At Least He's Honest (For Now)

On 17 July 2019, Josh Harris publicly declared that he is not a Christian. That's a good thing. He's being honest. He doesn't believe Jesus. For example, Josh Harris doesn't believe Jesus, when Jesus says that marriage is exclusively between a man and woman.

Here's what Josh Harris believes. 

Martin Luther said that the entire life of believers should be repentance. There’s beauty in that sentiment regardless of your view of God. I have lived in repentance for the past several years—repenting of my self-righteousness, my fear-based approach to life, the teaching of my books, my views of women in the church, and my approach to parenting to name a few. But I specifically want to add to this list now: to the LGBTQ+ community, I want to say that I am sorry for the views that I taught in my books and as a pastor regarding sexuality. I regret standing against marriage equality, for not affirming you and your place in the church, and for any ways that my writing and speaking contributed to a culture of exclusion and bigotry. I hope you can forgive me.⁣⁣

What does Josh Harris mean by "marriage equality"? He means that men should be allowed to "marry" men, and women should be allowed to "marry" women. What did Jesus say? 

Matthew 19:1 Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these sayings, that He departed from Galilee and came to the region of Judea beyond the Jordan. 2 And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them there. 

3 The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?” 

4 And He answered and said to them, “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ 5 and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? 6 So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.” 

7 They said to Him, “Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?” 

8 He said to them, “Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. 9 And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery.”

Josh Harris and his wife are divorcing. I don't know why they're divorcing, so I won't address that issue. Let's, instead, look more closely on how Jesus defined marriage. 

“Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a [singular] man [male] shall leave his [singular, male] father [singular, male] and mother [singular, female] and be joined to his [singular, male] wife [singular, female], and the two [one plus one equals two] shall become one flesh’? So then, they are no longer two [one plus one equals two] but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.”

Jesus made that statement. Does that statement leave any room for LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender... queer? questioning? who knows?)? 

Jesus starts right out saying "Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning 'made them male and female'". In the very first sentence, Jesus repudiated transgenderism. Then, every noun and pronoun He used in the rest of His response, links one man to one woman for life. 

Jesus defined marriage as a union of one man with one woman for life. In other words, Jesus opposes that which Josh Harris refers to as "marriage equality". 

Josh Harris clearly believes Jesus' definition was not just wrong, or inaccurate, but downright sinful. Otherwise, he wouldn't need to "repent", or ask for forgiveness for once opposing homosexual "marriage". 

So, Josh Harris strongly disagrees with Jesus. They can't both be right. Who's right, and who's wrong? 

If Jesus was wrong, if he was in fact sinful, and in need of repentance, for opposing "marriage equality", as Josh Harris now believe, then Jesus couldn't possibly be a savior. He couldn't possibly be the sinless, spotless Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Christianity would then be false.

What if Jesus wasn't sinful? What if he was simply mistaken? 

Jesus said of Himself: 

I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. [John 14:6]

Note that Jesus said of Himself that he is the truth. He doesn't just know the truth. Jesus is the truth. He personifies the truth. 

If Jesus was mistaken about anything, then He can't personify the truth, which means He was wrong about that, too. Which means He was either a liar, or downright crazy. 

If Jesus is right, and He really is the way, the truth, and the life, then He is God, because only God could truthfully make such a statement about Himself. But if Jesus was wrong, then He's either a liar, or a nut. 

What would you think of me if I said; "I, Oscar, am the way, the truth, and the life. I don't just know the way, I am the way. I don't just know the truth, I am the truth. I don't just know how to attain life, I am the life." Imagine if I said that. What would you think of me? You'd think I was either a liar (probably a con man, cult leader wannabe), or outright crazy. Maybe both. 

So, if Josh Harris is right, and Jesus is wrong, then the only logical, honest thing for Josh Harris to do, is to repudiate Christianity. Like I said before, I wish more counterfeit Christians would follow Josh Harris's example. Here's what I mean. 

In 2013, the Barna Group polled Americans on the subject of marriage. It turns out that a lot of people who call themselves Christians think Jesus is wrong. 

In 2013, 30% of "practicing Protestants" believed Jesus is wrong to define marriage between one man and one woman for life. 50% of "practicing Catholics" believed Jesus is wrong. It's probably worse now, but even at the 2013 numbers, that represents millions of professing Christians. 

If you're a Christian, and you believe Jesus is wrong, I have to ask you; why are you a Christian? Jesus is wrong about marriage, then what else is He wrong about?

And, please don't give me the lame excuse that He was just a product of His culture. First century Hebrew culture did not define marriage as one man, one woman, for life. First century Hebrew culture defined marriage as one man, as many women as he could afford, for as long as he felt like it. Jesus' definition of marriage was just as counter-cultural back then as it is now. 

What about polygamy? Why does the Old Testament allow, and even regulate polygamy? Probably for the same reason the Old Testament allowed, and even regulated divorce: because of the hardness of men's hearts.  Note that everywhere the Church spread, polygamy came to an end. Why? Because Jesus defined marriage as one man, one woman, for life.

Note also that the qualifications for elders in the church include the requirement that they be "the husband of one wife" (1 Timothy 3, and Titus 1). Why would a church elder need to be "the husband of one wife"? Clearly, because elders are supposed to serve as an example to the rest of the men in the church.

In other words, believers took Jesus at His word. They believed Him, and they applied His definition of marriage everywhere they went. 

If you profess to be a Christian, and you think Jesus is wrong when He defines marriage as one man, one woman, for life; you have two logical options. 

1. Repent, and ask Jesus to forgive you. 
2. Admit the truth. Follow Josh Harris's example, and admit you're not a Christian.

There's no middle ground here. There's no "grey area". Either Jesus is God the Son, and He is right, or Jesus is wrong, He is not God at all, and Christianity is sham founded on the words of a man who was either a liar or a nut.

So, which is it, Christian?