Ep. 21 - I Kissed "I Kissed Dating Goodbye" Goodbye w/ Joshua Harris

Not many of you knew 22-year-old me, but trust me when I tell you that that guy was an idiot... albeit a loveable idiot. I'm sure we all look back on former versions of ourselves and wince, a little. Fortunately, not many of us had a platform to promote those beliefs, but imagine if you did. How well would those ideas age? Think you'd regret some of the messages you preached with absolute conviction? I have a feeling that some of these TikTok kids are in for a crippling dose of self-loathing in the near future!    This week, we're joined by author, former pastor, and one of the most controversial voices in purity culture, Joshua Harris. When Josh was a newly married young man in his early 20's, he managed to collect many of the popular evangelical ideas about relationships, marriage, and sexual purity, and put them to paper in a the now-infamous book, "I Kissed Dating Goodbye." His work acted as a lightning rod in the church/youth group scene of the 90's and 00's, and had a huge influence on the culture that we grew up in. Josh quickly rose to prominence in the Christian church, resulting in speaking tours, other books, and a chance to train as a pastor in a massive church with a very charismatic leader. However, that's where things started to go south, eventually leading to his departure from Christianity. He has since recanted his beliefs about dating and sexual purity, unpublished his book, and spoken openly about his change of heart. You may be familiar with some of Josh's story, but I think you'll be glad that you heard the rest!