Posted on 01/06/2021 6:47:03 AM PST by SeekAndFind
New details have emerged related to the now-acknowledged sexual misconduct of the late Ravi Zacharias as recordings of a former business partner have surfaced describing Zacharias' misdeeds.
According to Anurag Sharma, a man who co-owned two spas with the late apologist, Zacharias repeatedly engaged in exposing himself to massage therapists and masturbating in front of them over the course of several years. In recently recorded audio footage that was shared exclusively with The Roys Report Monday, the website of independent investigative journalist Julie Roys, Sharma told investigators that he confronted Zacharias about his actions, which he discovered sometime between 2007 and 2010. Sharma also maintained that Zacharias told him to erase all information about his appointments at the spa from the company computer system.
It was around this time when the two men owned Jivan Wellness, which reportedly offered massage therapy as well as a form of ancient Indian medicine rooted in Hinduism, among other wellness services.
“It started actually, the lady therapist who had come and who talked about that he’d been misbehaving—exactly the pattern that was there...,” Sharma told an attorney hired by the Christian Missionary Alliance denomination, the denomination that had ordained Zacharias, in December 2020.
“And this was exactly the pattern, which was, I saw it plenty of time.”
He described the pattern of sexual misconduct as the apologist saying he was tired after traveling and working, and thinking that he was entitled to misbehave at the spa.
In July 2010, after he was informed about another massage therapist who had refused to take an appointment with Zacharias because of his misconduct and Zacharias' request that he delete information from their electronic records, Sharma wanted to get out of the spa business as the experience had devastated him on several fronts, claiming to have invested $300,000 to $400,000 or more in the business with little return. The Jivan Wellness spa was officially dissolved in September of that year, according to Georgia state records.
Sharma stated in interviews with multiple investigators that the apologist was his close friend and that he became a Christian through Zacharias.
Zacharias died in May 2020 after a battle with cancer. Following reports of sexual misconduct after his death, his ministry subsequently set in motion an independent investigation and confirmed in a Dec. 23 interim report that he had indeed engaged in sexual misconduct, some of which was "serious." A full report is expected in the coming weeks.
“We are heartbroken at learning this but feel it necessary to be transparent and to inform our staff, donors, and supporters at this time, even while the investigation continues,” the ministry said last month.
The admission of misconduct came after the leadership of the ministry had previously expressed that it believed the claims were false and that the allegations “do not in any way comport with the man we knew for decades."
As a result of the scandal, several Christian radio networks that carried Zacharias' teachings have removed him from their affiliate stations.
Moody Radio announced over the Christmas holiday weekend that it was immediately canceling Zacharias' broadcasts from its lineups.
“We are deeply saddened after reading the preliminary report provided to us by Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM),” Doug Hastings, vice president of Moody Radio, said in a statement.
“The picture that is becoming clear about Ravi Zacharias through the work of an independent investigator is very much inconsistent with his public ministry,” he said, adding that the network believes that those they partner with must be above reproach.
American Family Radio, which has over 180 radio stations, also dropped Zacharias from its regular programming. It had aired Zacharias' "Let My People Think" broadcasts on its Sunday programming for approximately 20 years.
what is with my fellow men?
Are they going to make this evidence open to the public so we can judge?
If it’s true then I’m greatly saddened, but I’d rather not just trust someone else to give me the truth.
Obviously his Hindu 'wellness' system didn't work..................
I had never heard of Ravi until his death.
We all have weaknesses, but to bring others into them is layering another level of bad on top.
I hope he repented.
I must not have had enough coffee this morning, but I’m not following you.
That long ago? They were talking like it was months ago. I would rather see, too. Not trusting the judgements on a person after he is dead.
The events happened in 2007 and 2010. Quite awhile ago.
Why does this expose seem so much like tearing down statutes of dead people?
For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? - 1 Peter 4:17
The church, the country, the Republican Party. Look at all the evil and fecklessness being revealed in just the past few weeks alone.
I’ve been a huge fan of Ravi since I first heard him on the radio almost 20 years ago.
I’m going to have to disagree with the people who have posted so far. It’s not that long ago AND it is a big deal given his position and status as an evangelical and an apologist.
It’s not like he was masturbating to porn in the privacy of his own home. He was doing these things in public in front of people who clearly objected.
This was highly inappropriate and is not on the level of say getting drunk at the house and passing out. Doing these things in public is the equivalent of “wearing your sin on you sleeve”. I find it hard to believe. That’s why I want to see the evidence. But if true...horribly saddening.
The the events discussed happened 10 years ago. Do we not allow people to repent and change? If the accusations where from recent times, I would feel differently. Even King David from the Old Testament was allowed to repent and change his behavior and be used of God. PS: We are going to need something stronger than coffee to get us through the next year.
You have a point. I find it strange that it all came out after he was dead.
This is a shame. I’d like to think it wasn’t true as it is really baffling but the evidence is powerful.
Just a slightly humorous aside. I used to be very happy when I would catch Ravi on the radio, often while flipping around not knowing what was on. His messages seemed to be very deep. I’d listen carefully. And then when he was done I would realize that I had no idea what he just said.
It is a real shame. I loved his teachings.
Fake news
Yes, people can repent. That is beyond dispute. But these kind of actions are troubling because they point to the character of the man. Even 10 years ago, Ravi was not young. Was he so incapable of controlling his sexual urges that he couldn’t “take care of business” in private? I’ve heard the man speak many, many times. He knows as clearly as anyone that he is an ambassador of God in the eyes of many people. He carried the Gospel into some of the most hostile environments of the 21st century...college campuses.
His issue is the same as someone like Jimmy Swaggart. Sinning is one thing...we all do it. But doing it repeated in public despite the objections of others makes one question just how “saved” he was. I mean there’s thins like swearing in front of others, making lude comments in front of others. Even getting irrationally angry in front of others. But what he’s accused of seems to have been done repeatedly and premeditatively and worse publicly for everyone to see.
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