As this conversation unfolds, it\u2019s important to keep two things in mind. First, the purity culture I\u2019m describing never fully captured the church. Millions of people have thankfully lived their entire Christian lives free from the extremes I\u2019ve described above. <\/p>\n
Second, however, it\u2019s absolutely vital that Christians do not leave the task of confronting extremes to a secular world and media that is often hostile to (or doesn\u2019t understand) Christian orthodoxy itself. The secular critique is typically all confrontation, no redemption. <\/p>\n
The Christian response, however, requires both confrontation and redemption. It recognizes that Christ holds the answer when the church fails. As I\u2019ve written before when addressing the failures and faults of the purity movement, through Christ even stories of past pain and suffering can be redeemed and transformed into instruments of grace and mercy. <\/p>\n
Shortly after we received the first reports about the Atlanta killer\u2019s motives, my friend and Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary professor Karen Swallow Prior tweeted two insightful words, \u201cCulture cultivates.\u201d A culture that defines a person by their sexual sin cultivates misery. When it places women in a position of guarding a man\u2019s heart, it cultivates abuse. And sometimes, when a man\u2019s heart is particularly dark, it can even cultivate murder.<\/p>\n
The problem with purity culture is not Christianity. The problem with purity culture is that its extremes are not Christian at all. <\/p>\n
Read it all<\/a>.<\/p>\n Reports that the Atlanta shooter was a Christian who killed massage workers because they were a \u201ctemptation\u201d he wanted to \u201celiminate\u201d ignited a conversation about purity culture. Blaming women for a man\u2019s sin is an old, oppressive story. My Sunday essay: https:\/\/t.co\/6mlw26BJNa<\/a><\/p>\n — David French (@DavidAFrench) March 21, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n \n