A ray of sunshine: A megachurch preacher repents.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

Author of Christian relationship guide says he has lost his faith
Joshua Harris says his marriage is over and apologises to LGBT+ people for promoting bigotry
Harriet Sherwood - Religion correspondent @harrietsherwood
Mon 29 Jul 2019

Link: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jul/29/author-christian-relationship-guide-joshua-harris-says-marriage-over

(snips)

The American author of a bestselling Christian guide to relationships for young people has announced that his marriage is over and he has lost his faith. Joshua Harris, whose biblical guide to relationships I Kissed Dating Goodbye sold nearly 1m copies around the world after it was published in 1997, has also apologised to LGBT+ people for contributing to a “culture of exclusion and bigotry”.
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“To those who read my book and were misdirected or unhelpfully influenced by it, I am sincerely sorry.” This month he announced on Instagram that he and his wife were separating after 21 years of marriage because “significant changes have taken place in both of us”. Another Instagram message posted nine days later said he had “undergone a massive shift in regard to my faith in Jesus”.

He wrote: “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 practise faith and I want to remain open to this, but I’m not there now.”

He added: “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 suggest this guy start a rehab center for evangelical preachers led astray by the almighty dollar and thirst for power.....

[gratuitous]

1. Apology, repentance, now what's the next step?

How does Harris propose to undo some of the damage he's done?

[KY_EnviroGuy]

3. As with all programs of recovery, the next step is action.

I suspect he's still in a state of shock or PTSD after all those years of holier-than-thou, but it would be interesting to follow his progress in making amends.

[catrose]

31. Yes. Making amends means to repair the damage, not just ask for forgiveness.

[TruckFump]

6. Working against Repukes in all elections IMO would be a good first step. EOM

[stevesinpa]

14. he's taken the first step

he's taken the first step in his recovery, he needs to get himself right before he can begin to work on correcting past mistakes. don't be so quick to jump on him. he has admitted his mistakes, give him time. he spent his entire life being brainwashed and then brainwashing. it takes time to get out of that.
you should be welcoming him, not attacking him,

[gratuitous]

16. That's why I said "next step"

I'm not attacking Harris, but I'm not giving him a free pass on all the misery he's inflicted on people for years either.

[elocs]

20. I was wondering who was in charge of giving free passes

or withholding them, now I know. I'm sure I wouldn't want such a power.

[gratuitous]

22. So the survivors of Harris' previous life should just suck it up

After all, dude said he was sorry.

So, if your gay kid thought he or she was worthless, got into drugs, maybe even committed suicide, well, Harris said he is sorry now. So, we all cool with that?

[calimary]

38. Understandable. But it's mighty hard to trust again after trust has been so severely damaged.

But I believe in healing and recovery and deathbed conversions, too.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

36. 3. Profit!!

It's just another fucking stunt for ratings and "offerings". See Swaggert, Bakker, et. al.

[yellowcanine]

2. Too little too late.

Needs to do a lot more than just apologize. How about all the money hé made trashing people who were different?

[CentralMass]

4. I suspect that he is still a conman.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

7. When you got troubles, just move far away from it.

See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joshua_Harris_(pastor)

Snip:

In 2016 Harris settled with his family in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. He permanently resigned from his position at Covenant Life church.

Apparently, he's finally going to get an education....

Link: https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2015/february/why-joshua-harris-kissed-his-megachurch-goodbye-clc.html

Snip:

At 40 years old, Joshua Harris has already pastored a megachurch for a decade and authored six books, including the bestselling I Kissed Dating Goodbye. Now, he wants to go to college.

“I have lived a sort of backwards life. Without meaning to, I have experienced life out of the normal order and sequence of events,” Harris told attendees at Covenant Life Church (CLC) in Gaithersburg, Maryland, on Sunday, January 25. “I haven’t completed any post-graduate study. I don’t even have an undergraduate degree. In fact, I have never attended a formal school full-time in my life.”

Harris, who was homeschooled, has enrolled at Regent College in Vancouver, British Columbia, for the fall of 2015. His last day as CLC senior pastor will be in April. He leaves with his church's blessing. Harris began his “crazy, backwards life” in high school when he began publishing his own magazine geared toward fellow homeschoolers.

No damn wonder so many are ignorant enough to follow Trump. Most have not experienced much life out of the Christian bubble.

These guys are the grifter's grifter.....

[Maraya1969]

12. My brother, a white evangelical Christian pastor has a doctorate in communications

And, of course a masters in divinity. He has 3 kids and everyone of them was first home schooled and then sent to Christian colleges, (one went to the Fallwell university......can't remember the name)

He believes the craziest shit and has taught it to his kids. Now 2 of his kids have 3 kids also.

And the beat goes on.

[catrose]

32. WHAT! He gets this kind of job with NO COLLEGE?

Compare and contrast with Episcopalians, who require you to have at least two years of therapy with your years of seminary. I'm not sure if the therapy comes first or concurrently, but still!

[bobbieinok]

5. Freaking out Evangelical world. See patheos blogs' reports at friendlyatheist, lovejoyfeminism

Many contend he has 'betrayed god'!!

[KY_EnviroGuy]

8. Yep, I did a quick scan of a search for "Pastor Joshua Harris" and....

received dozens of search results from Christian magazines and they rode him out of Jesustown on a rail.

The article comments were quite entertaining, labeling him apostate and evil.....

[superpatriotman]

9. Pray away the Pray

Nt

[Aristus]

10. Mrs. Aristus and I had a long talk about this last night.

She is a recovering conservative evangelical, Pentacostal, charismatic, spirit-filled, Bible-believing, etc., etc., etc.,

What my progressive views and liberal Methodist outlook could not do, Trump and his 81% among Christian evangelicals accomplished quite nicely; turn Mrs. Aristus into a God-skeptical liberal Democrat. When she saw Trump's support among the people she grew up with, it shocked her to her core. I've never seen such a severe crisis of faith. She is now firmly in the Dem camp, and can't wait to vote against Trump next year.

Anyway, this guy and the subject of his book was our topic for discussion last night. She said that, as a Christian conservative, she married her abusive first husband at 19 just to be able to have church-approved sex; only to discover that he had no sex drive of any kind. She stayed with him for fifteen years and somehow managed to have three kids, who are grown now.

Her son, my stepson, raised in the evangelical church and an admirer of the "Kissed Dating Goodbye" book, also married young just to be able to have sex, only to discover that his new young wife had......well......Daddy issues. They divorced after a miserable year and a half together.

He remarried a wonderful woman, and a far more progressive Christian than he had been. He told his mother not long ago that he threw away that book.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

25. Thanks for sharing that lovely story, Aristus.

Having been raised in a very genteel main-line Southern Baptist Church in the 50s and 60s in a small TN farm town, I struggle to understand this spike in popularity of evangelical churches. I supposed it's simply became many people's entire social life and escape from modern reality, complete with theater-quality sound and video - not to mention valet parking!

Now, like most American fads, I'm thinking eventually megachurches will suffer the same fate as megamalls. People will tire of them and tire of giving them their tithe, and maybe transcend to something like fast-food style religion.....

Hell, Christians nowadays could save lot of time and gas by just holding prayer meetings in their local Chic-Fil-A or Home Depot.

What I do know is that America is slowly becoming less religious (10% drop from 1990 to 2008) and that's evidenced in your story.

However, there's probably a practical limit to that because human psychology suggests that so long as mankind has something to fear (including death) or things that are unknown, we'll keep on inventing gods and religions.

[Celerity]

11. very happy to see this, I hope he is sincere and takes active measures to make amends

[bucolic_frolic]

13. He just ran out of gas, now he's changing lanes

to make the other side payoff.

These guys ought to be defrocked so they can go do factory work and support themselves

[Funtatlaguy]

26. That or his wife found some "men's" magazines

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

15. It would seem that when your marriage is collapsing is when you most need your faith.

But then again, I'm a pessimist, so what do I know?

[Initech]

17. Wow, someone actually broke free of the cult!

[Marcuse]

18. He'll be back. There's still $ on the table.

[Javaman]

19. I'm sure repenting ones sins is a lot easier when you are sitting on a pile of money made...

...from those very sins.

he can go fuck off.

[keithbvadu2]

23. Judas was an early modern day conservative disciple.

Judas was an early modern day conservative disciple.

Judas got 30 pieces of silver, but just once, for selling Christ.

Pat Robertson, Jim Bakker and their ilk get millions of dollars repeatedly for selling Christ.

Judas was a fool for doing a one-time sale.

[elocs]

21. After reading some of the posts here, it's clear that nothing this man could do

will be good enough for them. I guess not only Christians are judgmental. Perhaps a list can be made of all of the things this megachurch preacher is expected to do before he is "forgiven" for who he once was, what he once said.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

29. It will be instructional to observe....

what this man does with himself after he completes college. After all, he's only 40 and may surprise us with some darn good deeds going forward.

“Any fool can criticize, condemn, and complain but it takes character and self-control to be understanding and forgiving.”
– Dale Carnegie

I think my criticism would lean toward the church for allowing someone with so little life experience and education to wield this much influence on their youth and to ascend to that level of power so quickly. The most memorable, loving an humble pastor of my youth was a man who was a veteran that had been through ferocious battles in WWII prior to entering the ministry.

[Mr. Evil]

24. "I suggest this guy start a rehab center for evangelical preachers led astray by the almighty dollar

and thirst for power."

That would be a good start.

[empedocles]

27. Good sign. At least one more in the better direction

[Girard442]

28. Is he still a theist?

Not at all clear from the article. If he’s publicly doubting the existence of God, he’d better be living in an undisclosed location.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

33. Sounds like he's currently lost in the wilderness and searching for renewal.

Quote:

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.”

Like me after finding sobriety at 43 Y.O., I had to start from scratch with my understanding of life (he's now 44).

KY......

[VOX]

30. His "un-conversion" is so perfectly detailed and calculated that it doesn't ring true.

Makes me think he’s found a more lucrative grift, since the Jesus-thing was fizzling out after 30-plus years of book sales.

[LonePirate]

34. He seems like he is checking off boxes before coming out.

We don’t need another right wing hate monger who now wants to live his true life after causing so much pain to other people.

[Neema]

37. That was my instinct too. Possibly both he and his wife.

I'm so tired of self-loathing, damaged, closeted people taking out their rage and jealousy on everyone brave enough to live their truth.

[Neema]

35. So many WTF moments. First of all, a book about relationships written by a BOY OF 21 was a

best-seller? What the actual fuck does an 21 year old know about relationships with enough expertise to write a book? And who the fuck would publish it or read it? God, it just shows how gullible these fake Christians are. Someone writes a book telling them what they want to hear and that's all they need.

I have a feeling one or both of them came out as gay (likely him) and realized all the bullshit he'd been fed and was feeding his followers was just that...utter bullshit.

[Demovictory9]

39. good