that its
founder had engaged in
sexual misconduct over the course of many years and
promised further information when the investigation into
the matter was complete. Late Thursday afternoon, RZIM
released the full report as they had received it, along with an
extended, contrite statement of apology.
Ravi was a significant personal influence and a great friend
of the Colson Center. When Ravi died in May of last year, we
honored him. At the time, both Ravi and RZIM leadership
claimed that allegations of an inappropriate relationship
had been dismissed and disproven after a thorough investigation.
We trusted the information provided to us. We were wrong. I
both believed and shared excuses that explained Ravi’s behavior.
By doing that, I was wrong and misled others. To be clear, no one
at the Colson Center had any sense just how much would be
revealed in this final report. But I wish I had not been so quick
to trust what I wanted to be true.
There is no sugar-coating, excusing, or explaining away Ravi’s
behavior. It was sinful. It was wicked. And, as this report made
crystal clear, it was duplicitous. Reading through it, I couldn’t
shake the words I heard time and time again from Chuck
Colson: “There is no limit to the human capacity for
self-rationalization.”
That’s why Proverbs uses the word “folly” to describe sin.
As a mentor of mine used to say, sin makes us dumb. Buried
in sin, we become fools, actually convincing ourselves that,
for the first time in human history, we will be the ones to get
away with it.
As sin takes us deeper than we ever imagined possible, others
are dragged along into our self-deception. Sin always leaves
other victims, human beings made in the image of God and for
whom Christ died. The number of women Ravi abused, and the
degree to which he deceived them, is breath-taking. RZIM has
committed to make restitution and care for these women. I hope
and pray they will. And there are other victims to remember:
family members, friends, and the many disillusioned others
around the world.
Recently, a BreakPoint listener emailed us asking how we should
respond to cases like this, when a Christian leader or teacher is
caught in sexual misconduct. Is it possible to separate the good
that they’ve done and the truth they’ve taught, the person and
their sin? What about in cases such as this, when the perpetrator
is gone and has no further opportunity to acknowledge his sins,
repent, and seek forgiveness?
We need not deny that Ravi’s teaching helped many Christians
make sense of the Faith, deal with their doubts, and engage
other people with the Gospel, in order to acknowledge the
depth of his depraved behavior. As my colleague Shane Morris
pointed out a few weeks ago, no one is “made of finer clay”
than anyone else. As St. Paul wrote, “There is none righteous,
no not one.”
It’s also important to remember, to borrow a phrase popularized
by Christian educator Arthur Holmes, “all truth is God’s truth.”
In other words, if Ravi Zacharias ever said anything true in his
life, and of course he did, he was not its source but only its
medium. Any truth – all truth – comes ultimately from God,
outside of time or place or context. Even if delivered by the
most sinful voices, truth is as eternal and unchanging as God Himself.
A postmodern worldview, in contrast, relativizes truth to cultural
settings or individuals. In other words, truth is not absolute. But,
if truth is dependent on the shifting sands of attitudes, beliefs,
perceptions of a culture or an individual, anything we build on
it must collapse when any of those things do.
Of course, knowing that doesn’t make what’s happened any
less painful, disorienting, or consequential, especially for
all those women involved. Having talent, even amazing talent,
to communicate does not give one a divine right or inherent
privilege (and it is an incredible privilege) to have or to keep a
public platform. Scripture is clear: teachers are stewards of the
truth, and therefore held to a higher standard.
This is not the same thing as cancel culture, which is so popular
in our time. Cancel culture cancels people because of their
different beliefs. This is about u; this is about
reprehensible behaviour that deeply harmed other people.
Finally, let this be a reminder to not trust ourselves, but only
God and His Spirit. Pray for your pastor, church leaders, spouse,
and whomever else God has put in your life. We need His protection
from the real and ever-present temptations, as well as from our
own capacity to deceive ourselves and then rationalize our behaviour.
Image Sourced from Instagram. John Stonestreet.
