This is an addendum to my previous post, The problem with “purity culture” is not purity.

“Purity Culture” doesn’t really understand purity — at least not from a Biblical perspective.

Those who teach from a “purity culture” perspective treat purity as almost exactly equivalent to female virginity — as something girls are born with but then have the potential of losing forever. While there is some lip service paid to male purity, the emphasis is on females.

Recently I was reminded of one of my favorite passages:

Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure. [1 John 3:2,3]

This reminded me that purity is not something we have and then lose; it is something we need to seek after. It also reminds me that purity is not gender-specific. We all need to purify ourselves, just as Christ is pure.