July 27, 2019
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Josh Harris leaves Christianity
Joshua Harris (author of "I Kissed Dating Goodbye") announces that he is no longer a Christian, and that he is getting divorced. https://julieroys.com/josh-harris-kisses-his-faith-goodbye/
I have had two or three brief personal interactions with Josh over the years. I am very sad to read his words. Here are a couple quick thoughts...
1. Why would you leave Jesus Christ after knowing Him? The One who died for you, the One who gave His all for you, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, the "blessed and only Sovereign", the creator of life and all things good? The only reason I can think of for leaving Christ and Christianity is if one discovered evidence indicating that the Bible was wrong in the history it presents (e.g. 1 Corinthians 15:19), that Jesus did not exist or did not say the things the Biblical records say that He said. But where is that evidence? All other reasons seem pathetic.
2. Josh has apparently lost his faith over the past few years, coincidentally at the same time that he went to seminary (Regent College). Or maybe not so coincidentally, I don't know. Losing one's faith is generally a slow, gradual process. Perhaps he had doubts from his days in the pastorate ( https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/long-an-outsider-popular-evangelical-pastor-heads-for-the-mainstream/2015/01/30/31827364-a881-11e4-a7c2-03d37af98440_story.html ), seeing unbiblical power plays and hypocrisy, and he was not able to find good answers for his soul. Or perhaps there were other reasons. I wish I knew why Josh made this decision. I will not judge him... that is God's job. I have had times of doubt in my life too. But thanks be to God, God has given me satisfying answers, through various friends and websites.
3. Josh apologizes in his post about his past views and teaching about women in the church, LGTBQ+, parenting, etc. Josh may well have specific things to retract, but might he be here throwing out the baby with the bathwater? He laments that his writing contributed to a culture of "exclusion and bigotry". This is a standard talking point of liberal/progressive culture (including in Christianity), but what does the Bible say about this? Does the Bible say that we must always try to avoid "excluding" people if they are living in sin? (2 Thess. 3:6-15, 1 Cor. 5, 2 Cor 2:5-11, 2 Cor 5, 2 John 1:9-11, etc.) What about accusations of "bigotry"? Consider what Jesus Christ (the "Son of Man") taught:
Luke 6:22-23, 26 "Blessed are you when men hate you, and ostracize you, and insult you, and scorn your name as evil, for the sake of the Son of Man. Be glad in that day and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven. For in the same way their fathers used to treat the prophets. ... Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for their fathers used to treat the false prophets in the same way."
I don't want to defend everything Josh wrote. Probably certain things ought to be retracted. But from his summary post, it sounds like he might be throwing too much away.4. Josh writes of his surprise of grace and kindness coming his way from non-Christians. Why would this be surprising? Of course non-Christians can be kind and gracious. According to the Bible, all humans are created in the image of God, and God has given common grace to everyone. One must move past this, to the truth that Jesus taught. Jesus did not get crucified because He was such a nice, kind, loving person (though He certainly was). There has always been an offensive exclusivity to the truth, no matter how gently and kindly one tries to present it. Just like everyone else, Josh must believe in Jesus as his Lord and Savior if he is to experience peace, joy, forgiveness, and eternal life.... As Jesus said,
"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." (John 3:16-18)5. Let's pray for Josh, and his wife Shannon and their three children, and Josh's six younger siblings, his former congregation, and everyone else who will be affected by this. I imagine it must be very difficult for Shannon and Josh's family at this moment... she has seen the issue for years, but everything is now becoming public.
God, please strengthen Shannon and help her to point her children toward you. Help her words and actions to show the love and the truth of Jesus to Josh. Please bring Josh back to the truth. Please bring many other people to the truth about Jesus, through these sad events. We know that You use even tragic events for great good. Let this be one of those things.
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