Re: Church Hugs… We Can Do Better. I Can Do Better.
I grew up in what is sometimes referred to as the “Evangelical purity culture,” which meant we had codes of conduct and rules for everything in order to be “pure.” Music from Amy Grant was not OK because she danced a little too suggestively. At youth camps, no 2-piece bathing suits were allowed. And “spaghetti-strap” tops were banned too.
There were also spoken and unspoken rules about hugs. Side-hugs were encouraged if hugging was necessary, while full-on hugs were definitely not OK.
I think the heart behind all these codes of conduct were to help prevent people (guys) from “stumbling.” I also tend to think the codes were created by individuals who were overly-obsessed with preventing “stumbling.” And maybe it was really all about the rule-makers own personal struggles…
Anyway, the imprint is there. I’ve been giving out pure handshakes and side-hugs for decades now.
It’s kinda funny too – whenever someone circumvents my purity code side-hug and goes in for a full-frontal, I immediately think… Read More