Further Down the Rabbit Hole: An Interview on Ravi Zacharias’ Confabulations

In September 2018, I interviewed Steve Baughman about some concerning allegations pertaining to the conduct of widely revered Christian apologist Ravi Zacharias. In that interview (which I strongly suggest you read before proceeding with this article), Mr. Baughman outlined evidence for some very concerning behavior, including claims that Mr. Zacharias has consistently fabricated details about his academic history as well as that he engaged in sexually predatory behavior. 

Given that it has been more than a year since Mr. Baughman’s book Cover-Up In the Kingdom was released, I decided it was time to return to our conversation in order to find out how evangelicals have received Mr. Baughman’s evidence as well as whether there are any pertinent updates to his concerning case against Mr. Zacharias.

RR: Steve, thanks for agreeing to do a “part-two” for this interview. To begin with, can you talk about how Cover-Up in the Kingdom has been received? Did Mr. Zacharias respond to it? How has it been received by evangelical leaders?

SB: Thank you for being one of the few Christians to take the Zacharias deceptions seriously.  To borrow a line from David Hume, my book basically “fell stillborn from the press.” The religious press would not touch it and it garnered precisely zero reviews other than yours, (with a few mentions by relatively obscure bloggers). That said, hundreds of copies are out there and this seems to have generated a behind-the-scenes discussion in various evangelical circles. A prominent Canadian religious broadcaster wrote me and said she read the book in one sitting and that it is “teaching us a tough and needed lesson, and God’s work in our lives is better because of it.” I’m not sure what she means, though. Her network continues to carry Ravi’s show. When I inquired of the network they said Ravi pays his bills and has not violated the broadcaster’s ethical code. So the information is out there, but it seems to have no effect on business as usual.  

RR: I can’t say that I’m surprised. Writing a book like that is a thankless task. Not many atheists will be sufficiently motivated to pick it up because many will just say, “I told you apologists are liars for Jesus!” Meanwhile, what Christian wants to sit and read a chronicle of the sins of one of their favorite apologists? Not many, it turns out.

But sometimes you’ve got to write something just because it is important to you. I actually parted ways with my literary agent when I told her I wanted to write a book defending atheists. She told me “That won’t sell!” and she was right. But I’m still proud of Is the Atheist My Neighbor? Well, Cover-Up in the Kingdom fulfilled a similar service. 

Now I know that you’ve continued to research Zacharias in the last two years. What more have you discovered since writing the book? 

SB: I have three of your books. So I know that at least some of them sell.