The Apostasy of Joshua Harris: Questions on Training, Maturity, and Foundation

Pretty much every blog or website that writes about religion has addressed Joshua Harris’ repudiation of Christianity.  I may as well throw myself in, even though this was the exchange I had about Harris when I heard about what happened last week while at a short-term mission trip:

“Hey, did you hear that Joshua Harris is getting a divorce and saying he’s no longer a Christian?”

“Who?”

“That guy who wrote I Kissed Dating Goodbye.”

“Ohhhh, that guy.”

Took me a bit to remember who he was and what he had done in ministry.  The reason for that is pretty straightforward for me:

1. I have never read I Kissed Dating Goodbye.  Maybe this is elitist of me, but I’ve never been fond of these kinds of popular level Christian books such as Blue Like Jazz, The Purpose Driven Life, and The Prayer of Jabez and usually ignore them.
2. I’ve never been a part of the New Calvinists/Young, Restless, and Reformed, of which Harris was a prominent figure (you can find sit-down discussions he’s had with the likes of Mark Driscoll and Francis Chan many years ago on YouTube).

Not only that, I’ve actually been critical of the above pretty frequently.  I agree with the general tenor of his book that Christians should take dating seriously and should strive to be sexually pure, but from I heard of the book, I found all the other stuff heaped on top to be difficult to plainly get from Scripture or sometimes just silly (if I had a nickel for every time somebody said to me, “I don’t believe in dating, I believe in courtship”…).  As far as the Young, Restless, and Reformed, I’ve made my criticisms of that movement pretty clear on this blog, both theologically and methodologically, though that does not mean I do not respect major figures of the movement like John Piper as genuine preachers of the gospel.

Probably because of that, Harris’ divorce and apostasy did not register much of a reaction from me because I simply did not view him as a leading and amazing teacher in evangelicalism.  However, this does not mean that they did not reverberate among Christians or even the secular world, and everyone is seeking to blame their favorite targets depending upon what ax they want to grind: Secular people or bitter “exvangelicals” want to blame complementarianism, “Christian purity culture,” and allegedly outdated Christian sexual ethics for Harris’ turmoil, while some evangelicals are blaming New Calvinism or “hipster” Christianity for Harris’ apparently shaky faith.

Some of that above criticism is fair, while others are clearly borne from unbiblical and bitter roots and aren’t very helpful.  I will take a slightly different tact and hone in on these points: Harris’ youthful rise to evangelical stardom, lack of training, and problematic ministry experiences.  As seems clear from a subsequent interview, all of the above left Harris unable to answer criticisms or nagging questions, leaving him confused, feeling bad that he hurt other people’s feelings, and doubting this whole enterprise of “Christianity” that he hooked his wagon to.

The Conundrum at the Border for Christians

The last few weeks have seen an increasing crisis at the border as there are too many people seeking asylum than border patrol and its facilities are designed to handle.  It has led to overcrowded living quarters and accusations of inhumane conditions and treatment, and it has put immigration law back in the forefront of political squabbling.

Exaggerations and maybe even outright lying from both sides don’t help.  Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called these detention centers “concentration camps,” accused border patrol of telling women to drink out of toilets, and painted a picture of horrific conditions.  Turns out that the toilet story is pretty suspect, and witnesses at the facility disputed her claims that she actually toured the facility at all and instead spent her time crying and yelling.  On the other side, we have some people trying to paint a squeaky clean image of these centers despite reports that they are indeed overcrowded and the border patrol is under-funded.  In all likelihood, the conditions are nowhere near ideal.  Throw in President Trump’s idiotic statement that AOC and a couple of other Congressmen should “go back” to their country if they don’t like America, and tensions have elevated even higher.  I don’t have a high opinion of AOC’s ability to reason, but assuming she had a country “to go back to” simply based on, presumably, her last name was deeply offensive and stupid, and it once again shows how thin-skinned this president is.  In any case, this situation puts the country in a difficult spot in figuring out what to do.