Over the past few weeks, a couple of Christian leaders have made headlines with bold declarations rejecting their faith in Christ.
Author and speaker Joshua Harris, known best for his popular book on purity “I Kissed Dating Goodbye,” was the first to make the announcement on Instagram late last month.
“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.”
Shortly after Harris’ “falling away” went viral, former Hillsong worship leader and songwriter Marty Sampson made an announcement on the same social media platform echoing many of Harris’ sentiments.
“I’m genuinely losing my faith, and it doesn’t bother me,” Sampson wrote in an Instagram post that has since been removed. “Like, what bothers me now is nothing. I am so happy now, so at peace with the world. It’s crazy.”
Sampson and Harris seemed to share a feeling of positivity and peace surrounding their new ‘spiritual enlightenment.’
“I don’t view this moment negatively,” explained Harris. “I feel very much alive, and awake, and surprisingly hopeful.”
The uncanny parallels between the two leaders’ core messages were almost eerie, and certainly unsettling for the Christian community.
While many have spewed insults, expressed disappointment, condemned, and even mourned Harris and Sampson’s recent loss of faith, few have summed up the real problem as thoroughly and thoughtfully as Skillet band member John Cooper.