I feel called, inspired, and have a strong desire to teach.
You may or may not know, I’ve been deeply wounded by the traditional Christian church and how the masses have interpreted and taught some scriptures. Especially scriptures around Satan, love and marriage, God, and sin.
I’ve spent ten years deep in prayer, study, and discernment… Pulling apart scripture and the teachings I received and testing it against what I KNOW to be true- which is that God is Love.
It’s taken me this long to admit to myself what Love really is.
Side note… I’ve always loved this song. Since 2002. I can confidently say that I absolutely KNOW what love is now and I absolutely KNOW what I want 🥰❤️🔥
I held a lot of conservative evangelical beliefs and teachings around these things and this indoctrination has caused me a lot of confusion, heartache, and pain.
I believe God is calling me to join the masses of those who grew up in the 90s purity culture, toxic Christian masculine, hell-evil-Satan obsessed theology who are calling themselves exvangelicals.
Some are completely renouncing their faith. (Not me).
Some are teaching the Truth (me).
Some are providing safe and empathetic spaces for those like me to heal (this is also me).
God is calling me to teach. To set the record straight. To turn these theologies right side up and align it all with love.
Who knows what’s going to come out of this. I’m trusting God for inspiration and flow. I’m learning A LOT. I’ve studied A LOT. I also have a very deep and personal relationship with God and for the first time in my life I can confidently say that he is still speaking. And because I’ve healed and I’m healing, I can confidently say that God is speaking through me. He’s always tried. He speaks to all of us all the time. We just have to remove the blocks that are in the way to hearing his voice.
In another post, I’ll share what those blocks were/are for me.
I’m not perfect nor do I claim to be. I may misspeak or mishear God and as a result give incomplete teaching. I’m not a master and I don’t claim to be. But I’m not going to wait to teach until I’m perfect because then… It will never happen. So, as with all things, use your discernment and talk to God about what I say here.
I’ll never say “you must believe this” and I’ll never say that I know everything. I am a child of God… I am not God. But, God is speaking through me. And this is how it’s supposed to be… For all of us! We’re supposed to hear God. We’re supposed to receive inspiration from God. God is active and speaking NOW. Not just in a 2000+ year old text 😬😅 You can scripture check that! 💖😁
So, stay tuned for some new interpretations. I hope it enlightens, brings clarity and peace, and helps you understand God in a deeper, more loving way ❤️
Something I’m learning on my spiritual journey is that only love is real. Only Unconditional Love exists. So… anything that doesn’t align with that is an illusion. Hurt, pain, sickness, death, fear, anger, judgement, etc etc etc… It’s all an illusion. Of course you can experience the illusion of these things. But this is why some people don’t get sick or don’t have the same fears. Because it’s not real. It’s why LOVE CONQUERS ALL. Because IT IS REAL.
This is why Jesus could heal and walk on water and ascended. Because he tore the veil between truth and lies. Between reality and illusion.
The church I grew up in (not the building but the theology) taught me that God is angry, judging me, and that I’m a deplorable sinner. That I must “carry my cross” and accept the “thorn in my side”. Even recently a pastor said to me that marriage is something we must “burden under”!!!
Wait… What?!?!?!
If God is love and God made me and God is perfect and can only make perfect things (right?!?!) Then I am perfect. I get the whole “fallen world” bit. Jesus paid it all so we wouldn’t have to suffer. So we wouldn’t have to be burdened. That’s the gift!!!! What’s the point of Jesus if we still live burdened or in captivity to our sin??? Did he pay it all or not? Is God perfect or not? Am I made in his image or not? A good God would not “burden” his children with marriage. That’s nonsense.
Jesus paid it all. Grace is free. We’re free. It wasn’t an affair. I was, it IS, LOVE 😘
I want to share a little story about how God’s grace really showed up during this 10-year journey since I met my twin flame.
After my twin flame and I met and ‘happened’ my pastor and therapist called it an affair and demonized us. No one would listen. I didn’t understand so I couldn’t make anyone else understand. I had so much guilt and shame over our connection and our love for each other and how that was expressed in the physical. It was beautiful and horrible. I felt so alive and so terrible. I was so in love and couldn’t have him.
If you’ve been here and have a conscience, you get it. I went on a 3-year journey of trying to understand how and why I found myself in an “affair”… It was SO out of character for me. During that time, God really revealed to me the true meaning of grace, which even though I grew up as a Bible thumping evangelical Christian, I had no idea what grace was until then. I did a lot of healing and God really showed up with so much love for me. Grace became my life source.
Today I was listening to the song Flawless by MercyMe and was reminded of a really sweet gift.
About 8 years ago, I was pregnant with my third child, a girl. During the pregnancy, this song, Flawless, was on the radio A LOT. I love singing it, it’s such a great song 💓
Every time it would get to the lyrics “Let me introduce you to Grace Grace, God’s grace”, I would be overwhelmed with emotion and the baby would start kicking and fluttering about.
I felt like angels were singing over me. 🥰
Fast forward to the day my daughter was born. We didn’t have a name picked out for her. All I knew was that her middle name would be Grace.
She was born on her great-grandfather’s birthday so we chose to name her Anna after his mother, her great great grandmother. About 12 hours after she was born, my mom asked ” What does the name Anna mean?” I didn’t know because we hadn’t considered it for her first name so we looked it up…
Well… It means Grace. 💫
Yeah, her name is Grace Grace! 😂😍💓
The first night we spent together she woke up to nurse and Flawless was playing in my head. At that moment God’s grace and love washed over me. I realized that God knew all along that her name would be “Grace Grace” and that’s why those lyrics filled me with so much emotion!
“Let me introduce you to Grace Grace, God’s grace”.
Back then I thought my daughter was a gift from God as part of my redemption story. It was my “reward” for choosing my marriage and doing everything that I could to heal from my “affair” and rebuild the marriage. I thought God showed me grace by giving me a perfect daughter because I made the “right” choice…
I no longer believe that. I do believe she is a gift of grace, but not because I earned her.
God loves me so he’s going to bless me no matter what. God loves me no matter what. There is no condemnation! There is NO SIN. It’s an ILLUSION.
It wasn’t an affair. We didn’t do anything wrong. We didn’t hurt anyone. We didn’t hurt each other. I don’t have the power to hurt someone. We are eternal beings, made in God’s image. We can only experience the illusion of “hurt”. This is why when we THINK differently, we can make that pain go away.
I now KNOW that what happened between me and my twin was NOT an affair. In fact, I believe that I had an affair with my ex-husband! My spiritual teachers teach that having sex with anyone but your twin flame is like having sex with a sibling! Well, this made that whole relationship make sense….. 💀😂😅 I believe this truth is one of the HUGE reasons many couples don’t enjoy or stop enjoying intimacy/sex in relationships/marriage. Because hormones and the high only lasts so long. And your soul KNOWS you’re being intimate with a sibling 🤢
But the passion and romance between twins never fades. It’s why I still have feelings and desires ten years later! (And we didn’t even speak for the last 5 years!)
Twin Flame love is MAGIC ❤️🔥
I was married for 4 years when I met my twin (11 years ago). Even though I was already married to someone else, I always felt like I was betraying my twin, betraying us, by being in my marriage and doing married… things. I didn’t understand this because I thought I should have guilt because I was married and feeling desire for someone else. I didn’t have any guilt about my feelings about him until the “church” piled it on.
I never enjoyed doing married things. I’d pull away from touch, from hugs and kisses… I never initiated sex. I was irritable, annoyed, suicidal, in constant pain, lackluster, and just downright miserable. I thought something was wrong. with. me. Nothing I did made it better. And I TRIED.
I now understand that God gave me a living gift of Grace to show me how innocent and worthy of Love I am. I’m worthy of all my Good. I’m worthy of a marriage that is passionate and reciprocal and always growing, never stagnant. The ONLY relationship this is always possible with is your twin flame.
It’s not woowoo. It’s science. It works the same for EVERY twin flame. A method. A process. It’s God. You must have a close, intimate, safe, very personal relationship with God before you can be in Harmony with your twin.
My exhusband and I are smart, kind, committed, selfless, spiritual and loving people!!!!! We tried and tried. We used every resource, every method to heal and grow our relationship. It didn’t work because we’re not twin flames. It was destined to fail. And it did. When we made the decision to end it it fell apart, no problem. No drama.
My daughter is 7 now and the other day she said, unprompted, “I’m okay with you loving (my TF) because I already know him”. She was not even one the last time she saw him.
Her soul knows. My kids love him because HE IS ME!!! No introduction needed. No need to get to know him. If you know me, you already know him. 🥰
Final thoughts…
I don’t know if anyone else has boat loads of religious indoctrination and trauma, but, I want to confidently say that YOU ARE FLAWLESS.
You are perfect 💖
God’s Grace covers all.
And if you and your TF had an affair, I want to say —
IT WASN’T AN AFFAIR!!! 💥
There was always a grander, more beautiful, incredibly loving plan and reason for why he and I happened when we did. God is still revealing this to me, but I absolutely believe now that I have nothing to be ashamed of. I have nothing to be sorry for. It wasn’t an affair. It was love, it IS love, and God is love. I’m free from all guilt, shame, and condemnation!
Because of grace, grace, God’s grace ❤️🔥
I’m so thankful for this journey, so thankful for my coach and spiritual teachers, I’m so thankful for my community. I’m finally home ❤️
I write when I feel inspired. It’s like the words can’t help but fall from my lips, or fingertips, rather. The past 3-4 months are evidence of a lot of inspiration ….but also evidence of a lot of chaos which has come as a result of absolute panic.
Remember I said I had a secret? Well, the secrets keep unveiling themselves, secrets that I didn’t even know I had….are you seeing a pattern? Apparently I have a lot of them (patterns… And secrets) 😬
If you know me, you know that I’m about as authentic as they come. I have a fierce need to be genuine, to be real. There’s nothing more painful, exhausting, and awkward for me than to be fake or not myself… I’ve only ever been “fake” or dishonest about one thing, one person. Anytime I’ve felt like I have to be something other than I am/was with this person or in regards to this person I FLAILED and flailed hard. Like a chicken with my head cut off. Like a fish out of water.
I panic. I act crazy. I act so out of character and it’s like I can’t stop!!!! I embarrass myself, I embarrassed this person. I broke their trust with my flailing. They trusted me. They hoped I would be who they thought I was… Calm, kind, soft, sweet, silly, safe, warm, inviting, thoughtful, considerate.
But I wasn’t. They trusted me and I flailed and therefore, I failed.
I’ve been wearing a mask.
I’ve been walking with one shoe.
I’ve been painting with the wrong end of the brush.
I’ve managed to keep very essential parts of myself hidden, unseen, unheard, and mostly untouched, and consequently, I’ve disrespected myself, my values, my boundaries, and my needs for most of my life.
How has this happened. How could I, Kitty, have been so disillusioned for so. long.??
It just doesn’t add up. It doesn’t add up to my true nature and who I am at my core. A free spirit, a lover, a force of unbridled passion, creativity that frees and inspires, and a life full of compassion and grace… This is who I know that I am…. yet… It just doesn’t all add up. How can I be so genuine but keep some things so hidden. I’m still uncovering this reality. It’s a painful and humbling process.
(I just had a realization while proof reading…. If I flail and draw attention to that chaotic part of me then it will distract from the deeper hurting powerless part of me. The part of me that experienced the fullness of love but believed she couldn’t have it. The inability to be true to myself in this way is the most painful thing I’ve ever experienced. I flailed because I was in pain. Insurmountable grief. Heart shattered. And a grief that hasn’t stopped in ten years.)
So, yeah, I have secrets that are spilling out, some like acid on soft skin, burning the tender parts of those who get too close. Or that I pull too close. My heart feels like it’s a caged wild bird, full of rage and emotions that come on strong and fast- I’m doing anything and everything to break free from this prison. I’m having realizations and gaining information that is almost too much to process all at once.
When I slow down and take an honest look at myself though, I realize that I’ve been processing all of this slowly for years.
I’ve been quietly untangling every delicate thread and I didn’t even realize it.
I’m not the type to rip and tear unless the thread, or the chain seems unfixable or not worth the untangling effort.
Have you ever helped your grandma untangle a bunch of necklaces?
I was about 14 or so and my Grammy had a few necklaces that got tangled up. She got ‘flustrated’ and offered me a try. Little did I know, I loved the careful process of untangling and unknotting. It was so relieving when I was finally able to pull one loose, to make big progress and work out a giant knot. It’s exhilarating, weirdly. As they say, idle hands are the devil’s playground and when you’re untangling knots, well, it’s impossible for your hands to be idle. Not saying I agree with this sentiment now as an adult, but it was this kind of stuff that was forced into my mind as a kid. Like me and every other overworked and underfun-ed evangelical ever…. we’ve believed some bs.
As a result of the bs lies and a trauma response/anxious/insecure coping mechanism, I meticulously untangle every knot in my mind. Maybe I like doing it. Maybe it’s to my detriment. Maybe it’s both and then something more.
I’m not ready to share my secrets. And maybe I never will, publicly anyway. But, I will say that this is what I realized:
For 10+ years I’ve been untangling one giant mess. I’ve been untying a knot, so to speak.
As I work through it, I find nuggets of truth and hidden gems. Sometimes I flail as I get close to uncovering a diamond or gold. The flailing is, I’m realizing, a response to panic and desperation.
Just imagine that you’re realizing that you’ve been a tangled up mess full of diamonds and gold you didn’t even realize and then one day your Spirit is like “WAKE UP!!! You have gold all tangled up in there!!!! Time to excavate.”
It’s like living in a desert, desperate for water, seeing a mirage and running for it. I’ll always think of Fievel Goes West when I think of mirages.
Admittedly, I haven’t handled this excavating process as delicately as I probably should have. I used hammers and drills when I should have used brushes and picks. I would probably not make a great paleontologist. Or maybe I would… I just need some time on the job.
It makes me sad to think that I may have destroyed precious gems that have been buried deep inside the crevices of my heart, mind, and soul for over a decade. That I didn’t understand until now how delicate this process is. I was so desperate for freedom, for a solution, for love that I flailed. Yes, I flailed.
I set fires with my words, I pushed boundaries with my body and choices. I have not honored myself, my needs, and wants for most of my life so therefore I cannot and have not honored others boundaries. When I’m flailing, I’m unpredictable chaos. Like the high speed chase down RT 15 that ended with the lady’s car on top of the Chinese restaurant…. How did that actually happen anyway???
It’s just embarrassing. I’m humiliated. I’ve lived a life that I thought was good, right, authentic, and God honoring. I’ve done my best to follow the rules, consider scripture, and live a life modeled after the spiritual leaders I respect.
But, I failed. And I flailed.
My favorite coworker and I used to say “everybody panic!!!!” as a joke. Little did he know that I would take him seriously one day.
So yeah. I panicked and pushed you away by trying to pull you close to a hot stove. I flailed and revealed the ugliest parts of myself.
It’s crazy when the thing you love the most is the detriment… Let that sink in.
You can think again, when the hand you wanna hold is a weapon and You’re nothin’ but skin.
As you can tell 😬 I’m feeling a bit sorry for myself today. I’m being hard on myself because I think that if I do it then everyone will leave me alone. Or it won’t hurt so bad when others do it. Maybe they’ll think “she’s already punished herself enough”. It never seems to work out that way. In fact, my vulnerability and transparency seems to set me up for more lashings. People loooove to come after the scapegoat standing on the chopping block. (Hint, it’s me). It’s interesting that I have no problem taking ownership. Too much ownership. Codependency is a bitch.
Yet, it’s no coincidence that on the day I’m feeling guilty and sorry for myself is the day we celebrate the birth of our youngest, Anna Grace.
She’s 7 today. And amazing. My mini. ❤️ She’s everything I dreamed a daughter would be and so so so much more. I would do a lot of things over but not a single second that brought her to me. God knew she’s exactly what I needed to finally learn to love myself. There’s nothing that’s a better teacher than a baby girl who looks, acts, loves, and sees the world like you do. Every moment with her is like watching myself. As a childhood abuse survivor, this is heartbreaking and incredibly healing. Because if I want to do better by her then I have to heal myself. Because a love that pure only can come from a place of deep self love and respect. A deep KNOWING of who you are- holy, perfect, good, and worthy. Not a sinner.
I’m unlearning so much. For her. For all my kids. For myself. They’re worth it. I’m worth it.
She gets a childhood I didn’t have. Stable, peaceful, full of childhood “problems” and joys. She gets the full experience of just being a kid. Giving her this experience is worth every tear, every sacrifice, and every flail. It’s worth every moment that I’ve been untrue to myself. Because I lied for her. I denied myself to give them joys and stability and consistency and love that I never had. And because of that, I don’t regret a thing.
But, time is up now. It’s time to pay attention to my soul. My soul has been quietly screaming, behind closed doors, behind a caged up heart. Very very very very very few people know the reality of my experience – it’s depth, my pain….how hard I’ve tried. How much I’ve cried. How desperate I’ve been to fulfill the law as defined by my spiritual (religious) guides.
I’ve followed the leading of the holy spirit. I’ve committed my life to prayer and to the fruit of the holy spirit. I’m constantly learning, growing, pouring myself into wisdom and goodness. And I’ve still failed. Because I’ve lied. I lied so good I believed it was the truth. I genuinely believed.
It’s crazy how what we believe influences how much we know, even about ourselves.
The good part of all of this is grace.
And now that I’ve spent some time feeling bad and guilty and beating myself up, it’s time to talk about grace, grace, God’s grace.
When I was pregnant with Anna, this song would come on the radio, A LOT. At 2:42 you’ll hear “let me introduce you to grace, grace, God’s grace” and it sounds like angels singing. Every time I heard this frame I would burst into tears uncontrollably… There was just something so compelling about it…
Anna didn’t have a name until she was about 3 hours old. We had discussed naming her Anna if she was born on the 24th because that is also her great grandfather’s birthday, and his mother’s name is Anna. As fate would have it, she was indeed born on grandpa’s birthday. We already had the middle name Grace picked out.
My mom asked when she was about 6 hours old what “Anna” means… Go ahead and Google it. I’ll wait.
So, here she is, Grace Grace- our double portion of grace. How cool is that.
I often wake up around 3am full of emotion – mostly love, especially these days. Sometimes I wake up crying, grieving, full of love so deep that I could drown in it. I so desperately want to be held in these moments. I’ve felt so alone throughout my 39 years…even with the company of the 4 warm bodies that adorn my bed from time to time.
Because the truth is that there’s nothing that comforts better than God’s embrace. I’m sure He’s held me more times than I’m aware of.
Our first night together, I fell asleep breastfeeding my brand new almost 9 pound bundle of girly goodness and woke up, about 3am to this song, her song, playing in my head. Anna looked up at me as I heard the lyrics, and angels sang, ‘Let me introduce you to Grace, Grace, God’s Grace.’
I flashbacked to every moment I heard that song while I was pregnant with her. Every moment I had to pull over in the car because I was overwhelmed by God’s love and embrace. Every time I fell to my knees because it was like angels were singing inside of my womb.
And then, there she was, Anna Grace- the girl who would have only been named Anna if she was born on that day… TEN LONG DAYS after her due date. It was meant to be. ❤️
Three short years before this I got caught up in one of the most difficult, life changing moments of my existence. I felt incredibly guilty for my choices, for such a long time. I beat myself up more than necessary, especially as I see it all so much more clearly now.
For yearsss I’ve been so unkind to myself because of guilt. I’ve denied myself because of this ongoing guilt. I’ve made myself small, accepted mistreatment, and completely denied my needs because of this guilt. Go ahead and tell me that I’m already forgiven…. Ya, I know. But y’all will go ahead and tell me that I’m a sinner and should feel guilty the second I wanna talk about it. The second I find a thread of good in the tangled up mess.
Side note: Evangelicals are so quick to destroy each other. That’s why I’m done. I’m an exvangelical.
I’m still a believer though, in fact, I think my spirituality is stronger and more faceted than it’s ever been. I feel more and more spiritually rooted everyday. I’ve flailed as recent as Friday last week but as I finish untangling this mess I’m beginning to really see how beautiful all the different threads and colors are. I’m beginning to see how all my flailing and chaos was a result of being all tangled up. Of trying to be an efficient spool of thread while actually being a tangled up mess inside. And I’m over here like I’m fine. Everything’s fine.
After all, that’s how we’re supposed to be when we’re walking with Christ, right? Some would say it’s normal to be a hot mess. Honestly though, I kinda hoped life would be more than that. That I might actually be fulfilled, whole, happy. That the fruit would be multiplied without having to kill myself to make it happen. I think I’ve been doing it wrong. And no one even noticed.
But how were they supposed to? I didn’t even notice.
I know God will redeem all of this. I know it simply because he is good. He is a good good father. And his grace is sufficient. It’s sufficient in all of my humanity. I am perfect and holy.
In my walking with God, I may be called to depths you’ve never explored. I may do things you never thought I would do. You may doubt and question everything.
Here’s the simple truth. I don’t care what you think. I care what God thinks. I’m going to continue to pursue the Divine with all my heart and soul and trust that the universe has my best interest at heart and that they are leading me towards love. Anna is a literal gift of grace. God saw me hating myself and beating myself up for so long. And all He ever sang over me was grace. I couldn’t hear it past all the noise so He had to put it in me. Grace. Just grace. It wasn’t an affair. It wasn’t sin. It wasn’t wrong, bad, evil, deserving of eternal or even earthly punishment. God sees it for what it was/is and His grace prevails. I will not live in shame or condemnation anymore. If you don’t get it, that’s a you problem, not a me problem.
His grace covers me, His grace is in my veins, it’s in and behind every tear, every word, every misstep. His grace is sufficient. I am whole. I am peace. I am free. I am fire.
This freedom is what sets my soul on fire. This love is what gives me the ability to bask in grace, grace, God’s grace.
Fire without grace is a hot flailing mess.
Grace without fire is…well… codependency. And boring lol.
Modesty culture Rape culture Courtship culture Marriage culture Patriarchal culture
I’m humbled to admit that I have participated in these cultures (below – Original article) and vomited their lies on people I love…and on myself. As I continue to grow, it becomes more and more obvious to me that the conservative “Christian” church is often TOXIC.
I believe there are more toxic ideas within the church than these five.
I thought Church was supposed to be a safe place. A place where you can come as you are and be loved through your life journey.
Instead, church seems like a manufacturing company, where open and willing souls walk in, vulnerable, and the church refurbishes these souls to then go out into the world and make more AI creatures that just regurgitate all their crap.
I’m not saying church is all bad.
I am shining a light on how church has hurt me and others.
Purity culture is not the only toxic culture in the Church.
There are five other toxic Christian cultures that I believe are related to purity culture.
The five cultures are:
Modesty culture Rape culture Courtship culture Marriage culture Patriarchal culture
All of these teachings were embedded in purity culture and integrated into the fabric of evangelical Christianity and the Church.
But NONE of them are actually biblical or Christian.
Let’s dismantle each culture, analyze the harmful teachings that came from them, and replace them with the real biblical truth.
Modesty Culture Modest is hottest–right?
Modesty culture taught us that our worth was on display. Our value was determined by shorts that were at least finger-tip length, straps that were three fingers wide, and clothing that was loose enough to hide our curves.
Modesty culture leads to a lot of body shame and a sense that our bodies are inherently wrong, sinful, and can cause others to “stumble”. It makes girls responsible for boys’ lust instead of empowering each gender to be responsible for their own thoughts and actions.
The truth is your inherent worth is determined by being made in the image of God–not in what you wear. You alone are responsible for your sin. Your value is not dictated either by your attractiveness to men (being “hot”) or keeping men from lust.
Modesty is more than how much skin you show. Instead, let’s emphasize a “modest” and humble heart that is nonjudgmental towards ourselves and others. Let’s consider clothing that is appealing to you, practical, comfortable, and makes you feel most like yourself, rather than what others will think of our clothes.
Your inherent worth is determined by being made in the image of God–not in what you wear. You alone are responsible for your sin. Your value is not dictated either by your attractiveness to men (being “hot”) or keeping men from lust. #modestishottest #toxicchristiancultures
Rape culture is by no means only a part of the evangelical Church–it has poisoned our secular culture as well.
We hear rape culture any time a woman is blamed or held responsible for her sexual assault and an offender is given a free pass:
“Well, what was she wearing?” “She was asking for it with clothes like that!” “He’s a man; he couldn’t help himself!” “He was such a promising young man. She was just tempting him to lust.” I can’t say it loud enough: A VICTIM IS NEVER RESPONSIBLE FOR THEIR SEXUAL ASSAULT. NO ONE IS TO BLAME BUT THEIR ATTACKER.
Christians continue to perpetuate rape culture through the Gatekeepers Myth, one of my five myths of purity culture in my article “5 Purity Culture Myths”.
The antidote to rape culture is compassion for victims and accountability and justice for offenders. We have to hold men responsible for their crimes and sins. And we have to come alongside survivors and offer support and hope for their healing.
Nothing epitomizes courtship culture more than the book “I Kissed Dating Good-bye” by Joshua Harris. (I know Josh Harris has had a change of heart and I respect hishumility and openness to discussion. But we’ve got to still talk about the long-lasting impact of this culture!)
Courtship culture was rampant at the Christian colleges I attended, where “ring by spring” was the norm and you felt like nobody if you didn’t graduate with your MRS degree.
I think there are two risks of courtship culture–you could miss out on a good relationship because you didn’t give it enough of a chance or you could stay in a relationship too long because of the fantasy and false promise of your first love being your spouse.
The truth is dating can be healthy. You are not more spiritual if you choose not to date. Every Christian has to decide for themselves when and who to date. Dating can be a healthy way to understand yourself better and learn more about what you’re looking for in a relationship.
Marriage Culture Let’s talk about the idolization of marriage in the Church.
What’s wrong with marriage? Nothing. I am married and I love my husband and love being married.
But the “marriage culture” in the Church is toxic and insidious.
Being married is given “privileged” status in evangelical Christianity, while other relationship statuses such as single, divorced, or widowed, are often discriminated against.
Here’s what I mean by marriage culture:
Elevating married couples’ spiritual status and maturity over single people Giving married couples preference and leadership opportunities not given to unmarried people Catering to the needs of couples and families and secluding them together, while unmarried people are lumped in with the youth Judging people who are divorced and widowed without hearing their story Assuming that marriage will happen for every believer and is the pinnacle of adulthood Marriage culture breeds pride for those who are married and shame for those who are not.
Toxic marriage culture affected me by making me feel ashamed for being single. I felt something must be wrong with me that I was doing everything “right”, yet couldn’t find a husband. I also felt like I didn’t have the opportunity to serve in my church because I wasn’t married. Even in my late 20s, I was categorized with “college and young adults” because I was single.
But the truth is we are ALL valuable members of the Body of Christ. Marriage does not make you more spiritually mature, capable of leadership, or holier. Marriage is not the ultimate goal of a Christian’s life. Serving and honoring God is–and that can happen with or without marriage.
Patriarchal Culture Underlying all of the other toxic Christian cultures–modesty culture, rape culture, courtship culture, marriage culture, and purity culture–is patriarchal cultures.
Patriarchy is the belief that men are the leaders and the head of women. Women are in need of protection and provision. Men make the decisions; women are subordinate and submissive.
Why do we have modesty culture? Because it allows men to control women through their clothing.
How did rape culture evolve? Because it absolves men of responsibility for their crimes and puts the blame on women.
Why is courtship culture “biblical”? Because men (especially fathers) make all the dating decisions and women follow.
Why is marriage culture so prevalent in the Church? Because women are only valuable and gain status if they are married to a man.
What is the purpose of purity culture? To control women’s sexuality through myths and false promises about premarital sex.
I hope you know I have a lot of respect for men. I love my husband–he is my equal partner and we practice mutual submission. I have a great dad who has been a positive influence in my life.
But I do not support patriarchal culture that subordinates women to men and puts men in charge of marriages, families, churches, and institutions.
Men and women are equal in value and role. Men and women are co-image bearers and heirs of the Kingdom. Men and women are equally called, “equally saved, equally Spirit-filled, and equally sent” (M. S. Van Leeuwen).
If we want to fully deconstruct these toxic Christian cultures, we have to start with their common thread of patriarchy.
I’m burdened by the hypocrisy of the “Christian” church.
I can’t believe I’ve played a part in this nonsense… This hate.
Church…we’ve messed up. Big time.
This is abhorrent.#guiltyActually, ask yourself if anyone feels loved by you. Change my mind.Burn every copy of love&respect 🤮Submit submit submit and God will bless you with an asshole for a husband who can’t even find the ketchup on the front door. Also, was told by my pastor and “Christian” therapist that they were angry with me for trying to feel loved. Fuck purity Sounds a bit narcissistic I didn’t write this. I don’t like those words at the end but you should seriously think about if and how your beliefs are hurting you and other people. People should not be able to love better than God.Yeah, this one’s tough for me too. No caption needed. Other than *note: WITHOUT STRINGS ATTACHED #yepThe hypocrisy is as THICK as their skulls…Y’all. I don’t even understand this logic Or this logicI’m actually okay being kept awake. I’m sorry.Cherry picking should be left for actual cherries We’ve really messed up.Well, does it?🎤I try to remember to talk to my unpleasant emotions like I would a little toddler. What do you need? How can I help?No virtue. Read it again with me.I seriously do not even understand how one could think they should be in office.😬Sick.
I’m kind of done with this “Christian” nonsense. Pray for my soul.
Keturah Mae Shine 