As a young man with a passionate love for Jesus, many of my dearest family and friends asked me difficult questions about Christianity. Because of these conversations, I felt compelled to resolve existential questions. Perhaps my supposed faith in God was no more than an outdated fairytale? Due to these pressures, I constantly studied and discussed apologetics with mentors and friends.
Courtesy of Carson Weitnauer
I was excited when I had the opportunity to personally meet Ravi Zacharias at a Christmas dinner in high school. After all, his book
Can Man Live Without God? had persuaded me that atheism was an untenable position.
Faith leaders and religion influencers who died in 2020
Losses in the religion world included people known for their contributions to preaching, civil rights or music. Coffins are lined up on the floor in the San Giuseppe church in Seriate, one of the areas worst hit by coronavirus, near Bergamo, Italy, waiting to be taken to a crematory, on March 26, 2020. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)
December 29, 2020
Losses in the religion world included people known for their contributions to preaching, civil rights or music.
Luminaries from entertainment, politics and sports, such as Chadwick Boseman, Little Richard, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Kobe Bryant, were known for work unrelated to faith but nevertheless lived lives connected to religion. The suicides of pastor Darrin Patrick and Marilane Carter, a pastor’s wife, prompted outpourings of grief and alarm over clergy mental health.
Sexual misconduct allegations against late Christian apologist Ravi Zacharias confirmed bakersfield.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from bakersfield.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Ravi Zacharias, Christianity s Top Apologist, Sexually Abused Spa Workers
On 12/24/20 at 6:07 PM EST
A noted Christian apologist was responsible for repeatedly engaging in sexual misconduct before dying earlier this year, his former ministry has admitted.
Ravi Zacharias, a preacher and lecturer who authored dozens of books defending Christian beliefs, was posthumously accused of sexually abusing multiple women at spas over several years, a few months after his May death from cancer in Atlanta, Georgia. On Wednesday, the ministry he founded, Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM), released an interim report from an independent investigation it had contracted from Atlanta law firm Miller & Martin PLLC shortly after the accusations were made.
Ravi Zacharias speaks to a crowd at Hillsong Church in Australia. (RZIM)
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Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM) says that an investigation into the conduct of its founder has uncovered that he did indeed engage in sexual misconduct.
RZIM made the announcement on Wednesday afternoon in an update to its staff, donors, and supporters. The investigation began after multiple women came forward in August 2020, alleging that Zacharias assaulted them at a day spa he was a co-owner of.
Miller & Martin PLLC is still conducting its investigation and is not expected to conclude it until January or February of 2021. However, the board of RZIM says that yesterday we received a brief interim update on the investigation we felt we needed to share (attached). Sadly, the interim investigation update indicates this assessment of Ravi’s behavior to be true that he did indeed engage in sexual misconduct.