Joshua Harris announced his “separation” from his wife recently. I did a post on that here.
He has recently followed that announcement with two big pieces of news in another Instagram post:
1. The “separation” announcement was a divorce announcement according to Harris himself.
He writes,
“My heart is full of gratitude. I wish you could see all the messages people sent me after the announcement of my divorce.”
Why use the word “separation” one week earlier then instead of “divorce” if “divorce” was really what the announcement was about? Is there something to gain from telling the Christian subculture that it is a “separation” rather than a “divorce?”
Harris is now launching a career selling message clarity and marketing. So, I don’t buy that this choice of words was unintentional.
2. Joshua Harris no longer considers himself a Christian.
He writes,
“The information that was left out of our announcement is that I have undergone a massive shift in regard to my faith in Jesus…. By all the measurements that I have for defining a Christian, I am not a Christian.”
Not a pastor. Not a Christian. Not accountable to explain divorce through a Christian lens.
Ok, it is now coming clear as to why using “divorce” in this announcement is safer than the first one:
He is no longer agreeing to follow Jesus as Lord, and thereby–unlike before this announcement–does not have to explain this life choice through that lens.
The man who taught “Christian” sexual ethics to my generation is now saying that he is no longer a Christian. So, since he has disavowed his faith publicly, we no longer have to consider his acts–particularly, his divorce–as exemplifying that of a Christian leader. What a sad day!
I do not rejoice over a brother (former) minister who walks away from Jesus.
“…for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad.”
-Matthew 26:31b, KJV
I’m saddened by the fact that he feels he has to walk away from Jesus in order to divorce. We don’t know why he is divorcing. We don’t know if his wife cheated or if she’s the one who wants to walk away. The sad fact of the matter is that he is going to get flak for divorcing even if he had a biblical reason or if he is the one who didn’t want the divorce. Look at how much flak Lysa Terkheurst got and her husband was unfaithful multiple times. She told people why she was divorcing and it didn’t help. Some criticized her for outing her husband and perpetuated the shared responsibility lie.