At the end of December I published a column I called “Looking Back at 2020” with the stated intention of following that column up with one focused on looking ahead towards 2021. There is certainly a lot to look ahead into the new year with the sincere hope that 2021 will be different. With 2020 so dominated by COVID-19 and the political machinations of a presidential election cycle, there were (and remain) good reasons to hope for a better year ahead.
I had thought I would be writing about ministries resuming, in-person gatherings growing, the 2020 election campaigns behind us, and the end of the global pandemic in sight. I still want to write on those topics but I have paused any writing I might do so that I might process the events of January 6, 2021, in Washington DC, the hurried events that followed, and the revelations about famed apologist Ravi Zacharias.
The Riot
There other ways the events of January 6, 2021 have been categorized and I do not intend to litigate the terms being used by different groups based on their political leanings. The fact is what may have started as a political rally morphed into a riot. I don’t really care is one believes the results of the presidential election are in question. There is not and cannot be an excuse for willful destruction of property and bringing harm to human life.
While cooler heads did not prevail on that day, the response of the authorities in the wake of that riot has been much more measured. Charges are being brought against participants but it would seem prosecutors are trying to focus on people who actually committed crimes rather than every that was simply present. That is a good approach in my view. People who violated the law should be held to account for their behavior/actions regardless of how they got there or who inspired them.
Speaking of Inspiration: did President Trump incite the riot? Well, he did not tell anyone to go break into buildings and destroy stuff, if that’s what that question means. In fact, he did release statements about remaining peaceful though a kind reading of them would conclude they were a bit tepid at best. And honestly, I happen to think that a very forceful denunciation of what was shaping up to be a rather violent afternoon could have been largely averted had the president made the effort to do so.
It seems to me President Trump understood there were a lot of people coming to town for a rally and those people were really upset about the outcome of the election. These were the most faithful of the faithful supporters of the now former president and his influence with them simply cannot be overstated. It is disingenuous for Mr. Trump to say he didn’t start the riot while having a full understanding of both his influence and their anger. I am not saying he started the fire but he should have known some of the people at his rally had matches along with the desire to use them.
Whataboutism: this term, “whataboutism,” has been tossed around a lot in recent weeks. The term is a variant of the informal fallacy tu quoque (Latin for “you also”) or the appeal to hypocrisy. So here’s the thing: if someone brings up another riot, let’s say the BLM riots that took place over the course of months in 2020, as an excuse for the riot on January 6, 2021 then I would agree with the charge of whataboutism. If someone condemns the riot of January 6th while excusing the various riots that took place last year, there is a problem. If someone condemns the riots of last year while excusing the riot of January 6th, there is a problem. If someone wants to use either as an excuse for the other, that’s whataboutism.
That said, reminding people of the silence of some over other riots as they loudly condemn other riots is not the same thing. The silence on one over against the vocal response to the other is indeed telling and clearly reveals bias. There cannot and, frankly, will not be healing in our nation so long as there are those among us that are willing to tolerate, or worse encourage, destruction of property and threats of violence against those with whom we disagree.
About That Election: former President Trump lost the election of 2020. Yes, more people than ever before in history voted for the sitting president. The problem is that even more people voted for the other guy. Friends, that’s politics. Some say the loss was his own fault because of his Twitter account (which I would rather he used less). Others say there was widespread election fraud perpetrated against the American people.
Political scientists will spend years analyzing the data from the 2020 election cycle and many of us will follow that story for years into the future. Did President Trump’s rhetoric, including his use of social media, have a negative impact on the election? Maybe. Was there widespread election fraud as was asserted? I don’t know but what I do know is this: eventually, the evidence of fraud has to be provided. In the case of the 2020 election, that would be in the courtrooms where lawsuits were filed. Allegations, rumors, innuendo, and insinuation may be tools to be used by politicians but courts of law require evidence.
Ravi Zacharias
Ravi Zacharias was an Indian-born Canadian-American Christian apologist (a fancy way of saying he was someone who defended the Christian faith against objections). He passed away in May 2020. Hindsight is 20/20, or so the saying goes.
Academic Credentials: the simple truth is that the famed apologist misled people concerning his academic credentials for years. He had claimed to have studied at the University of Cambridge and having been a professor at the University of Oxford. This was not something others did that Zacharias simply failed to correct. He introduced himself as “doctor” and included the title in the About section of a number of books he published. Though he had received a number of honorary doctorates over the course of his 40+ year ministry, he did not have an earned doctorate. The University of Cambridge stated that Zacharias had never enrolled there and the University of Oxford denied he had ever held any academic positions with their institution. The inflation of academic credentials in Christian circles is troubling to be sure but sadly is by no means unique to Ravi Zacharias.
Sexual Abuse: and we now know he was a sexual predator. Recent revelations about the late apologist are simply evil. It appears there were warning signs as far back as 2014 (perhaps even before that) pointing to the double life he was leading yet there were no accountability mechanisms in place. Sure, there was a governing board but it was stacked with people who simply could not or would not ask difficult questions of someone to whom they owed so much. Jon Acuff wisely said some years ago: “leaders who can’t be questioned end up doing questionable things.” When it comes to sexual abuse, it’s not just questionable, it is sinful and even criminal in many instances. Zacharias escaped the judgement of man in this life but rest assured he has not escaped God’s judgement.
Then That Happened
Winston Churchill is often credited with saying, “Americans can always be trusted to do the right thing, once all other possibilities have been exhausted.” Eventually, the riot of January 6, 2021 in Washington DC was widely condemned for the blot on American history that is surely is. It may have taken a bit longer for some to come to that place than others but eventually we all did, at least the folks I am acquainted with did. Rightly so.
Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM) eventually did the right thing to in admitting to the evil behavior of their late founder, once all other possibilities had been exhausted. The ministry may survive this scandal and then again it may not. If it does, it will look very different than it does today. Rightly so.
Writing this column reminded me of the Vision 20/20 plans so many churches had shared with their congregations leading up to the beginning of last year. The perfect date on the calendar to cast a bold vision about their plans for the future and how people could buy into that vision. Then that happened…in my sanctified imagination, I hear God laughing as if to say, “if you only knew what was really about to happen in 2020!”