Joshua Harris wrote I Kissed Dating Goodbye when he was just a teenager. It quickly became the tentpole around which purity culture was built. Purity culture left a massive swath of destruction in its wake, and much of the blame was laid (I believe wrongly) at the feet of Harris. Since then, Harris himself has been married, divorced and had a crisis of faith. Like so many young Christians of that era, he claims to no longer believe in the faith he once held so dear.
Like so many Christian books, however, there are some really great takeaways and deeply profound insights to be found among a lot of really bad theology and doctrine. I believe the point of deconstructing is to “hold fast to that which is good” and throw the rest away. Join me as I talk about the good, the bad and the ugly of I Kissed Dating Goodbye.
I Kissed Dating Goodbye - Part 1: Relationship Practice