Living Up to Christian Principles in a Fallen World


By Dr. Caleb Verbois

Christian celebrity culture is toxic.

And it has terrible long-term effects.

Ravi Zacharias was the head of an international, $40-million-a-year apologetics ministry devoted to explaining and justifying Christianity to a watching world. The position brought him international fame and fortune. When he died there were an outpouring of hagiographies of him from Christian circles.

But increasingly, evidence shows that Ravi Zacharias was guilty of significant levels of adultery and sexual abuse, and lying.

Ravi lied about his academic credentials, claiming degrees from Oxford and Cambridge, along with a fake doctorate. Worse was his years-long sexting scandal with a married woman that he repeatedly lied about and, more recently, the discovery that he was a part owner of a number of “massage clinics” where he sexually abused women.

Zacharias and his ministry apparently spent years denying, obfuscating, and covering up piles of evidence of his misconduct. Finally, after Ravi’s death, the executive committee of the board of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries has admitted that there is credible evidence that he engaged in sexual misconduct for many years. In a statement clearly designed to claim a show of transparency, the board noted: “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.”

In truth, the board seems to have been far from transparent. Only now, almost a year after Ravi’s death, and after years of obfuscation, has the board finally admitted that the stories about Ravi are true. To its credit, the board hired a law firm that has already investigated and authenticated many of the allegations and has engaged victim-advocate Rachael Denhollander as a consultant and a separate compliance firm to evaluate RZIM’s board. But frankly, for many, this comes far too late.

Sadly, Ravi’s story is not unique among Christian ministries. It is increasingly obvious that the abuse scandal some thought was only in the Catholic Church is widespread in Protestant and evangelical churches. In the last two years, numerous pastors, from James McDonald to Carl Lentz and John Ortberg, have been publicly fired from large megachurches for financial or sexual abuse, or both. Moreover, Christian colleges are not immune. Jerry Falwell Jr. was ousted from Liberty University this summer for sexual misconduct, along with a litany of allegations of financial abuse. Thomas White was reinstated as president of Cedarville University after it came out that he had knowingly hired a sexual voyeur as a professor and basketball coach.

At one level, none of this should be a surprise to Christians. Christianity, after all, begins with the story of God’s creation of the world and everything in it and of original sin: man’s rebellion against God.

No, the surprising thing is not that Christian leaders commit error; that pastors and ministry leaders abuse their authority. The astonishing problem is how many Christian institutions almost seem to be set up with the implicit assumption that leaders never commit gross misconduct. Even worse, often Christian institutions actively hide abuse while gaslighting and blaming victims. And in many Christian circles, a culture of shame and sin is used to silence victims.

There are common threads in many of these abuse cases: leadership should always be trusted and obeyed, women are not trustworthy, and outsiders, like the media, should never be told of allegations. Moreover, as watchdog groups such as MinistryWatch and the Roys Report have extensively noted, many Christian ministries are run like family businesses. Ravi Zacharias’ ministry was a family affair: it was named after him, and his wife and several daughters were on the board or employed by the ministry at six-figure salaries. The same is true at Liberty University, where Jerry Falwell Jr. followed in his father’s footsteps and his son is a vice president.

A central tenet of Christianity is that we are sinful creatures, prone to do wrong and then cover it up for our own benefit. That is why we need salvation. So, it is profoundly strange that so many Christian institutions seem to be deliberately set up to insulate their leadership, which often wields immense power over its members, from any private or public criticism, and designed to keep bad news from seeping out.

This creates a perverse world where ordinary Christians are supposed to recognize their problems while simultaneously predators can be propped up on pedestals.

The Christian, of course, should recognize that we are all hypocrites, that none of us live up to our principles, which is why we need Christ. But it is past time for our institutions and our institutional leaders to act in ways that demonstrate they recognize and believe that our sinful nature applies to them as well to ordinary people.

Dr. Caleb Verbois is an assistant professor of political science at Grove City College and an affiliated scholar at the John Jay Institute. He teaches American Politics and Political Theory and specializes in American constitutional thought.

More Resources


03/29/2024
2024, an Election About Elections
The new poll out from Fox News has a number of intriguing findings.

more info


03/29/2024
The Overlooked Truths About Biden's Age
In terms of optics and in terms of energy, I wish President Biden were younger. There's no point in pretending

more info


03/29/2024
Biden, Obama & Clinton Join Forces in NY
Thursday on the RealClearPolitics radio show (Monday through Friday at 6:00 p.m. EDT on SiriusXM's P.O.T.U.S. Channel 124), Carl Cannon, Tom Bevan and Emily Jashinsky discuss: Joe Lieberman's passing, Bobby Kennedy Jr.'s appeal to voters, the environment of victimization culture, Sam Bankman-Fried's 25-year prison sentence, and James Carville's riff on "preachy" Democrats.

more info


03/29/2024
Meddlers for RFK Jr.
Democrats may get bitten by a tactic they use to great effect in GOP primaries.

more info


03/29/2024
Will RFK Jr.'s Support for Israel Limit His Appeal on Left?
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s independent presidential campaign goes to considerable lengths to profess its potential appeal to people across the partisan and ideological landscape.

more info


03/29/2024
Joe Lieberman's Last Words on Israel
A warning to Biden that he risks losing the votes of Jewish Democrats like us.

more info


03/29/2024
A Senator Who Loved To Kibitz


more info


03/29/2024
Behind Scenes Stories of Censorship
Dave Rubin of "The Rubin Report" hosts a panel with the winners of the first RealClearPolitics Samizdat Prize -- "Twitter Files" journalist Matt Taibbi, "Great Barrington Declaration" co-author Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, and NY Post reporter and "Laptop From Hell" author Miranda Devine. The three were chosen for their bravery in resisting censorship. They discuss the cost of taking a stand as well as the future of free speech and online discourse.

more info


03/29/2024
Bidenomics Is Making China Angry. That's OK
A persistent theme in Republican campaigning these past few years has been the effort to portray Democrats in general, and

more info


03/29/2024
Biden's Boss Tightens the Screws


more info


03/29/2024
The Fight To Flip the House Just Got Harder for Dems


more info


03/29/2024
In 2024, Digital Is Everything in Politics


more info


03/29/2024
Comer Sums Up His 'Evidence' of Biden Crimes. It's Scant


more info


03/29/2024
WaPo's Lead Liar Waves Away Evidence of Biden Corruption
Glenn Kessler pretended to 'dissect' Rep. James Comer's comments but did not challenge any of the evidence the Republican mentioned.

more info


03/29/2024
Sam Bankman-Fried's Dream Came True


more info



Custom Search

More Politics Articles:

Related Articles

Some of America's Problems Can Be Fixed


Some of America's problems can be fixed. Voting in the November election should not be a problem for Americans. Open the polls for at least two days. Every state should open their polls from 6 AM until 8 PM. Some states already have later evening hours like Californians who may vote until 8 PM and New Yorkers who may vote as late as 9 PM.

A New U.S.-U.K. Trade Agreement Must Prioritize American INtellectual Property and INnovation


It looks increasingly unlikely that American and British negotiators will finalize a U.S.-UK trade agreement this year. When asked whether a deal could be struck by the end of 2020, one UK official recently responded, "Basically, no."

The Bengals and The Browns Stood Together


I haven't watched much professional sports over the last few months. Last Thursday I did tune into the Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Browns football game. My attention grew when I saw both teams on the field, arm in arm standing together for the national anthem. I didn't see three or four kneeling or one team in the locker room and another team on the field. I didn't see anyone standing on their heads or someone else doing flip flops or something else. Both teams were standing, arm in arm in attention for the national anthem. I watched the entire game. The Bengals and Browns played one of the best games I've watched in some time. The game was fun to watch.

Defund Walter Reed? Are Liberals Nuts?


Those desperate for power, as well as those unable to separate reason from emotion, often make fools of themselves - thinking they are at once smarter, possess "unique" experiences (unlike the rest of us), are ideologically pure, and just better at living life. We call those people liberals.

Trump's Reference Pricing Order Imports Joblessness


Never in the history of the modern world has there been such a need for the pharmaceutical industry to save our world and return us to a form of normality. Covid-19 is impacting everyone, including the leader of the free world. Yet before becoming ill himself, in a last-minute bid to curry favor with senior voters, President Trump signed executive orders aimed directly at this industry and its ability to perform.

Fix Election Day Pain


2020 will be remembered for more than we what to remember including the painful November 3, election. Our country was already suffering from the Pandemic and all its spin-off problems. Unemployment, business closings, demise of the travel industry, struggling houses of worship, massive national depression to name a few of the problems. However, great news Pfizer has come up with a vaccine that has been 90% effective in preliminary trials. At this writing this is great news with the stock market on the verge of setting an all-time high. This vaccine has the potential to bring this country out of the house and back to work, school, church, and more.

To Keep Drug Costs Down and Fairness Up, Stop the Abuses of 340B


Alas, hospitals and pharmacies are abusing a federal program meant to help low-income patients. New research from consulting firm Berkeley Research Group reports that these bad actors are lining their own pockets with discounts on prescription drugs at the expense of millions of disadvantaged American patients.

Biden 2021 Should Look to Biden 1980 for Bipartisan Inspiration


President-elect Joe Biden has promised to govern as a president for all Americans, not just those who voted for him.

Living Up to Christian Principles in a Fallen World


Christian celebrity culture is toxic.

Questions about Covid-19 vaccines? We have answers.


Many Americans have questions about Covid-19 vaccines – and rightfully so. There’s lots of information out there, and researchers are learning new details about the virus daily.

The Assault on Winston Churchill


During his long life, Winston Churchill suffered several indignities. He was dismissed from his position as the head of the Royal Navy in 1915 because of the disastrous defeat Anglo-French forces endured at Gallipoli during World War I. His decision as the chancellor of the exchequer to return Britain to the gold standard in 1925 was a financial catastrophe. During the 1930s, Churchill’s so-called “Wilderness Years,” his party denied him a leadership position. His greatest ignominy was being ousted as prime minister in a July 1945 election after Britain’s triumph in World War II.

Power, Parler, and the Problem of Big Tech


Over the course of 2020, the previously minor social media application Parler rose to national prominence. The site served as a smaller, right-leaning mirror to Twitter, attracting an audience that included (among others) both U.S. senators and QAnon conspiracy theorists. Where Twitter forbade referring to a transgender person by biological sex, Parler reportedly banned users for mocking Republican congressman Devin Nunes. By the end of the year, the app had hit nearly three million daily users.

Throwing Away Drug Patents Won't Cure Anything


In March, the World Trade Organization considered a petition from South Africa and India that, if adopted, would allow countries to ignore intellectual property protections on all things Covid-19.

Gaza: Total War Reality


The current fighting in Gaza rapidly approaches total war intensity. Strategy for Hamas has always involved the total war objective of annihilating Israel. For Israel, fighting Hamas and Hezbollah, which is based in Lebanon and Syria, involves a long, protracted but limited war of attrition. This may be changing. Hamas and Hezbollah use terrorism and guerilla warfare as a form of attrition to wear down Israel while simultaneously exploiting world opinion by depicting Israeli retaliation as heavy-handed. This cannot continue in perpetuity because fighting a limited war against an enemy with total war objectives favors the side willing to go all the way. The total war objective of a Jewish-free Palestine favors Hamas.

Foreign Reference Pricing Schemes Would Jeopardize Seniors' Health


It's a good time to be an American senior. Average life expectancy has risen steadily for most of the last century. Quality of life is going up too.