Posted on 10/22/2020 10:52:15 AM PDT by CondoleezzaProtege
Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM) has opened an investigation into allegations that its late founder and namesake sexually harassed multiple massage therapists who worked at two day spas he co-owned.
Three women who worked at the businesses, located in a strip mall in the Atlanta suburbs, told Christianity Today that Ravi Zacharias touched them inappropriately, exposed himself, and masturbated during regular treatments over a period of about five years. His business partner said he regrets not stopping Zacharias and sent an apology text to one of the victims this month.
RZIM denies the claims, saying in a statement to CT that the charges of sexual misconduct “do not in any way comport with the man we knew for decades.”
During his ministry career, the renowned apologist—who died in May at age 74 from cancer in his sacrum—spoke of chronic back pain resulting from a spine injury in 1985. He said he managed the pain with massage and physiotherapy.
The women who worked at the spas said when Zacharias wasn’t traveling with RZIM, he came in for treatment two or three times a week. The businesses were a 15-minute drive from the ministry’s headquarters in Alpharetta.
The three women knew Zacharias as the owner and a client as well as a Christian leader and famous author. Some of his books were sold in the store, and the employees read them so they could talk about them when he came in.
Zacharias was kind and took interest in their lives, according to the people who worked there. But over time, in the small private treatment rooms, Zacharias would make unwanted sexual advances, the three women each said independently. At first, they tried to ignore it, too embarrassed to call out a famous Christian minister. By their accounts, his inappropriate behavior only escalated.
(Excerpt) Read more at christianitytoday.com ...
Easier to sue a guy when he’s dead?
CT is a leftist heretic rag!
Is this a Georgian Dossier?
Thompson is not allowed to speak about what happened under the terms of a non-disclosure agreement but has previously detailed how the apologist requested naked photos from her, saying he flattered her and suggested he deserved the sexual release because of the great “cost” of his ministry. In a 2017 statement, Zacharias confirmed their communications and the photos but said they were unsolicited.
Read the whole article. And if you don’t like the source. There are others. He had to deal with sexting allegations while alive, and also questions about dishonestly touting false academic credentials.
Hard believe. I’d watch him whenever I could.
CT has verified the identities and job histories of the three women...Their claims come three months after Zacharias’s death and three years after he settled a case against Lori Anne Thompson involving sexting allegations.
The women who worked at the spas said they have not spoken up previously because they do not want money, publicity, or even apologies for what happened. But in the wake of Zacharias’s death, they said they want other victims who may be out there—like Thompson—to know that they are not alone.
Dead Guy Can’t Defend Himself.
So yes, it is easier.
Exactly that!
He doesn’t deserve this
No! What Christians don’t deserve is leaders who are held up to pedestals that they are NOT designed to be on. DId you even read the article? This is how abuse festers in churches — Catholic or otherwise. It’s quite in depth. Not your average cheap shot article with zero evidence to back it up.
Your attitude is precisely why abuse goes on.
It went on for 5 years and none of them said anything or QUIT in protest?
Something stinks and it isn’t the mudpaks.
This is CT that called for the impeachment of Trump. I question them from then and now. This magazine is not a paragon of Christian virtue. They have a track record of lying.
There are multitude REASONS why these accusations only come to surface when the victims are older or when the perpetrators are long gone. And even just a quick perusal of this thread and some of the immediate knee-jerk responses is all the evidence you need. Imagine how much more worse CHILDREN feel when at the hands of such abusers? And the pressure some people are under to come forth about someone so reputable and highly ranked?
This is why it's essential *training* be required in identifying sexual abuse, as well as the patterns of covering them up. This training should be required among all matter of church/ministry staff and volunteers. As well as missions.
As far as Zacharias is concerned, there are more sources addressing these specific accusations than Christianity Today. And go in more depth. But to quote Zacharias' business partner as to why this kind of misconduct goes on unabated:
This quote says it all:
“I feel sorry that I followed him blindly,” Sharma wrote in one text. “He was just another human.”
More context:
When Touch of Eden closed in 2008, Zacharias and his business partner Anurag Sharma opened a second spa in the same location. It was called Jivan Wellness, named for a Hindi word for “life.” Jivan remained in business until 2015. At the time, tax records show Zacharias was earning a total compensation of about $365,000 per year from RZIM.
The people who spoke with Sharma said he acknowledges something bad happened at Touch of Eden and Jivan Wellness. He regrets that he failed to intervene but doesn’t go into specifics. He attributes his reticence to Zacharias’s charisma.
“I feel sorry that I followed him blindly,” Sharma wrote in one text. “He was just another human.”
Sharma, an IT professional, met Zacharias in the mid-1990s. In one conversation, recorded by someone not associated with the spas, Sharma describes himself as Zacharias’s close friend. Even after the business relationship ended, they continued to talk until the day Zacharias died, he said.
“He had no friends, and he needed somebody to talk to,” Sharma said. “He was very sad about all his demons, and he said that was the condition of the human heart.
They also anointed George Floyd as some kind of saint.
Your attitude, rudeness and slander is YOUR problem!
Get help!
May be true, maybe not. Just seems strange after he is dead. Why not turn him in after 1 time...but 50 times?
I know it’s a problem but there have also been false accusations. The credibility of CT is a dubious as the NYT.
Then go to other sources.
They leave a lot out that would exonerate Ravi. Your intentions are clear.
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