'Criminal, sociopathic, satanic': Christian leaders react to Ravi Zacharias sex abuse report

Collin Hansen

Collin Hansen, the editor in chief of The Gospel Coalition, wrote that the world has never seen an “evangelical leader with such a high profile perpetuate this kind of complex, years-long pattern of abuse.” 

“But I don’t see a lot of surprise, because his abuse looks like the pattern of sexual exploitation we’ve come to understand from men who betray trust," he wrote. "We’ve learned to identify the steps. He preyed on the vulnerable. He leveraged his ministry influence to intimidate victims. He convinced the world he couldn’t be the kind of monster they imagine sexual predators to be. In other words, he fit the type.”

Zacharias broke trust by “violating the trust of vulnerable, exposed women,” Hansen said. “We agonize on their behalf and beg God that no one else would suffer as they did. We lament this grievous evil. We renew our commitment to repair what injustice has destroyed.”