Sterling Terrell

smart ideas from books (mostly)

The Imposition Of Belief

The Imposition Of Belief

This line, the imposition of belief, reminds me of a talk I heard the other day about how the Christian gospel is both attractive and repulsive at the same time.

It offers redemption, hope, and salvation.

But it also laughs at good works, requires total dependence, and calls out sin.

I think most people can’t swallow calling something a sin – if you want to know the truth. (But this area is swimming with misunderstanding too.)

People get hung up on little things that cloud their judgment about everything – but don’t we all.

In Weil’s view, we should not fail to see how the early modern era ushered in a great spiritual decline; but we should assign the causes more accurately, and see that nonreligious, or antireligious, humanism was a genuine attempt, however misguided and doomed to failure, to seek spiritual freedom from the oppression imposed by the “imposition of belief” of the Gothic era. “Today, in the grip of affliction, we feel a loathing for the process which has led to the present situation.

-Alan Jacobs, The Year Of Our Lord 1943 (Amazon)

The Shame Of Ravi Zacharias

The Shame Of Ravi Zacharias

Ok, I have been dragging my feet on this post for months now.

But Zacharias’s memoir (Walking From East To West) is up next in my queue and I don’t feel like I can keep posting about him (without at least addressing some of this).

So here we go, The Shame of Ravi Zacharias, guaranteed to make 50% of you mad.

I mean, do you have any idea how deflating it is to find out that your favorite theologian was living a life in the shadows doing the exact opposite of what he preached in public?

I have literally referred to his books and quotes hundreds of times on this blog.

I eulogized him here.

Ugh. Barf. Ugh, again.

The long and short of it is that while Ravi was one of the greatest Christian apologist of a generation – he was also a womanizer.

He was unfaithful to his wife across time and place and he did everything he could to silence people that tried to bring the truth to light.

See the full internal report by RVIM below.

Report of Independent Investigation into
Sexual Misconduct of Ravi Zacharias:Download

Now then.

I do not understand the reaction of his organization Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM).

They have deleted all content on every platform that came from Ravi. They have shuttered their apologetics ministry. They will be a grant-making entity only.

I mean, I kind of get it. It’s a shameful thing. Everyone involved just wants no association with it. (Association is a powerful thing.)

But taking all the content down?

Let me say it with a few questions.

  • Did Ravi’s actions turn everything he ever said into false statements?
  • Is everything King David ever said irrelevant because he committed murder and adultry?
  • Should the apostle Paul’s entire ministry be forgotten because he can’t quit sinning? (Romans 7)
  • Again: Is the truth of a statement – of a life – made false by evil action?

Of course, the answer is no.

The truth of it is that: The sins that you and I choose are just easier to hide.

But that’s the gospel in a nutshell, isn’t it?

We all choose sin over God every single day. There is nothing you or I can do to deserve forgiveness. But we are saved, by grace, through faith. Despite ourselves.

Let’s take comfort in that.

As for questioning the soul of Razi Zacharias – I have nothing to say.

One of my best friends said all that needs to be said here: