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Prominent evangelical leader Ravi Zacharias was involved in sexual misconduct, reports his ministry
Ravi Zacharias, a prominent evangelical Christian leader and author who died of cancer last May at 74, led a double life of forced sexual gratification for massage therapists, his organization Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM) said on Thursday. RZIM released an independent report from the Atlanta law firm Miller & Martin detailing Zacharias’ transgressions, including sexual misconduct and allegations of rape by more than a dozen massage therapists and the discovery of nearly 200 photos of young women on their phones , some of them naked selfies. The RZIM board, led by Zacarias’s daughter, said she was “shocked and hurt by Ravi’s actions” and apologized to the victims: “Words don’t come close to expressing the sadness we feel for what you’ve been through or the gratitude we feel for the bravery with which you responded. “RZIM denied any sexual misconduct by its founder last fall, and Zacarias sued an accuser for extortion before he died. Most of the women interviewed by Miller & Martin said that during massages, Zacarias grabbed her breasts or genitals and asked for sexual gratification. Researchers found more than 200 massage therapists listed on their phones, many of them in Asia. He spent months in a couple of apartments he owned in Bangkok, and investigators found 2016 texts showing that Zacarias “spent his days writing and his nights getting massages” there. The woman who accused Zacarias of rape said that after he “arranged for the ministry to provide him with financial support, he demanded sex from her”, then “made her pray with him to thank God for the ‘opportunity’ they both received”. The woman told investigators that Zacharias “called her his ‘reward’ for living a life of service to God” and “said that he warned her never to speak out against him or she would be responsible for the ‘millions of souls’ whose salvation would be lost if his reputation were damaged. “Zacharias, born in India and raised in Canada, first gained prominence by preaching at a 1983 conference organized by Rev. Billy Graham. He wrote about two dozen books and had a radio show. His funeral in August was attended by then Vice President Mike Pence, NFL quarterback Tim Tebow, and other bold names. “In Ravi Zacharias, God gave us the greatest Christian apologist of this century,” said Pence at the funeral. “He was the CS Lewis of our day.” More stories from theweek.com Mike Pence’s ‘nuclear football’ was also apparently at risk during the Capitol siege. Impeachment is not what will hurt Trump the most.