Christians believe that marriage is God’s idea and that divorce is a usually bad idea. And yet, Christians — including Christian leaders — get divorced too. The question that needs to be answered is what married couples can do to … Continue reading Advice for Couples Considering Divorce | Influence Podcast
After a years-long journey from foster care to adoption, my wife, son and I welcomed our two girls into their forever family on Friday, December 9, 2016. Family and friends crowded into the courtroom to witness the formal adoption ceremony. Afterward, we trooped over to our house for cake and presents for our daughters. Their adoption was a joyous event, well worth celebrating. And yet, as is always the case with adoption, a tragedy lurked in the shadows. You cannot build an adoptive family unless a tragedy, neglect or abuse has broken the biological family first. And though our girls … Continue reading The Storm-Tossed Family | Book Review
Shaunti Feldhahn with Tally Whitehead, The Good News about Marriage: Debunking Discouraging Myths about Marriage and Divorce (Colorado Springs, CO: Multnomah Books, 2014). Hardcover / Kindle Marriage survives by hope. If a husband and wife believe that their relationship can get better, chances are that it will. They may have to tread a difficult path for a time, but eventually, the road becomes smoother and they arrive at their destination: a fulfilling life together. Unfortunately, many of the statistics about marriage and divorce that are prevalent in our culture destroy hope. Fifty percent of all marriages end in divorce, we’re … Continue reading Review of ‘The Good News about Marriage’ by Shaunti Feldhahn with Tally Whitehead
Given that cohabiting before marriage correlates with divorce, and that many cohabiting couples express “ambivalence” about having a child, this trend seem ominous to me, both for the potential marriage and for the actual child. The report found that about 37% of births in the USA were unintended at the time of conception, a percentage that hasn’t changed since 1982. The proportion of unintended births declined among married white women, but those accounted for a smaller proportion of births. Meanwhile, births to single or cohabiting women rose. The report also reveals more details about contraception. In 2008, for example, 19% … Continue reading Cohabiting women having more babies
“Why Liberal Religious Arguments Fail.” Over at Religion Dispatches, Peter Laarman reflects on what kinds of rhetoric are helping the pro-same-sex-marriage crowd, and concludes that religious argument is not one of them. Instead, personal testimonies are. Every poll and every wise observer points out that gay-affirming folks have not been winning on account of superior arguments, whether arguments from the Bible or theology or science. They aren’t winning on account of their superior debating skills. They’re winning by being present and visible in faith communities: by coming out in ways that clergy and congregations can’t ignore. Gay people are winning … Continue reading The World Wide (Religious) Web for Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Best. Conspiracy. Ever. Make sure to watch it all the way through. And read the credits; they’re hilarious. _____ “Egypt in crisis talks after Muslim mobs attack Christian churches” or “12 dead in Egypt as Christians and Muslims clash”? GetReligion.org tries to sort out the facts. _____ Is a bad marriage better than a good divorce? “Social scientists are concealing the harm that divorce, single parenting and stepfamilies do to children. Not only that, they are also hiding the benefits which even unhappy marriages bestow, not just on children, but on the couples involved.” _____ Is a national curriculum a … Continue reading The World Wide (Religious) Web for Tuesday, May 10, 2011
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