Has Josh Harris Kissed the Gift of Singleness Goodbye?
Captain Sensible writes: Well, he just might have done...Or at least, there are encouraging signs from Covenant Life church, where he is the senior pastor.
In a very recent sermon on 1 Corinthians 7, Jeff Purswell, who serves on the pastoral team at Covenant Life with special responsibility for teaching and Bible training, said this:
"Theologically it is better to speak of a gift of celibacy than a gift of singleness."
Who knew?
What a pity that congregation member Carolyn McCulley was too busy on her travels promoting the gift of singleness to hear it. Maybe someone will be kind enough to let her know?
Only one small question remains though:
Why didn't Josh Harris give this talk himself?
Given that he has pretty much built his career on writing about singleness...
He wasn't -- perish the thought! -- too proud to admit he was theologically wrong, so he delegated the task to someone else...was he?
Now having said that, I have heard some of Josh's talks on other subjects, and he seems like a very godly and humble man. Indeed, despite some terrible flaws, even his books on singleness do make some valid points regarding respect for women and the male responsibility of pursuit.
So why this apparently cowardly delegation of admission regarding a serious theological error?
But maybe I am wrong.
Perhaps he had something more important to do that day than correct an error that has spread like wildfire, partly due to the success of his best-selling books?
In a very recent sermon on 1 Corinthians 7, Jeff Purswell, who serves on the pastoral team at Covenant Life with special responsibility for teaching and Bible training, said this:
"Theologically it is better to speak of a gift of celibacy than a gift of singleness."
Who knew?
What a pity that congregation member Carolyn McCulley was too busy on her travels promoting the gift of singleness to hear it. Maybe someone will be kind enough to let her know?
Only one small question remains though:
Why didn't Josh Harris give this talk himself?
Given that he has pretty much built his career on writing about singleness...
He wasn't -- perish the thought! -- too proud to admit he was theologically wrong, so he delegated the task to someone else...was he?
Now having said that, I have heard some of Josh's talks on other subjects, and he seems like a very godly and humble man. Indeed, despite some terrible flaws, even his books on singleness do make some valid points regarding respect for women and the male responsibility of pursuit.
So why this apparently cowardly delegation of admission regarding a serious theological error?
But maybe I am wrong.
Perhaps he had something more important to do that day than correct an error that has spread like wildfire, partly due to the success of his best-selling books?
posted by Captain Sensible at 1:17 PM
3 Comments:
Funny thing about old Josh. I have yet to meet any Chritian singles that have anything nice to say about him or his books.
At this point why would he care about being theological correct anyway? He already has his wife and YOUR money!
I have read both of Harris's books on dating/courtship and found them to be generally quite mature, given the author's age at writing, although I'll admit there were a few rather cheesy sections in both. One thing that interested me was that the title of his first book was "I Kissed Dating Goodbye," yet in his second tome, "Boy Meets Girl," he says that, among other things about now-wife Shannon, he "wanted us to start going on dates together." So many courtship advocates today look at dating almost as the Anti-Christ. Captain, I'm curious to know what you regarded as the "serious flaws" in his singles books.
I think it's a little soon to be snide in our speculations about why Jeff Purswell gave the sermon you referenced, rather than Harris, however. There is probably a perfectly reasonable explanation.
Finally, can I express my frustration with all the hand-wringing and over-analysis (not to mention over-spiritualization) that goes on about male-female relationships among Christians? I can't help thinking that my parents and grandparents, and most others of their generations, didn't need the types of articles that blogs and Web sites such as Boundless, Solo Femininity, etc. make their own careers out of. They didn't need Josh Harris's books. They didn't make the sign of the cross at the mere thought of dating. They didn't need accountability groups asking them about their "thought life" on a weekly basis. They weren't afraid to kiss or hold hands on a date. (Most recently, in a Boundless series on "Biblical Dating" - a title I can't understand, since there was no such thing - an author gave it as his opinion that even hand-holding could lead uncontrollable singles to the bedroom.) And if they'd heard the phrase "gift of singleness," they would have likely reacted with utter bewilderment or derisive laughter. They - gasp! - dated, and got married. And happily. At least those in my family.
Then again, in the spirit of honesty, I have to admit that I am a regular reader of those very articles and those very blogs and Web sites that I just mentioned, even when they exasperate me by what seems to be over-exegesis. I just can't help feeling sometimes that we're all making it so much more complicated than it has to be. Is it because our lives are more complicated than those of our recent ancestors, filled with temptations that they never could have imagined? Or are there many other reasons?
Oh it's just the usual about the "gift of singleness" (a gift which Joshua Harris himself of course gave up at the age of 23!).
Ironically, he even subtitled one chapter "How to keep impatience from robbing you of the gift of singleness". Well, he lasted all of two years after writing the book! Having just glanced at this chapter again, I can see it is riddled with faulty doctrine. For example: "When God knows you're ready for the responsibility of commitment, He'll reveal the right person under the right circumstances." Dear oh dear. Poor old Carolyn McCulley then. Despite writing her book (which includes the chapter "Esteeming the Gift" ie. singleness) and offering oodles of advice on preparation for marriage on her blog, it would appear that the Lord STILL doesn't think she is ready for the responsibility of commitment and she must be in her mid-40s! And there is the whole contentedness with being single business, and how we should just "trust God" ie. never mind any personal or collective responsibility in this area.
And then there is the whole promotion of the brotherly/sisterly fellowshipping thing, which only really works if the creatures concerned are asexual.
And there is no disclaimer saying this book is really meant for the under 18s. I personally know of one 35 year old woman who has declared she "kissed dating goodbye".
Oh, having looked at it again it breaks my heart to think of how popular it has become and how many people have been misled by it.
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