Category Archives: Marriage

Train a child in the way that he should go

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According to this article in Christian Today, half of American Christians think that casual sex is ‘sometimes or always’ morally acceptable.

More than half of American white evangelicals say that cohabitation is acceptable if the couple plan to marry.  And almost half of evangelical Protestants aged 15-22 who were not currently cohabiting or married said they would probably or definitely cohabit in the future.  (But Christian commitment did make a big difference: those young people who attended church at least twice a month were least likely to approve of cohabitation).…

The Bible is a heterosexual book

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It just is.  Martin Davie writes:

‘This is a point that is well made by the American writer Michael Brown in his book Can you be Gay and Christian?  He asks the question why there are only a tiny number of biblical verses that directly address the issue of same-sex sexual relationships.  His answer to this question is to draw an analogy with a book of recipes for sugar free puddings that has an introduction that explains why sugar should be avoided.…

Sex and culture

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Nestling at the back of what I fondly call my mind has been a reference, by O.R. Johnston (in his 1979 book, Who Needs The Family?) to an important but neglected piece of research which presented evidence for a positive correlation between sexual restraint and cultural achievement.

I was pleased to track down Johnston’s book, and his discussion of the research in question.  Here is what Johnston has to say:

I turn now to the various types of marriage pattern in different societies and ask what advantages scholars have perceived in the different types of sexual regulation.…

Theology of sexuality and gender

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Here I summarise this essay by Andrew T. Walker, entitled, ‘Gender and Sexuality’.

Gender refers to the biological differences between males and females and to the different cultural ways in which creational distinctions are expressed.  Sexuality refers to God’s design for the procreative relationship between men and women and to the experience of erotic desire within that relationship.

Sexuality and gender in God’s design

Several axiomatic truths related to gender and sexuality are found in the Genesis 1–2 narrative.…

Marriage: antidote to loneliness

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There is an epidemic of loneliness today.  This is due, not just to the (hopefully) short-term effects of Covid-19 lockdown.  There is the wider, and more persistent, problem of loneliness which is linked to the decline in marriage rates and the increase in marriage breakdowns.

God, in his wise and generous love, has provided a wonderful blueprint for flourishing marriages, and has used this blueprint to point towards a yet deeper and more lasting marriage – that between Christ and his people.…

LGBT: what does it mean to be ‘welcoming but not affirming’?

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In the eyes of many, the idea that churches can take a ‘welcoming but not affirming’ attitude towards LGBT people is absurd.  It inevitably leads to treating people as second class Christians, tolerated but not fully integrated into the life of the church.

The perceived absurdity is compounded by the myth that only two possibilities exist: either that of full and unconditional acceptance and affirmation, or that of rejection.  Any kind of middle ground is rarely explored.…

1 Corinthians 15:44 – ‘Raised a spiritual body’

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1 Corinthians 15:42 It is the same with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable, what is raised is imperishable. 15:43 It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; 15:44 it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.

Paul’s teaching here has led some to interpret the resurrection appearances of vv5-8 as non-physical, amounting to something like subjective visions.  …

Divorce and remarriage

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Some time ago, I participated in a debate about divorce and remarriage in Church.  I argued that a divorced person may be remarried in church during the lifetime of a former spouse, certainly if the divorce had been occasioned by adultery on the part of the former spouse, and possibly for other reasons also.  I’m afraid I don’t have a record of the counter-argument, but here’s what I presented:-

There are many things that we should be able to agree on:-

  • that marriage is ordained by God, Gen 2:24.
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God’s good plan for men and women: our unfinished business

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If the Christian church is to adhere to (or recover) God’s good plan for men and women, then its pastoral care and witness will need some clarification and strengthening in a number of areas.

For example, we need to ask, How can we more effectively

  • witness to God’s good purposes in our own marriages and families?
  • recognise the distinctive roles of husbands and wives?
  • nurture young people who are capable of faithful covenant relationships?
  • honour both married and single people in the family of the church?
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