. Over the years I've heard Ravi on the radio maybe a dozen times, defending the Christian faith and firmly refuting non-believers. And while he wasn't my favorite apologist nor one who was central to the formation of my own Christian beliefs, I have bought a few books here and there that bear his name.

Now, with the allegations that have come to light after Ravi's death (as briefly reviewed in the apologetics video below from Christian youtuber, Whaddo You Meme??) I have to ask: What should I do with the 4 or 5 Christian apologetics books by Ravi Zacharias that sit on my shelf? Should I toss them? What would you do with them? And what should we as Christians learn from this scandal?

Youtuber: Whaddo You Meme?? - Date Video Posted: Dec 23, 2020, Video length: 6 minutes, 7 seconds.

Surprise, surprise Zacharias was human. The accusations of sexual misconduct have been substantiated but compared to King Davids murder and adultery or Solomon's idolatry and prolific sexual activity with 300 concubines and 800 wives seem rather tame. These guys still made it into the bible with Psalms and teaching. I actually met Zacharias and have one of his books which was helpful. No doubt the guy was saved. Now that he is gone, no sense in speaking ill of the dead, his legacy is the positive fruit of his life.

 

[Jamsie]

Now, back to the OP. Do you think I should keep his books ... or chuck them instead?

Simply viewing this all from a quite objective perspective, does his indiscretion(s) negate what truth there is in his writing? Having seen your posts I'm sure you have read books (philosophy) from many non-Christians, true? Was Aquinas or others wrong to give reason and thought to Aristotle, Plato, etc.? Zacharias' "Can Man live without God" was a starting point in my interest in apologetics, I'm thankful for that, though I grew to set him aside as I believe there are many much more worthwhile in the apologetic arena...

 

[JohnDB]

Simply viewing this all from a quite objective perspective, does his indiscretion(s) negate what truth there is in his writing? Having seen your posts I'm sure you have read books (philosophy) from many non-Christians, true? Was Aquinas or others wrong to give reason and thought to Aristotle, Plato, etc.? Zacharias' "Can Man live without God" was a starting point in my interest in apologetics, I'm thankful for that, though I grew to set him aside as I believe there are many much more worthwhile in the apologetic arena...

If it was just one or two indiscretions we could probably see our way past it.

Apparently it wasn't isolated events but ongoing and regular.
And he was sneaky about it all. Tried to be careful about making sure it was he said/she said every time.

Billy Graham had hotel room bed checkers... because a woman hid naked under the bed and thought that he would be pleased when she came out.

Ravi would have...Billy wasn't.

And that's the standard I go by.

 

[Jamsie]

If it was just one or two indiscretions we could probably see our way past it.

Apparently it wasn't isolated events but ongoing and regular.
And he was sneaky about it all. Tried to be careful about making sure it was he said/she said every time.

Billy Graham had hotel room bed checkers... because a woman hid naked under the bed and thought that he would be pleased when she came out.

Ravi would have...Billy wasn't.

And that's the standard I go by.

You are talking about his indiscretions, I am not minimizing them but referring to his books. Do you believe that his behavior renders all his writings moot?

 

[JohnDB]

You are talking about his indiscretions, I am not minimizing them but referring to his books. Do you believe that his behavior renders all his writings moot?

I've said before that he didn't write "his" books. But it probably is back a few pages.

I don't think that showing off his books on your bookshelf is appropriate. Maybe give them a new jacket to hide Ravi's name.

You really don't want to be seen as endorsing Ravi...

I actually never really liked the guy. Sure he said things that I enjoyed hearing...but that always troubles me. I've seen him be a press hound...a spotlight taker. Make mountains out of molehills of his actions.
And that's when he was in Canada on AM radio and I lived in Idaho and could hear him at night.

It's that whole scratching of my itching ears thing that always troubles me.

 

[Jamsie]

I've said before that he didn't write "his" books. But it probably is back a few pages.

Do you know for a fact that he didn't write "his" books? Most of what I've read is quite harmonious with the rhetorical nuances of his lectures and such. further, that I have on my shelves a wide range books by Atheists, Christians, and such does not require that I "endorse" the views of each and every author.

Through his various materials, books, and such do you think that if through him people were led to Jesus Christ that they should "try again"?

 

[JohnDB]

Do you know for a fact that he didn't write "his" books? Most of what I've read is quite harmonious with the rhetorical nuances of his lectures and such.

Yes I do...it's called occam's razor.

What you think that from a few squibs of rhetoric he wrote the whole book?

I have gone into detail about what it takes to actually write and research a book. The timeline for him and other of Christiandom's high profile personalities doesn't work out.

Ghost writers do it better than a personality can or ever will. They can mimic a few well re-used quips and insert them and you, as an end user, won't ever be the wiser. It's what they get paid to do. It's their area of expertise.
Books aren't as easy to knock out as you think. It takes someone a year of full time work to write one of any real merit. Researched and footnoted? At least two years if they are fast.
Editing and revisions for a decent sized work is usually 4 months... sometimes 3 if everything is expedited.
Cover artwork and inside flap and then endorsements...printing and distributions negotiated...it's not that easy to accomplish.

The there's the whole time factor. When you are a personality you have tons of PR to manage. Speaking engagements don't just get put together magically. And your manager, agent, publicist, Social Media/News manager and key grip all need your time...as well as your fans.

It takes a lot of work and people to make a personality. Time to actually craft and write a book? You will be doing good to read it before you sell it.

 

[2PhiloVoid]

Not an issue, since Ravi is deceased and therefore no longer any kind of church church leader. His ministry was already over.

So, is Paul or Peter's [i.e. the Apostles] ministry over, too? (I'm just throwing that out there as an aside...)

How about Judas' legacy? Is that over too?

 

[2PhiloVoid]

I think most people aren't understanding that books on our own shelves of an apologetic nature are often loaned and/or recommended to friends and family in need of reading them too... and it is those people and not necessarily Christians who will be the main evaluators - and they do judge books by their covers and have little to no appreciation of the appearance of hypocrisy in speakers.

That is why the Christian should make our calling and election sure by living as Christ did, not for God, to earn our salvation (God knows we can't), but for those our lives touch... so they can see the beauty of a living Christianity and desire to hear more about our Lord and our faith.

That's my thoughts anyway.

I couln't agree more, sister Hazelelponi! In my case, there's also the consideration that my young adult son has told me this past year that he's having trouble belieiving in the truth of Christianity. So, a book by Ravi will now likely not be one that I can recommend to him...from my bookshelf. I'd hate to hand it too him since he doesn't know who Ravi is and my son comes back to say to me, "....uh, but Dad! This guy was caught doing some egregious things, un-Christian things! How is the truth he talked about true in his mind and life? Why would you offer me this book, Dad?"

Yeah, it's kind of difficult to explain all of this kind of spiritual snafu to someone who's still trying to make heads or tails out of what Christianity is "supposed to be and what it's supposed to do for anyone." [Fortunately, I have other Christian Apologetics and Christian Philosophy books I can present to him instead, if needed.]

Anyway, thank you for your comments in this thread!

 

[aiki]

You know, some of the contributors to the Bible were less than stellar people. King David comes immediately to mind. How many people have been comforted and encouraged by the Psalms of David, an adulterer and murderer? The apostle Paul was going about killing Christians before God got hold of him. How many believers, though, have discovered the deep, meaty truths of spiritual living through Paul's many letters to the Early Church? Peter outright denied Christ - three times - and yet, two of his letters are part of the canon of the NT. Anyway, we all know no fellow believer has it all together perfectly. Be it Billy Graham, or John MacArthur, or the Pope, no human has arrived spiritually, living out a life of utter holy perfection. We all learn from other fallible - and sometimes failing - human beings and its a wise person who never forgets that this is so.

One of the problems that can arise from this reality, though, is what my wife calls the "crabs in a pot" effect. Apparently, if a collection of crabs in a pot see one of their fellows about to escape the pot, they will grab hold of the nearly-free crab and pull it back into the pot. Christians do this, too, in regards to spiritual living. Many believers live pretty mediocre, even significantly compromised, spiritual lives. They have settled into a cycle of moral and spiritual failure that they have come to think is normal Christian living. Most of the Christians around them are in the same "pot," apathetic and ritualistic, and cold spiritually. And so, when one of their number begins to walk deeply and well with God, longing after Him fiercely, pursuing holiness and truth carefully, living in humble, joyful, loving submission to their Heavenly Father, and the resulting life of godly wisdom, maturity, and spiritual power develops, the spiritually-mediocre Christians around this shining believer work to return him/her to the "pot" of their spiritual apathy and compromise.

Rather than aspiring to shine brightly for Christ, the "crabs" of spiritual failure deny that anyone could actually, truly move beyond their own low level of spirituality. There is no real spiritual growth, they say, no genuine spiritual transformation, just pious pretense hiding the same compromise under which they, the "crabs" of spiritual apathy, constantly labor. Wait long enough, get close enough, and the ugly, unvarnished truth of the supposedly "mature" believer will out.

This thinking, of course, ensures a perennially weak and immature Church.

The "crabs" of spiritual juvenility will use Ravi's failure as an example of how believers, no matter how spiritually mature they might appear, are all, at their core, just as wretched and compromised spiritually as they are. By this means, they will pull down into the "pot" of their own near-constant spiritual failure any who appear to have escaped it, insulating themselves against any provocation to live above their current spiritual state, to venture from the pot themselves.

Titus 1:15-16
15 To the pure, all things are pure; but to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their mind and their conscience are defiled.
16 They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient and worthless for any good deed.

 

[2PhiloVoid]

You know, some of the contributors to the Bible were less than stellar people. King David comes immediately to mind. How many people have been comforted and encouraged by the Psalms of David, an adulterer and murderer? The apostle Paul was going about killing Christians before God got hold of him. How many believers, though, have discovered the deep, meaty truths of spiritual living through Paul's many letters to the Early Church? Peter outright denied Christ - three times - and yet, two of his letters are part of the canon of the NT. Anyway, we all know no fellow believer has it all together perfectly. Be it Billy Graham, or John MacArthur, or the Pope, no human has arrived spiritually, living out a life of utter holy perfection. We all learn from other fallible - and sometimes failing - human beings and its a wise person who never forgets that this is so.

One of the problems that can arise from this reality, though, is what my wife calls the "crabs in a pot" effect. Apparently, if a collection of crabs in a pot see one of their fellows about to escape the pot, they will grab hold of the nearly-free crab and pull it back into the pot. Christians do this, too, in regards to spiritual living. Many believers live pretty mediocre, even significantly compromised, spiritual lives. They have settled into a cycle of moral and spiritual failure that they have come to think is normal Christian living. Most of the Christians around them are in the same "pot," apathetic and ritualistic, and cold spiritually. And so, when one of their number begins to walk deeply and well with God, longing after Him fiercely, pursuing holiness and truth carefully, living in humble, joyful, loving submission to their Heavenly Father, and the resulting life of godly wisdom, maturity, and spiritual power develops, the spiritually-mediocre Christians around this shining believer work to return him/her to the "pot" of their spiritual apathy and compromise.

Rather than aspiring to shine brightly for Christ, the "crabs" of spiritual failure deny that anyone could actually, truly move beyond their own low level of spirituality. There is no real spiritual growth, they say, no genuine spiritual transformation, just pious pretense hiding the same compromise under which they, the "crabs" of spiritual apathy, constantly labor. Wait long enough, get close enough, and the ugly, unvarnished truth of the supposedly "mature" believer will out.

This thinking, of course, ensures a perennially weak and immature Church.

The "crabs" of spiritual juvenility will use Ravi's failure as an example of how believers, no matter how spiritually mature they might appear, are all, at their core, just as wretched and compromised spiritually as they are. By this means, they will pull down into the "pot" of their own near-constant spiritual failure any who appear to have escaped it, insulating themselves against any provocation to live above their current spiritual state, to venture from the pot themselves.

Titus 1:15-16
15 To the pure, all things are pure; but to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their mind and their conscience are defiled.
16 They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient and worthless for any good deed.

So, what are you attempting to imply here?

 

[2PhiloVoid]

See, here's the one thing I'd expect here. I'd expect that Christians would look at this real life issue and say something like, "Oh my goodness! That's awful! How tragic for Ravi! His family and the employees of his former ministry will need prayer and compassion"

I don't expect fellow Christians to look at this current issue and say, "Well, y'know.....everyone's a sinner. Don't be a hypocrite by attempting to spot a speck in someone else's eye! Shame on you! Better just to sweep it all under the rug and let immoral bygones be bygones, even among those who are prominent Christian leaders in high-dollar, influential ministries. No problem!"

Yeah, right! We need to be able to do better than that in our social and spiritual evaluations, even in the recognition of our own, often serious imperfectons before the feet of Christ.

 

[SoldierOfTheKing]

So, is Paul or Peter's [i.e. the Apostles] ministry over, too?

Yes. I’m not aware of anything they’ve put out recently...

 

[aiki]

So, what are you attempting to imply here?

Hmmm. I'm not trying to imply anything. This was more of a "If the shoe fits, wear it" sort of thing. Actually, it's a bit of a rant. Anyway, if what I wrote doesn't "fit" you, just ignore it.

 

[2PhiloVoid]

Hmmm. I'm not trying to imply anything. This was more of a "If the shoe fits, wear it" sort of thing. Actually, it's a bit of a rant. Anyway, if what I wrote doesn't "fit" you, just ignore it.

Well, thanks for the clarification. I will keep what you said in mind since it's not my habit to blithely ignore what any of my fellow Christians say, even if they disagree with me to some extent.

Thanks for the comments!

 

[aiki]

Just to be clear: Christians ought to call each other out on their crummy conduct. Absolutely. The prophet Nathan pulled no punches with King David's wickedness; God knocked Paul on his can, blinding him, in order to halt his persecution of the Church; Jesus spoke very directly to Peter about his betrayal. Read 1 Corinthians 5. And so on.

My concern is that Christians sometimes use the failings of other believers as justification for their own, even going so far as to assert that real spiritual growth is impossible. The thinking runs something like: If Ravi has turned out to be a spiritual fraud, then every Christian leader is likely one, too. Ravi proves spiritual maturity is an illusion.

This response to Ravi's failure is just as bad as turning a blind eye to his sin, it seems to me. This was all I was wanting to point out.

 

[Carl Emerson]

I still think that when one finger points forward, three point back.

The fall of such a teacher is the failing of the Body of Christ.

We should demand that checks and balances be in place to protect those who become prominent.

He would have been prone to all sorts of attacks - there but for the Grace of God go I...

The lack of support and accountability sets up the prominent for failure.

That is our failing as well - sadness and confession all round I say...

 

[CharvelGuy]

Terribly sad and disappointing - I have admired his teachings for a long time and have a number of his books although I think the guy in the video did post a reasonable and balanced analysis that brought some balance to this.

I have a highly intellectual friend (a consultant on the CERN project and also the lead scientist on the Fukishima disaster) that is highly resistant to Christianity. Ravi's level of reasoning was something that I thought I could send to her, but now sadly a simple google search and the response will be "typical - another hypocrite and another reason why I don't need to listen to anyone that talks about Jesus".

My wife put it better than I did I think - "It's not so much his legacy that has suffered but the appeal of Christ".

 

[Jamsie]

Yes I do...it's called occam's razor.

Having been in publishing for some 25 years I do understand the role of "ghost" writers, and also of researchers. As you know in most cases G-writers are brought in for memoirs, biographies, continuations, "polishing", etc. Such writers are also used in transcription and various other levels of involvement. So the point being unless one knows exactly the processes employed it would be difficult to simply (parsimony) state emphatically that he didn't write the books! We might agree to a certain extent however, in the overall I might question to what extent a book is not first the intent of the author.

Back to the OP I am still of the opinion that though Zacharias has been found "tarnished" some of his work is still a worthwhile read - in spite of indiscretions/processes of writing. As I noted I read CMLWG and maybe one other before I moved on ... at least for me it was a starting point!

 

[Jamsie]

And what should we as Christians learn from this scandal?

Hopefully this is not too much of an aside but Zacharias is neither the first nor the last. So many Christian "leaders" over the years, and recently the whole Falwell debacle, have weaponized anti-Christian sentiment. I would only suggest that Christianity is always under the watchful eye of non-believers as our current political climate demonstrates.

I still think what few books of his I've read were inspiring, though I quickly found apologists and philosophers more substantive. Also, I would qualify the book were I to lend it out, but my shelves are filled with a wide array of thought...Christian and non-Christian.