After making the surprising announcement that he’s divorcing his wife of 19 years, Joshua Harris has released yet another alarming statement on Instagram regarding his Christian faith.
It seems the author of the controversial best-seller I Kissed Dating Goodbye has also now kissed Christianity goodbye as well.
“I have undergone a massive shift in regard to my faith in Jesus,” wrote Harris. “The popular phrase for this is ‘deconstruction,’ the biblical phrase is ‘falling away.’ By all the measurements that I have for defining a Christian, I am not a Christian.”
The shocking announcement follows the author’s recent denouncement of the principles he preached in I Kissed Dating Goodbye, a book encouraging Christian singles not to date. The popular 1997 publication has influenced purity culture in the church for over two decades.
“I no longer agree with its central idea that dating should be avoided,” Harris admitted on his personal website. “In light of the flaws I now see in I Kissed Dating Goodbye, I think it’s best to discontinue its publication, as well other supplemental resources tied to it (this includes the two books I wrote after it whose content is similar).”
And now, Harris is decrying much more than just his perspective on dating.
In the Instagram post, the author said he is “repenting of my self-righteousness, my fear-based approach to life, the teaching of my books, my views of women in the church, and my approach to parenting,” adding that he now wants to add his views on the LGBTQ+ community to the list:
“To the LGBTQ+ community, I want to say that I am sorry for the views that I taught in my books and as a pastor regarding sexuality. I regret standing against marriage equality, for not affirming you and your place in the church, and for any ways that my writing and speaking contributed to a culture of exclusion and bigotry. I hope you can forgive me.”
In spite of the radical shift in his beliefs, Harris says he feels “alive, awake, and surprisingly hopeful.”
While thousands of Christians have responded in prayer, rebuke, and lament, the 44-year-old says he “can’t join [their] mourning” as he does not “view this moment negatively.”
Read Harris’s Instagram post in full below:
“My heart is full of gratitude. I wish you could see all the messages people sent me after the announcement of my divorce. They are expressions of love though they are saddened or even strongly disapprove of the decision.
I am learning that no group has the market cornered on grace. This week I’ve received grace from Christians, atheists, evangelicals, exvangelicals, straight people, LGBTQ people, and everyone in-between. Of course there have also been strong words of rebuke from religious people. While not always pleasant, I know they are seeking to love me. (There have also been spiteful, hateful comments that angered and hurt me.)
The information that was left out of our announcement is that I have undergone a massive shift in regard to my faith in Jesus. The popular phrase for this is ‘deconstruction,’ the biblical phrase is ‘falling away.’ By all the measurements that I have for defining a Christian, I am not a Christian. Many people tell me that there is a different way to practice faith and I want to remain open to this, but I’m not there now.
Martin Luther said that the entire life of believers should be repentance. There’s beauty in that sentiment regardless of your view of God. I have lived in repentance for the past several years—repenting of my self-righteousness, my fear-based approach to life, the teaching of my books, my views of women in the church, and my approach to parenting to name a few. But I specifically want to add to this list now: to the LGBTQ+ community, I want to say that I am sorry for the views that I taught in my books and as a pastor regarding sexuality. I regret standing against marriage equality, for not affirming you and your place in the church, and for any ways that my writing and speaking contributed to a culture of exclusion and bigotry. I hope you can forgive me.
To my Christians friends, I am grateful for your prayers. Don’t take it personally if I don’t immediately return calls. I can’t join in your mourning. I don’t view this moment negatively. I feel very much alive, and awake, and surprisingly hopeful. I believe with my sister Julian that, “All shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well.”
