I really did not know who "Joshua Harris" was but it appears that Christianity has had another celebrity professional Christian walk away from the faith. If this keeps up all God is going to have left are those who love Him for who He really is. Mere amateurs who don't get paid a nickel for their love nor one minute in the spotlight for their adoration will comprise the bulk of the church. The payment Christ made for their sins was enough for them. I think God can handle it.

It seems that Mr. Harris achieved fame young for a book he wrote about "giving up dating" (I Kissed Dating Goodbye) in favor of courtship. There is a lot wrong with modern dating, don't get me wrong. But whatever alternative Mr. Harris pursued wasn't foolproof either. Last year he separated from his wife. This year he loudly left the Christian faith, condemning the church for the usual laundry-list of misdeeds such as not accepting homosexual relationships as "marriages".

Since I don't know the fellow, apparently he didn't even know himself very well, I cannot say with any certainty what his motives are, except to say that even the best of them will be tainted with sin like mine and everyone else's. I do see a pattern though. He wanted praise from people. He wanted to one-up the works of others. When he was a Christian, his way of finding a spouse was more spiritual than yours. But when he couldn't live up to the expectations he set for himself he didn't find humility. The law isn't supposed to make us proud, it is supposed to make us humble and point to our need for grace through Christ. Those who hold up some law, even law based in scripture, and then make their boast in how well they follow that law are setting themselves up for failure. 

We were meant to fail in our own strength. That was the real point of the law. He had to fulfill it for us. What I think Joshua Harris has done is that in pride he has refused to take that last vital step. I wonder if he ever grasped the true essence of the Christian faith- that it is not about how good we are but about how good Christ is.

If you will think about it you will see that Joshua Harris has not changed a thing about himself. He simply changed value systems. He is still trying to be justified by works. He is still telling people that his set of good works are better than theirs. He is still seeking the approval of the masses, just different masses. Once he couldn't cut it under the Christian framework, he decided it was false. In truth, it was just no more use to him. Nor is it of use to anyone who approaches from an attitude of pride.