Ravi Zacharias, RZIM, Clergy Sexual Misconduct
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NOTE: This post is updated. The earlier version is at the bottom of this post.
When I began blogging, I did so to tell my own spiritual abuse experiences. There were no rules. I followed my heart. I still do the same today. I probably do things that make trained journalists cringe. Oh well. But, I must stay true to myself, true to victims, and true to my God. And sometimes that gets complicated.
This week, I published two articles which included private e-mails which were sent to me by the victim in Ravi Zacharias’ alleged sexual misconduct case. (As was noted in the now-deleted post, these emails were sent to me long before any demand letter was sent, lawsuit filed, or settlement was reached.) I posted them because it was my understanding that the victim wanted the world to know what happened, how it happened, and as a warning to others because we were both convinced that this was predatory behavior and could likely have happened to others, and could happen again. I also published them because there was a lawsuit against this victim in which Ravi Zacharias’ narrative was shared in public court documents, but no one was able to see the other side before the case was settled out of court (and sources have told me there was a payout).
Because the case is a Federal lawsuit and available to the public, people will only be allowed to read Ravi Zacharias’ side. The victim’s side remains silent – which is exactly what all perpetrators want: silence.
I want to be clear. What I read and heard from the victim via phone and email testimony (including personal e-mails between the victim and Ravi Zacharias) showed a clear pattern of sexual grooming. I believe Ravi Zacharias took advantage of this woman as she shared her personal struggles with him. I believe that he took advantage of her vulnerabilities. I believe he shared with her personal information about himself which made her feel very special in his life. But this was all a ploy so he could then get sexual favors from her (nude photos). This is how the grooming process works.
This morning, I woke up to find an email in my inbox from the victim. The note asked me to remove the private emails. Out of respect for the victim, I have done so.
I do not know if the victim was pressured to ask this by anyone from RZIM or by Ravi Zacharias himself, or if this was of her own initiative. Regardless, I need to honor the victim’s request first and foremost.
Does it change my opinion of the victim? Absolutely not. Does it change my opinion of Ravi Zacharias as a possible predator? Absolutely not. Does it change the validity of her testimony and e-mails? Absolutely not.
Thousands of people saw the e-mails. I believe that Ravi Zacharias and this case should be fully investigated. It is not acceptable to pay people off and silence them when there is sexual misconduct – and it is my opinion that this is what happened in this situation.
Once again, I will mention that Ravi Zacharias is a person of public interest and import. I have shared my personal opinions and beliefs based on my years of studying patterns of abuse and sexual misconduct. What I have shared, I believe to be true, and I have shared it with the intent to help and protect others from harm. I have no malicious intent whatsoever .
This is what was posted earlier today 12/2/17.
I think this is only the second time I have done this in my nearly 6 yrs of blogging. I was requested by the victim to remove the posts containing personal emails between Ravi Zacharias and the victim, and have done so.
I will be following up with a statement shortly about this and will add it to this post.
Spiritual Sounding Board 
“how it should be released without causing unnecessary harm to Ms. Thompson and her family”
Yes — I now believe it must be released (hopefully including all the email exchanges for a more complete picture) somehow, because the spin put out by Ravi’s lawyers and PR folks has been taken in hook, line, and sinker.
And this spin has already caused much unnecessary harm to Ms Thompson and her family. I read a large number of RZIM Facebook comments calling her Potiphar’s wife, Satan, enemy, etc etc.
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What a joke. Anyone who read the emails apparently from “Ravi” would know Ravi wouldn’t write so poorly. Anyone can create an email and state their name as “Ravi” and write anything they want. Go check how easy it is to register a gmail account. Do you need to verifiy it with your drivers licence or health card? Nope, its pretty simple with barely any verification other than a maybe phone verification.
Its very clear the couple who demanded the 5 million extortion money from Ravi Zacharias was looking for a quick payout. Their intentions were clear – go after a well established and funded ministry in the hopes for a quick buck while threatening reputation defamation.
Julie Ann – Ravi Zacharias deserves to be well paid. How many jobs has he created? How many people has he touched? How many days does he have to be away from his family per year? How many hours on the plane? Of course the man deserves to be paid. What is your impact? Stop judging. You should be ashamed.
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Hi Jim. Why has Ravi not denied sending the suicide emails? (He denied plenty of other stuff.)
Also, have you had a chance to view the massive evidence of credential fraud by the gentleman? Just google RZ credentials.
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Jim from Canada, you should also know that the email address used in these suicide emails is the same one Ravi uses. So although you are correct that anyone can register any email account they want, that did not happen here.
See Exhibit 1 of Ravi’s federal complaint, which contains his email address, the same one that these suicide emails came from! Your theory is false.
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I have listened to Ravi before and I usually understand about .1% of what he says. He speaks to the esoteric crowd of which I am not a part.
I was surprised to find out he doesn’t have any degree over a batchelors.
I find it appalling that he filed a lawsuit which is directly in violation of Jesus own words … why not be defrauded? Yet you go before heathens and not before the church.
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He is pretty much a hypocrite all around. He does have a Masters of Divinity, but it is a non-academic degree.
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MDiv is considered an academic degree. If you go to Harvard Theological Seminary, you can get an MDiv. Typically, MTS (Master of Theological Studies) or a DMin (Doctor of Ministry), are considered less academic and their Div equivalents.
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I personally contacted the school that gave Ravi his M.Div. They told me that it never has been an academic degree. It is and always has been a professional one.
None of that is to say it was not a rigorous degree. I hear it was. So it is technically true that he has no academic degree beyond his BA.
Of course, this is all a bit of a side issue. The undisputed and most serious issue is that he has systematically misled the public about his academic credentials for nearly 40 years.
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Yes, that’s completely offensive that he claims to have a doctorate when it’s honorary.
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It gets a lot worse. After I complained about his deceit they added the word “honorary” to his bio, but then removed it shortly there after. Same thing happened in Europe at his OCCA bio. Both later added it months later after more complaints. But why remove it in the first place?
This is just a willful and systematic effort to present a false image.
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Does the NDA expire now that Ravi’s dead?
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No, it does not expire, ktpvb. I asked Steve Baughman about that the other day. He’s an attorney.
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This raises an interesting point. When a victim agrees to a non-disclosure settlement with their perp, any prior communication about those events with third parties can still be shared publicly…right? It makes sense then for victims to at least share in writing their narratives prior to entering into a legal negotiation. At least that’s how it appears.
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We should expect to hear plenty of calls from the victim to “give the money back“ if she wants to be released from the deal. That would be a great point except for one thing, Ravi blatantly and viciously breached the deal with his December 3, 2017 press release. That opens the door for her to respond. (She doesn’t even need permission.)
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Did it seriously never occur to any of you how ridiculously easy it is to fake an e-mail? Without the actual e-mail being verified by an expert who both analyzes the supposed source of the screencapped e-mail, and testimony from the e-mail host that it is indeed authentic, all you have to go on are pictures!
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Yes, it is easy to forge many things.
What we know about Ravi’s suicide email is
Julie Anne Smith got it from Ms. Thompson who told her it was part of her correspondence with Ravi.
I got it from Julie Anne and published it.
Ravi denied many things, but he specifically refused to comment on the suicide email when asked by Christianity Today.
It could, of course, be that Ms. T, Julie Anne and/or I are lying. That would be a bold and desperate thesis, and it would not explain 3.
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You should be ashamed of yourself for believing this garbage.
You did no investigations on this allegation are all
But you felt that you had the right to defame a very fiod man of God.
Congratulations.
You’ve left your legacy on the back of a man who has now gone to be with God.
The same God that you have ignored throughout your insensitive blog.
I do pity you
I will.pray for predators.like yourself
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Well, Cynthia….you’re wrong. I did not defame this “man of God” who chronically lied. I also did investigate. I know it’s hard to come to grips with the fact that a hero that you admired could fail. I remember being in shock thinking that surely “they” were wrong about Bill Cosby. How could that kind man have raped women….and so many women? Well, he did. I was wrong. What I thought Bill Cosby was in my mind was my interpretation of who he was. Reality proved me wrong.
I think reality will eventually catch up to you regarding Ravi, I’m very sorry to say. It sucks. It really does. But I’m ok with you shooting the messenger if you feel you need to. I don’t lose any sleep telling the truth.
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HA! I just saw the accusation of me being a predator. That might be a first for me. I’ll add it to my list.
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Cynthia, can you offer specifics? (To paraphrase a professor of mine, “insults aren’t arguments.”)
And you missed the part about me investigating Ravi for five years. 😉
Standing by. Thank you.
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Wow 😮 Don’t believe everything that you read unless you you see with your own eyes 👀 and hear with your own ears 👂🏻 There’s her story, his story and the truth! And yes the truth will set you free! He who is without sin should cast the first stone!!!! 🧐
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Massive eye roll from JA
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Hey “In God We Trust.” You only believe what you’ve seen with your own eyes? Do you believe that Java is an island? If your mother tells you she put up new curtains in the study, do you withhold belief until you see them with your “own eyes“?
C’mon. First person observation is the escape patch people use when they don’t want to believe something. Surely you know better.
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His screen name is more than just a bit ironic, is it not?
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