I read “I Kissed Dating Goodbye” when I was young & vulnerable. It caused a lot of harm in my life. My wife and I hit several speed bumps in our relationship that could have been avoided had it not been for the teachings in his book.
“Purity culture” that is the soul of many Christian bubbles is trash. It calls back to a time when men were able to own women as property and treated like objects to be commanded. The archaic idea of a woman not being able to act without the approval of a male authority figure is offensive to me.
I met Joshua Harris in Chicago years ago after a speaking engagement he had. He was polite in conversation, but like many public religious speakers was clearly full of himself, trained to stay on message, and not take questions.
I’m SO happy the has grown enough to realize & express that he was wrong. It’s redeeming to see someone in authority own up to making a mistake. I know so many in religious authority who don’t accept correction and would NEVER express fault. This small act seems to have opened a door for him to travel down a road of healing for those many lives he hurt.
Is he doing it in the right way? Maybe not. His social feeds give the feeling of someone who isn’t ready to own up to the damage done to the LGBTQA+ community and those not in the religious bubble he’s still in. Perhaps my hope is misplaced.
So many in “The Church” would NEVER do this. I can name dozens of leaders that I’ve worked with or for who have messed up and should take this route. He’s not perfect, but I respect Joshua a little more now for questioning and changing for the better.
What do you think? Did you read that book? Did it hinder you or cause damage you might have otherwise been able to avoid? Let me know in the comments.
