The Middle Path Will Cost You
When you're too conservative to be progressive and too progressive to be conservative
When you don’t fit into any boxes…
When you refuse to settle for black and white, either/or…
When you’re reconstructing but also not done deconstructing…
When you’re too conservative to be progressive and to progressive to be conservative…
Welcome to faith in the middle path.
And here is the truth: the middle path will cost you.
This week’s post is a vulnerable essay about the emotional costs of not fitting into faith boxes. I share personally about what my own faith deconstruction and reconstruction has cost me—in my career, relationships, and church. Because I am sharing so personally, the full post is available only to those who have invested in this community by becoming a paid subscriber. You’re welcome to join us for $5 per month or $50 per year.
In my book, Recovering from Purity Culture, I offer the middle path perspective between a sexual ethic of shame (purity culture) and an ethic of consent only. I call this a “values-congruent sexual ethic,” one that is rooted in your theology, values, and beliefs. I firmly believe that “shame is resolved by living from a values-congruent ethic—by having alignment between your beliefs, values, and behavior.”
However, I offer this warning: