Here we go again. The evangelical world is shocked by another leadership scandal. This time it’s the report that famed apologist Ravi Zacharias sexually abused women for years before his death in 2020. Kaitlyn Schiess joins Phil and Skye to discuss the story, and why so many ministries fail to investigate their famous leaders or take abuse allegations seriously.
Then, Skye talks with Charlie Dates, senior pastor of Progressive Baptist Church in Chicago, about his decision to leave the Southern Baptist Convention in December. Believing the SBC’s desire to overcome its racist past was genuine, Dates had to convince his historically black church to align with the SBC in the first place. He explains why he was wrong and what it means for the future of evangelicalism in America.
This week's Bonus segment: https://www.patreon.com/posts/47673135
Hi! I only recently discovered your podcasts but have really enjoyed listening and appreciate your work! I have written an essay on what I believe to be a fairly unique position on the Ravi Zacharias scandal and am looking for a place to publish it. Would you be willing to take a look at the essay? If so, I would really appreciate it. I am an addiction medicine specialist and have written from a professional perspective. Thanks either way and God bless.
Long-time listener first time commenter. I am so thankful for your podcast which has helped me see my faith and it's intersection with life from a different perspective than I often do down here (in the South). I'm a Southern Baptist and I've found your critique of the SBC fair, especially from the outside, and sometimes hard to hear (it is my denomination of choice after all). But I wanted to share this article to show you that there are voices within the SBC that differ from what's been making the headlines, at least on this podcast, recently.
Keep doing what you're doing! I appreciate you all!
https://religionnews.com/2021/02/22/sbc-president-j-d-greear-god-did-not-call-southern-baptists-to-save-america/
I've not been listening long, but I'm thankful so far for your helpful discussions about issues that are important to me. I think Skye has the right question in asking whether or not we create a culture in evangelical ministries that sets us up for abuse of various kinds. I have a suggestion that wasn't brought up in the podcast. Women and girls in evangelical circles are trained, often through the church's dogma itself, to say, "yes" to men. They are taught that this is their role. At the same time, young men are trained to think of themselves as having innate authority by virtue of their gender. I think this is a pretty big elephant in the room with…
Love how you aren't afraid to tackle difficult topics, like Ravi Zacharias. Skye mentioned the possibility that there's something endemic in evangelical ministries that actually creates this kind of abuse. Sheila Gregoire would argue that the very way the evangelical church teaches about sex is the deeper issue here. She has been dissecting various Christian sex & marriage books to uncover very unhealthy & in some cases abusive teachings. She has an article on RNS & will be releasing a book soon. Would love to hear you guys interview her for the podcast. https://religionnews.com/2021/02/18/ravi-zacharias-carl-lentz-is-the-evangelical-view-of-sex-at-the-root-of-our-sex-scandals/
Melody - thanks for posting that article. I really appreciate it. I think we were mostly in agreement with Marlow's 5 points - possibly with the exception of what sort of books, writing or teaching should be permanently discarded. But Marlow makes a very good argument.