Ravi Zacharias’ books and resources will no longer be offered by HarperCollins Christian Publishing (HCCP), the religious publishing arm of HarperCollins that includes both Thomas Nelson and Zondervan, after it was revealed in an RZIM investigation that the late apologist spent decades as a serial sexual predator.
HCPP has published over 20 books that were either authored or co-authored by Zacharias over the last 25 years, including his most well-known work, Can Man Live Without God? which has been published in 21 languages. His latest book, Seeing Jesus From the East: A Fresh Look at History’s Most Influential Figure, co-authored with Abdu Murray (Zondervan), was released in April 2020. Zacharias has sold over 2 million books.
Casey Francis Harrell, vice president of corporate communication for HCCP, said in a statement about the decision to remove the books from print:
In September, when the most-recent sexual misconduct allegations against the late Ravi Zacharias surfaced, HarperCollins Christian Publishing immediately suspended all projects and shipments of his work.
Following the findings in the independent report, the company will immediately take all his publications out of print. We are deeply saddened, and we mourn for the victims.
This is not unexpected news, as there was been much discussion over the last 4 months over what to do with his books, with people even asking whether or not they should be burned, after the interim report revealed that the allegations of sexual impropriety were true. Steve Baughman revealed last month that Zacharias’ upcoming book Jesus for You, set for release in 2021, had been scrapped.
Lee Strobel, who prominently featured Ravi Zacharias in his book The Case for Christ, the international bestseller that had over 5 million copies in print as of 2016, announced that he and his publisher were likewise halting printings of their book, and would be revising it to remove mention of Zacharias and his interview.
When questioned about the decision, after being accused of engaging in “cancel culture,” Strobel pointed out, “The difference is Ravi never showed repentance. The book is for spiritual seekers and I don’t want his hypocrisy to be a stumbling block to them in considering the evidence for Christ.”
