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Reporting the Truth.
Restoring the Church.

Margie Zacharias Breaks Silence, Defends Ravi

By Julie Roys
Ravi Margie Zacharias

Margie Zacharias, the widow of the disgraced apologist Ravi Zacharias—and former board member and chief cultural officer for Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM)—has broken her silence regarding her late husband’s alleged sexual abuse. 

In an email to her extended family, Margie Zacharias defended her husband, saying that after searching through all of Ravi Zacharias’ personal belongings, she did not find anything “suspicious . . . absolutely nothing to support the claims being made or the charges against him.”

She added: “He could never have kept a secret like they are alleging (alleging, I say, as there is not one whit of evidence to support what they are saying). At the very least, with all the medication he was on at the end and his hallucinations something would have come out.”

Margie Zacharias’ email was posted in a Facebook group called, “Friends who like Ravi Zacharias.” The email was also forwarded to me by a former RZIM director.

In her email, Margie Zacharias also reveals that she’s recently moved out of her home because RZIM had told her that she had to vacate it. She adds that the house “had been promised to me specifically in the case that Ravi died for as long as I wanted it.”

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As The Roys Report reported in October, the house in which Ravi and Margie Zacharias lived was bought in 2018 by an LLC managed by an RZIM executive. RZIM’s 990s also state that RZIM provided a “housing allowance or residence for personal use” to Ravi and Margie Zacharias.

Margie Zacharias’ defense of her husband flies in the face of an investigation by the law firm Miller & Martin, which concluded that Ravi Zacharias had raped a female massage therapist and sexually molested several others over a span of many years. 

It also contradicts the testimony of Lori Anne Thompson, who has provided emails, phone records, and gift receipts confirming her story that Ravi Zacharias had groomed and sexually exploited her.

Ravi Zacharias’ former business partner, Vicki Blue, has also claimed that Zacharias abused her and other therapists at a spa they co-owned, and then threatened to “ruin” her if she spoke.  Anurag Sharma, who co-owned spas with Zacharias and Blue, has similarly testified that Zacharias had a pattern of exposing himself to therapists and masturbating.

Yet in her email, Margie Zacharias is adamant that her husband’s “failures were not in this area.” She adds, “He was spectacularly self-disciplined in his conduct, especially where it would reflect poorly on the Lord. He denied himself every single day in order to fulfill his calling and be pleasing to the Lord. . . .

“Such a man could not be guilty of what is being alleged and there is no evidence at all to support those allegations, not in his personal effects, his financial records, his correspondence, his actions observed by all who knew him over 74 yrs.”

In addition to damning personal testimony, the Miller & Martin investigation also found that RZIM used ministry funds to financially support women Ravi  Zacharias abused, who in turn, felt indebted to Zacharias. This included using a fake humanitarian effort, called Touch of Hope, which was “purely a discretionary fund” and provided wire payments to benefit four of Zacharias’ massage therapists.

According to RZIM organizational charts leaked to The Roys Report, the person who directed Touch of Hope was Ravi Zacharias’ personal massage therapist, who was well known to RZIM insiders. While Ravi Zacharias was alive, his massage therapist reported directly to Ravi Zacharias. After Zacharias died, his massage therapist reported to Sarah Davis—Ravi and Margie Zacharias’ daughter—along with Margie Zacharias and only five other RZIM employees.

It has not been revealed if Margie Zacharias is the Executrix of Ravi Zacharias’ estate.

According to the Miller & Martin report, the Executrix refused to cooperate with their investigation by granting investigators access to a notebook of evidence Ravi’s lawyer had compiled related to allegations by Lori Anne Thompson. The executrix also has refused to release Thompson and her husband from a non-disclosure agreement they signed with Ravi Zacharias.

Margie Zacharias’ Email:

Margie Zacharias’ Email Redacted
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103 Responses

  1. Denial is a powerful drug. Otherwise Ms. Zacharias would have to examine her own life and face truth that would shatter all she previously believed…too threatening a prospect for many people, including her apparently.

  2. Relax Margie. We know a wife cannot be called upon to testify against her husband.

    Just leave it at that. Any flowery statement from the spouse defending or convicting her late husband is IRRELEVANT.

    Independent investigators and victims will testify-you don’t need to.

  3. I really feel for Mrs. Zacharias. This must be such a difficult time for her. Although she has found no direct physical evidence, the testimonies of so many women cannot be dismissed. I believe it shows the dangers of compatmentalization, especially for men. All compartments can be watertight, except for one – that let’s desire and passion ebb and flow and destroys the integrity of the ship.

    1. It’s simple, really. Release LAT from the NDA. If there is no “there” there, then Margie will be vindicated.

    2. Just because she says she didn’t find evidence doesn’t mean that she really didn’t. It wouldn’t be unusual to tell a lie or two to “protect the legacy.”

  4. It’s important to recognize that in this defense of her husband (with which some may sympathize) Mrs. Zacharias is implicitly stating that the women he victimized are lying. And that is now her *own* abusive behavior towards the victims.

  5. Really?? All these women are lying? The investigators RZIM contracted are lying as well?

    No one has ever questioned RZ’s intellect. He was a very smart man who deliberately covered his tracks. I’m not at all surprised Margie didn’t find anything.

    The glaring omission is the missing cell phones that she wouldn’t release to the investigators. Somehow, these items are never mentioned in her sad email defending the husband who so grossly deceived her.

    1. Sandra, how in the world do we know Margie is telling the truth? I mean, not like the whole orgainization was built on truth and which she was in leadership of. I think she has motive to cover things up. Why should I believe her?? Because she is the wife and we feel sorry for her? I mean where is the proof she is telling the truth? She could have found evidence and destroyed it. How do I know?

    1. She will be held accountable by GOD for being complicit with Mr Zac and lying about it just like Mr Zac lied. Does she not know that photos of ladies were found on his qpp.
      Actually she looks like him in the photo; do they share the same character?

  6. I feel sorry for her. It must be very difficult to find out that the person you have been married for so many years is not what you thought! She may be in denial. Now for him, I feel disgusted and sad. I used to like him. I even read one of his books.

  7. Reading the first few paragraphs was enough for me. She is clearly in denial and he may have covered his tracks of evidence.
    So extremely sad that she feels the need to dismiss woman who clearly were abused. Ted Bundy was charming too. Thank God he repented.

    Saving face is sometimes more important than saying yes, it appears my husband had a dark side he hid from me. So she points fingers at the victim’s that’s called blame shifting and gaslighting.
    It’s easy to self deceive if we don’t want to look in the mirror at our part in a situation.

  8. These comments are disgusting . Im so glad you are concerned for Margie in the loss of her husband. Shame on you ! Why don’t you just pray for her instead you condemn her and want to hold Her accountable ! I really hope you all take a good look in the Mirror , and repent of your own Sin and judgemental spirit . You will be judged just as you judge others. Gee I wish i was as perfect as All of you .

    1. “Im so glad you are concerned for Margie in the loss of her husband.”

      Margie isn’t talking about her grief in loss, she’s proclaiming her husband’s innocence.

      Why would you prohibit others from addressing the topic that Margie herself brought to the fore?

      Surely, after all Ravi’s lies and deception, you don’t expect us to just accept the word of a Zacharias.

    2. Janet,

      By her saying, “there is nothing to see here” it is obvious she is in denial, but what do you think of all the women who have been abused? Mrs. Zacharias is basically saying they are all liars.

      Her pain is real though.

  9. This is really sad….but her complicity and denial aided and abetted Ravis abuse. He could not have pulled it off without her turning a blind eye…..and what also bothers me is that her financial blessings were not from honest hard “secular” work…but from sacrificial giving by other believers

  10. Margie Zacharias=$$$$$$

    Her biggest complaint. I can’t live in my big beautiful house anymore. I might have to downsize. Let’s compare her living standards to the living standards of the abused women. That will put it in prespective.

    Margie Zacharias is still the taskmaster I guess. Sad for her kids and grandkids. Can’t imagine having Ravi and Margie for parents. That would make for a lifetime of therapy.

    1. Who are you to judge? Are you a Christian? Did you read the article about Naomi Zacharias? They don’t need therapy. She talks about what a wonderful father Ravi was. They don’t know this other person. He’s not here to take the fallout. They are bearing the brunt of it. How about extending them some grace instead of condemnation? How about praying for them? In time, she will likely come to see the truth and deal with it. At the end of the day, it doesn’t change what a good husband and father he was to them.

      1. You clearly don’t comprehend the harm done to Ravi’s victims by defending the indefensible. If he can groom adult victims in a short period of time, imagine the influence he had on his family over decades. That they are spewing their denial in the face of real evidence, speaks to what a ‘good father’ he was.

      2. Excuse me. You are judging me. Hypocrite much? Are you a mind reader and know Margie’s real thoughts or do you just work for RZIM?? Inquiring minds want to know.

        They all need professional therapy unless they are void of all feeling. If it is the latter then they can’t be helped at all. Psychopaths never change. They only they have a false appearance of virtue. Kinda like what you are doing now.

        Namaste.

      3. Crystal, I am sorry but you cannot claim that Ravi’s wife and children are simply “bearing the brunt of it” since Margie and Sarah were on the Board of Directors and were well aware of allegations against Ravi beginning with Lori Anne Thompson. There is also credible testimony that Margie assisted Ravi in facilitating an abortion in the 1970s: https://virtueonline.org/duplicitous-world-christian-apologist-ravi-zacharias and https://julieroys.com/podcast/ravi-zacharias-pressured-me-to-get-an-abortion/.

        Margie may choose to claim Ravi’s innocence now (and insinuate her own), but it flies in the face of every single piece of evidence that has been revealed before and after Ravi’s death.

      4. You have a point, Crystal. But at the end of the day it doesn’t change that the “good husband and father” appears to have been a rapist and a sexual predator.

        It’s nice that you have compassion for the family of the suspected predator, a family that denies that he did what the investigators conclude that he did and casts doubt on the stories from the victims. Perhaps you need to extend some compassion to the victims. That’s what a Real Christian would do.

    2. I’m not sure we can ever know whether Margie truly believes what she wrote in that letter or not. However, such speculation is irrelevant. In her own “investigation” through Ravi’s personal belongings she may have found no condemning evidence, but in her letter she ignores the overwhelming weight of evidence from the victims and the investigation. In the letter, she does not wrestle with this evidence except to condemn the victims as liars. Only God knows the inner workings of her heart and mind, but we know enough to avoid people like Margie.

  11. Margie’s denial is gross. There’s plenty of evidence and victims of Ravi’s abuse. My heart shrinks when i think that if instead of vulnerable employees, had Ravi abused her own daughter, that poor girl would have dealt with such a blind, deaf, and unbelieving mother. Everything happens for a reason.

  12. Playing victim is a Zacharias trait. I knew she was going to miss all the perks afforded her over the years. And now she bemoans those ill gotten gains. Doesn’t she still have phones of his from 2014-2017? She doesn’t mention those and the fact she refused to turn them over to M&M. She also doesn’t mention looking at all the victim’s pictures on them. Ravi did learn from his mistakes. Which is why he switched to Blackberry. Does she really think he would be stupid enough to bring any incriminating evidence home? Maybe she should fly to Bangkok and go through those apartments. Unless they’ve already been sanitized by henchmen like Abdu and co.

    If Ravi kept everything, did she find my letter to him of late 1998/early 1999? My email from 2014?

    I cannot find any sympathy for Margie. She is crafty. She knows that Ravi considered his marriage a ‘business arrangement.’ One that she profited from handsomely. She is a smart, educated woman who was, and by not releasing LAT from the NDA, is still complicit in the coverup. She knew me personally and obviously stays in touch with my baby’s father Ramesh Zacharias and his ex wife Vicki. Margie knows.

    By not repenting, she must be hopeful to spend eternity in the same place as Ravi. Her soul – her choice.

    1. The fact that the very second sentence of Margie’s letter is a complaint about losing the home she was “promised” is very telling as to where her priorities lie.

    2. Maybe Ravi wasn’t the worse evil person in that family? Maybe we have been looking in the wrong direction, Shirley. Puppet Masters are scary people. What do we really know about Margie’s upbringing and conversion? Do you think we should be poking around there? I can’t imagine going to Ramesh for any medical exam.

      1. Kay, It’s difficult to quantify evil. Is the enabler as bad as the offender? In the case of Margie, I would say yes. Ravi didn’t act in a vacuum. Not just Margie. Although she was in a position to influence BOD decisions, she claims to not know about the apartments, the female masseuse that traveled with Ravi (while they falsified her credentials and put her on salary), the spas that she visited with her daughter, etc. Margie is a University trained nurse. Maybe other things as well. What she isn’t, is stupid or naive. She knew. But was enjoying a lavish lifestyle. Living in a house I’ve heard compared to the size of a plantation home. Her children never wanted for anything and joined the family business. They all lost their way. Or were protected from the truth by their parents.
        Ramesh is a dog (no insult to my four-legged friends intended). He used Ravi’s influence to extort an abortion of our child. Because my deeply religious parents would never have agreed were it not for the pressure and recommendation of a ‘man of God’. And from all accounts, his misuse of women didn’t end with me.
        Did the files that Margie shredded contain any incriminating evidence? Why were business files kept at home? What about tax files? Don’t you have to keep those for a period of time? Even after death? It made me cringe that Ravi gave his daughters the same gifts as he gave some of his victims.
        The whole letter is offensive to me. From the standpoint of a Ravi survivor.

        1. Dear Ms. Steward, please know that there are many people who are sorry that you have to endure being attacked yet again, by the enablers of RZ. We stand for the truth, alongside you. Thank you for your bravery and steadfastness in your testimony to the facts despite personal cost.

        2. Shirley, I can recall many years ago that the Times of India had a story that stated 100% of Indian men cheat on their wives. I was truly shocked. I went to a male friend who was Indian. He said, no sister that is not true. He said, it is only 90% not 100%. At that point I started to understand a bit more about what I was dealing with. Indian women put up with 99% of what Indian men dish out. Most marriages are arranged. Very few marriages are love marriages. It is very common for Indian men to marry the woman that mommy chooses but after marraige he still keeps the girlfriend around. Marriage and children are seen as a duty. After the duty is fulfilled one can live their life as they want. It is hard to understand different cultures. I have several Western girlfriends married to Indian men. I would say 90% of those women struggle in the marriage. Some are Christian and some are not. They explained it being like a faucet. Before the marriage the faucet was running full of hot water. After marriage the faucet stops completely. This is normal for them.

          It looks to me that RZ demanded his family adopt his culture. There are many good things in that culture but there are also many, many very dark things about it. It would take a lot of compromising of values in my opinion. Margie needs to answer for her compromises.

  13. Margie is no different from Dotty Sandusky. Both had to have seen and known but if they acknowledged it, their worlds would have come crashing down. Play the blind card and not rock the boat.

  14. She needs to look at the overwhelming evidence of what happened. It wasn’t her fault but it’s very tragic that she’s defending a late sexual predator.

    1. Arranging for an illegal abortion for her fiancé’s brother’s girlfriend: that’s complicity. She was certainly at fault in that. If she did that, why wouldn’t she cover up for all the rest as much as possible?

  15. Mrs. Zacharias is not qualified to investigate the crimes of which RZ has been accused. Qualified investigators found plenty even without her cooperation. Since she asserts that no evidence is found in his belongings, she would turn all of these over to the investigators. Further, she should submit to interviews by the investigators and grant access to all of her papers and devices.

  16. A tragedy all around to be sure. Clearly she is in denial in some way and should just admit what her husband was.
    I don’t know if she is that way because she really believes it, or because she knows better and is trying to protect something, or because she has been harmed and scarred by all he did and doesn’t know any better.
    If she has any advisors, they should have been wise enough to prevent her from making such a statement.

    Whatever the case, one thing is certain:denying the truth will just cause more damage and harm.

  17. The abortion story is false? Ravi never claimed degrees and teaching positions he did not have? Lori and all these women are lying? Ravi wasn’t travelling around with female masseuses? And what Christian person would be involved in massage parlors?

  18. It is sad when the failures of a leader put his family in such an awkward position. Sin has such devastating consequences for everyone. It reminds me of Jonathan who was friends with David even though his father, Saul, hated David and wanted to kill him. Maybe there are some lessons there about how to handle things like this.

    Oh, that Margie would accept the truth about her late husband and find love for the people that he hurt and abused; that she would do the right thing inasmuch as it is in her power to seek justice for them; that she would be reconciled to the women he hurt and that she and they would find love for one another in the Lord and there might be peace between them; and that together, by God’s grace in Christ, they might all forgive the man who victimized and deceived them all.

    Only the gospel makes such things possible. May those of us looking in from the outside pray that this may happen.

    1. She would also have to own up to her actions. Not just his. She’s not in denial like a victim would be; she’s just still trying to lie her way out of her predicament.

    1. Stuff she may have not looked through because on some level she know it would cause further cognitive dissonance and further damn the Zacharias brand once it came out

  19. Poor deluded woman. It is tough to find your whole world destroyed.

    What does she think he was doing for months on end with that apartment in the sex district of Thailand? Denial kept her marriage together. But can denial carry her the rest of the way?

    1. I just finished listening to the podcast with Coleman Luck, about wolves in the church. She probably sees herself and RZ as the good guys. I bet she really believes the lies she’s telling, because she has been covering up RZ’s lies for so long. It has warped her mind.

  20. I want to know what was in the documents she states she spent numerous hours shredding. She says in the letter that she lost track of the garbage bags she filled. If there are multiple claims of misconduct, why are you spending untold hours shredding documents if you have nothing to hide?

    1. This whole thing appears to be spiraling out of control. While the allegations seem to be plenty, the investigation appears shoddy. In reading the “Defending Ravi” wordpress page, why did Julie Roys delete Nathan Z’s response to her question (and then reinstate it after being called out on it)?

      1. I took down Nathan’s comment until I could respond to it. There’s nothing nefarious about that. It’s just that I didn’t want the comment on my page without an adequate response. But since you’re raising the issue, why is it that Nathan Zacharias has closed all the comments on his page? Does it not seem hypocritical for him to criticize me for temporarily removing his comment while he allows no comments at all? This is such a ridiculous red herring.

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