

Other purity-ringers were a ‘bunch of legalists’. I’ve met some bitter, angry, hurting girls who abhor the purity ring and all it stands for because it didn’t work. And some live a lie until their guilt forces the ring into the obscure places of a childhood jewelry box. Some rip it off with Miley-Cyrus-brashness others quietly slip it off, never having believed it anyway. It is a reminder to themselves and to potential suitors of their commitment to God.īut I’ve seen dozens of girls reach the limits of hope, and in their late teens or early twenties rebel against everything the ring stood for in a desperate effort to be ‘individual’. Most girls I know at Liberty University – my alma mater and my place of employment – wear a ring on their left hand signifying their commitment to purity. Perhaps in emotional decision, pressure from parents, or even out of a genuinely hopeful heart many girls have donned a purity ring in their teen years. That is how many girls feel about the binding power of the purity ring. Everything he does is dictated by his obsession, and in the end the ring kills him. In The Lord of the Rings, Gollum, an emaciated once-hobbit spends all his time worshiping the Ring of Power. The church is baffled when good girls give in to lust.Īnd voices ring out, “I told you so!” Chortling with glee, liberal Christians and the world link arms to announce the demise of the purity movement and its utter failure to meet young people where they are concerning sexuality. Parents stay up late trying to sort out why their daughter has rejected everything she was taught for a guy she would have never considered in her earlier teens.

To those closest, they have ‘no excuse’ to abandon everything they know about God and His plan for relationships.Ĭhurch friends and family whisper tearfully over the runaway daughter emails confide in grandparents of the baby that is coming – no one had any idea. These girls are home schooled, Christian schooled, church-raised, and come from solid families. Many Christian girls postulate about relationships from the pedestal of singleness, only to find that navigating an actual relationship with a man is much different than the formulas previously set out. I thought I had relationships figured out.Īnd then I got into a relationship, and I discovered that not only did I not have it figured out, but there were capabilities within me directly contrary to all I had ever learned.Īs I wrote about in my post Prone to Compromise, every young woman – regardless of her background – is susceptible to compromise when given the opportunity. My dad gave me my ring at age 13, and most of my friends had one, too. I grew up at the height of the purity movement: a church-led initiative encouraging commitments to abstinence, intentional relationships, courtship and purity rings.
Purity ring plus#
I liked to read about relationships (in that sense, nothing has changed I’ve just developed a more grown-up taste of biographies of famous married couples) and read all the above titles, plus more.
Purity ring how to#
“I think the magic of that album is that it sounds like two people with a good idea trying to figure out how to do something for the first time,” says Roddick, adding that the band’s been practicing Shrines-era songs for the tour. Paired with Roddick’s mystic production and James’ lofty, curious voice, Shrines launched the band into cult stardom. Blending the synthpop dominating the indie charts at the time with trip-hop and dubstep, critics raved about the record’s ethereal, imbued imagery. Following a stunning first impression with their first single “Ungirthed,” Purity Ring released their spectral yet grounded debut record. Coincidentally, Shrines, the first album of the band’s triad, turns ten in July.
