Pastor Joshua Harris, author of I Kissed Dating Goodbye, has released a statement apologizing for his best-selling book and announcing that he will be discontinuing its publication.
“I no longer agree with its central idea that dating should be avoided,” Harris wrote in a lengthy message posted on his personal website. “I now think dating can be a healthy part of a person developing relationally and learning the qualities that matter most in a partner.”
“In light of the flaws I now see in I Kissed Dating Goodbye, I think it’s best to discontinue its publication, as well other supplemental resources tied to it (this includes the two books I wrote after it whose content is similar),” he continued. “My publisher, whose encouragement in this process has been deeply meaningful to me, supports this decision and will not reprint the books after the current copies in their inventory are sold.”
Written in 1997, when Harris was just 20 years old and had not yet been in a dating relationship, I Kissed Dating Goodbye highlights the problems with contemporary “recreational dating” and presents “biblical courtship” as an alternative. Traditional dating, he says, is “a training ground for divorce” because it puts people in the habit of quitting relationships when things get tough. In his book, Harris also urges Christian singles to commit to “purposeful singleness,” arguing that romantic relationships should exist only as a means to preparing for marriage.
The book became a staple…
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