Attitudes to family, marriage and divorce have changed over the last century. Here we look at how different aspects of family life are seen compared to the past.
Marriage
In the past people married at a much younger age on average than they do today. Marrying in your late teens or early twenties was the norm. Most people got married as this is what was expected of you, and people rarely considered not doing so.
Many fewer decide to marry these days. Many make the conscious decisions not to as they prefer to remain more independent. This can be the case for both genders. Some would argue that people wait to meet the right person now, whereas before they would marry the first person who came along.
Living Together while not Married
In the past it was not socially acceptable for unmarried couples to live together. It was seen as wrong and was therefore extremely rare. It is possible that this contributed to early marriage.
Unmarried couples living together has almost become the norm now. Many decide to see how they get along living together before they decide to marry. It is also common for couples to live together, and possibly have children, without ever getting married. They live the same way as a married couple without ever making it official.
Children
It used to be rare for people not to have children. Most people would conform to a very specific lifestyle, marrying young and having children soon after. Hardly anyone had children before marriage, and it was even rarer for people to do this by choice.
Nowadays it is not uncommon at all for people to have children without being married and this is not seen as a big issue by most. Sometimes parents live together as a family with their children without being married, while others are single parents. Not everyone decides to have children either. It is no longer seen as something you must do so it has become more of a choice.
The Role of Women
A hundred years ago, the role of women was very specific. They were expected to marry, have children, and not work. Their role was to look after the home and their children while men went out to work.
Women's role in family life, and life in general, now depends on the individual person and her circumstances. Many still crave the traditional lifestyle of marriage and children, but many make other choices. There are many more career women; some are working parents while others don't have children at all. The role of men is also less rigid, and it is much more common than it used to be for Mothers to go to work while Fathers stay at home.
Divorce
Divorce was once illegal so wasn't an option at all. Even once it did become legal it was rarely considered and was deemed a sin by many.
Now it is much more common for a variety of reasons. Attitudes have completely changed and divorce is seen as perfectly acceptable for those in an unhappy marriage and there is no longer the same stigma attached to it. Although some think of the increase in divorce as a negative, it could be argued that it is better than remaining unhappy. It is also practically easier with family law having changed to make it easier for those seeking a divorce.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Don't Be Stupid - Get Knowledge Too!
In the second epistle of Peter we have a statement that scares most Christians and presumably all fundamentalists. We're told that to our FAITH that we are to add KNOWLEDGE! The increasing problem that today's world presents to us is that more and more knowledge is available 24/7 and much of the new understanding is banging against our walls of fanciful faith.
Let's be honest, most Christians (and those of other religions as well) are AFRAID of adding KNOWLEDGE that does not conform to or add to our existing BS (belief systems).
The writer of Hebrews (chapter 5) cautions us about living on the tit too long. When we should be maturing, adding knowledge to our faith, eating the MEAT of the rhema word, we prefer not to CHEW the word, but to sip the nectar of the breast. Feed me, feed me, I don't have time, nor the inclination to go looking for the meat of true spirituality. Let me stay as a child and believe in Jesus Christ. Don't try and feed me the meat of an historical Jesus and how that differentiates from a spiritual Christos.
It's really scary where we want to stay. The song reminds us, " I shall not be moved."
Alvin Boyd Kuhn writes seven decades ago, "Faith alone will never develop your divinely desired perogative of conscious cooperation with the will of the Deity. It will help you as a child, but when you become a man you must put away childish things and learn to stand in the consciousness of your participation in the intelligent mastership of your own evolution." Can you read that again slowly and get the import of those words?
The MIASMA of today's religious dynamics is toxic, and it is killing off many before they even get seriously started on the spiritual journey, the search for the Holy Grail, the return of the prodigal son, and development of who it is that we are at the core of our being: spiritual children of the Creator-Consciousness-God.
Only LOVE (unconditional at that) can awaken us to our true identity!.
About the Author:
As a spiritual-futurist, I have a BA degree majoring in history. One cannot know the future without knowing the past which holds clues to what is on the horizon. The world is in such a rapid expansion of knowledge that we are close to entering a tipping point that will forever change earth as we know it.
Let's be honest, most Christians (and those of other religions as well) are AFRAID of adding KNOWLEDGE that does not conform to or add to our existing BS (belief systems).
The writer of Hebrews (chapter 5) cautions us about living on the tit too long. When we should be maturing, adding knowledge to our faith, eating the MEAT of the rhema word, we prefer not to CHEW the word, but to sip the nectar of the breast. Feed me, feed me, I don't have time, nor the inclination to go looking for the meat of true spirituality. Let me stay as a child and believe in Jesus Christ. Don't try and feed me the meat of an historical Jesus and how that differentiates from a spiritual Christos.
It's really scary where we want to stay. The song reminds us, " I shall not be moved."
Alvin Boyd Kuhn writes seven decades ago, "Faith alone will never develop your divinely desired perogative of conscious cooperation with the will of the Deity. It will help you as a child, but when you become a man you must put away childish things and learn to stand in the consciousness of your participation in the intelligent mastership of your own evolution." Can you read that again slowly and get the import of those words?
The MIASMA of today's religious dynamics is toxic, and it is killing off many before they even get seriously started on the spiritual journey, the search for the Holy Grail, the return of the prodigal son, and development of who it is that we are at the core of our being: spiritual children of the Creator-Consciousness-God.
Only LOVE (unconditional at that) can awaken us to our true identity!.
About the Author:
As a spiritual-futurist, I have a BA degree majoring in history. One cannot know the future without knowing the past which holds clues to what is on the horizon. The world is in such a rapid expansion of knowledge that we are close to entering a tipping point that will forever change earth as we know it.
Love is Not
Love is not irritable or resentful. Love is not easily annoyed, nor is it bitter or indignant. We could add that love is not cynical either, in that cynicism is closely related to irritability and resentment. This means that these characteristics are expressions of faithlessness. Faithlessness often expresses itself as irritation and resentment. Faithlessness is often bitter and indignant, and conversely, to be bitter and indignant are expressions of faithlessness. Of course, those who are bitter and indignant often slide into cynicism, which is a another expression of faithlessness.
Interesting, Paul may have had the ancient Greek Cynics in mind when he penned this verse. Cynicism originated in the philosophy of a group of ancient Greeks who rejected all conventions, whether of religion, manners, housing, dress, or decency, and advocated the pursuit of virtue in a simple, unmaterialistic lifestyle. The ancient Cynics almost sound spiritual to our Modern ears, but not to Paul's. Paul rejected the cynical rejection of the world. Christian spirituality is not a matter of rejecting the world. Christianity is not found or expressed through a rejection of the world. Of course, Christians reject sin, but not the world. God loves the world. Life as we know it is not possible apart from the world.
When we think of the world we think of John 3:16, and yet to really understand John 3:16 we need to hear it in context.
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his deeds have been carried out in God" (John 3:16-21).
We are not called to hate the world -- sin, yes, the world, no. We must remember that God intends to change the world by eradicating sin. So, we must not become cynical, even in the midst of a world where there are very good and sound reasons for cynicism. Cynicism, not the world, must be rejected. Christian love is the antidote to cynicism. Christian love is not irritable or resentful, even in the face of irritability and resentfulness. It is not cynical, even in the face of cynicism. Love turns its back on irritability and resentment, and refuses to engage or express them, regardless of our personal feelings.
Love, as Paul has defined it here, is not a function of feelings. Christian love is simply not subject to human feelings. Rather, love is a commitment, a commitment to Christ first and foremost and then to His people, come what may. Love is commitment to biblical principles regardless of how we feel in the moment. Love understands that its commitment to these things -- to Christ, to God's people and to Scripture -- is greater than life itself. Love understands that commitment to Christ will survive this temporal life and continue into eternity.
Paul goes on to say that love "does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth" (1 Corinthians 13:6). Other translations translate the Greek word as "unrighteousness" or "iniquity." Love does not rejoice in unrighteousness. Love does not rejoice in iniquity. The word literally means injustice. Love hates injustice, unfairness, unrighteousness and iniquity. But love loves truth -- verity, equity, fairness, justice and righteousness. And how could it be otherwise? Because true love loves Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ is the manifestation of verity, equity, fairness, justice and righteousness. Because Christians love Christ first and foremost, they love these things -- the things of Christ -- first and foremost, more than other things. Christians rejoice in these things. These things provide joy for those in Christ.
This great Love Chapter provides a call to faithfulness that cuts through the fog of theology and doctrine without denying or belittling theology and doctrine. It makes Christian love real, more than words, more than feelings, more than commitment to an ideal or a cause. "And this is love, that we walk according to his commandments" (2 John 1:6).
Interesting, Paul may have had the ancient Greek Cynics in mind when he penned this verse. Cynicism originated in the philosophy of a group of ancient Greeks who rejected all conventions, whether of religion, manners, housing, dress, or decency, and advocated the pursuit of virtue in a simple, unmaterialistic lifestyle. The ancient Cynics almost sound spiritual to our Modern ears, but not to Paul's. Paul rejected the cynical rejection of the world. Christian spirituality is not a matter of rejecting the world. Christianity is not found or expressed through a rejection of the world. Of course, Christians reject sin, but not the world. God loves the world. Life as we know it is not possible apart from the world.
When we think of the world we think of John 3:16, and yet to really understand John 3:16 we need to hear it in context.
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his deeds have been carried out in God" (John 3:16-21).
We are not called to hate the world -- sin, yes, the world, no. We must remember that God intends to change the world by eradicating sin. So, we must not become cynical, even in the midst of a world where there are very good and sound reasons for cynicism. Cynicism, not the world, must be rejected. Christian love is the antidote to cynicism. Christian love is not irritable or resentful, even in the face of irritability and resentfulness. It is not cynical, even in the face of cynicism. Love turns its back on irritability and resentment, and refuses to engage or express them, regardless of our personal feelings.
Love, as Paul has defined it here, is not a function of feelings. Christian love is simply not subject to human feelings. Rather, love is a commitment, a commitment to Christ first and foremost and then to His people, come what may. Love is commitment to biblical principles regardless of how we feel in the moment. Love understands that its commitment to these things -- to Christ, to God's people and to Scripture -- is greater than life itself. Love understands that commitment to Christ will survive this temporal life and continue into eternity.
Paul goes on to say that love "does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth" (1 Corinthians 13:6). Other translations translate the Greek word as "unrighteousness" or "iniquity." Love does not rejoice in unrighteousness. Love does not rejoice in iniquity. The word literally means injustice. Love hates injustice, unfairness, unrighteousness and iniquity. But love loves truth -- verity, equity, fairness, justice and righteousness. And how could it be otherwise? Because true love loves Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ is the manifestation of verity, equity, fairness, justice and righteousness. Because Christians love Christ first and foremost, they love these things -- the things of Christ -- first and foremost, more than other things. Christians rejoice in these things. These things provide joy for those in Christ.
This great Love Chapter provides a call to faithfulness that cuts through the fog of theology and doctrine without denying or belittling theology and doctrine. It makes Christian love real, more than words, more than feelings, more than commitment to an ideal or a cause. "And this is love, that we walk according to his commandments" (2 John 1:6).
God's Timetable
've heard an expression many times over the years: God is never late. On the other hand, perhaps, a good expression for us would be: we are never patient. So how can we figure out God's timetable?
First, let's admit that we really are impatient. We have become a product of our modern conveniences. We microwave "instant" foods that are ready to eat in mere seconds.
It irritates us if our two hour flight, that takes us hundreds of miles in less than two hours, is delayed by ten minutes. We expect our fully cooked "fast food" to be ready by the time we get to the pick up window.
These and many more examples that you can probably think of, show clearly that we have lost a lot of patience. And so many times when it comes to asking God for something, if it doesn't happen very quickly we get frustrated.
So, when you pray and petition God for something, how long are you supposed to wait? Is He going to answer? Could I please take a quick peek at His timetable on this one?
Too often people just think that God either doesn't hear their requests, or that He just doesn't want to answer them. Some often wonder if maybe they haven't been good enough for Him to respond in kind.
No one knows God's timetable. In fact, honestly, there is a lot we don't know about God. He says in the Bible, "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways." So, maybe we ought not to be so presumptuous to think we have God all figured out.
Let's take this position. In the situations that we are faced with in our own lives, there is nothing too hard or too big for God. If we don't take that position, then it is pointless to continue this discussion. God is indeed unlimited in His ability and resources.
Let's also take the position that God does not lie. The Bible says that His ears are open unto our prayers. So we know that every time we pray and ask Him for His help, He indeed hears us.
A man who lived in the 1800's by the name of George Mueller, set out to show people that God answers prayers. He had already seen this in his own life, but wanted to give people something tangible that they could see so that they too could tap into answered prayer.
His plan was to establish orphanages for the many homeless children in Great Britain. He believed that God would provide everything he needed without having to ask anyone for contributions. He did just that for 64 years.
During that time he built The Orphanage Campus at Ashley Down, where it is reported that he cared for and educated over 18,000 children. He educated over 100,000 more in other schools at the Orphanage's expense and distributed hundreds of thousands of Bibles and countless tracts, in addition to supporting hundreds of missionaries.
He never ever asked for one penny from anyone. His children never missed a meal, and he never had a debt. Perhaps regarding God's timetable, a quote by Mr. Mueller would be helpful.
"I live in the spirit of prayer. I pray as I walk, when I lie down, and when I rise. And the answers are always coming. Tens of thousands of times have my prayers been answered. When once I am persuaded that a thing is right, I go on praying for it. The great point is never to give up till the answer comes. The great fault of the children of God is, they do not continue in prayer; they do not persevere. If they desire anything for God's glory, they should pray until they get it."
When it comes to God's timetable, let's not get impatient. Let's stay persistent in prayer. As Jesus said, we ought not to faint in prayer. And, let's keep looking and expecting an answer, no matter how God chooses to get the job done.
First, let's admit that we really are impatient. We have become a product of our modern conveniences. We microwave "instant" foods that are ready to eat in mere seconds.
It irritates us if our two hour flight, that takes us hundreds of miles in less than two hours, is delayed by ten minutes. We expect our fully cooked "fast food" to be ready by the time we get to the pick up window.
These and many more examples that you can probably think of, show clearly that we have lost a lot of patience. And so many times when it comes to asking God for something, if it doesn't happen very quickly we get frustrated.
So, when you pray and petition God for something, how long are you supposed to wait? Is He going to answer? Could I please take a quick peek at His timetable on this one?
Too often people just think that God either doesn't hear their requests, or that He just doesn't want to answer them. Some often wonder if maybe they haven't been good enough for Him to respond in kind.
No one knows God's timetable. In fact, honestly, there is a lot we don't know about God. He says in the Bible, "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways." So, maybe we ought not to be so presumptuous to think we have God all figured out.
Let's take this position. In the situations that we are faced with in our own lives, there is nothing too hard or too big for God. If we don't take that position, then it is pointless to continue this discussion. God is indeed unlimited in His ability and resources.
Let's also take the position that God does not lie. The Bible says that His ears are open unto our prayers. So we know that every time we pray and ask Him for His help, He indeed hears us.
A man who lived in the 1800's by the name of George Mueller, set out to show people that God answers prayers. He had already seen this in his own life, but wanted to give people something tangible that they could see so that they too could tap into answered prayer.
His plan was to establish orphanages for the many homeless children in Great Britain. He believed that God would provide everything he needed without having to ask anyone for contributions. He did just that for 64 years.
During that time he built The Orphanage Campus at Ashley Down, where it is reported that he cared for and educated over 18,000 children. He educated over 100,000 more in other schools at the Orphanage's expense and distributed hundreds of thousands of Bibles and countless tracts, in addition to supporting hundreds of missionaries.
He never ever asked for one penny from anyone. His children never missed a meal, and he never had a debt. Perhaps regarding God's timetable, a quote by Mr. Mueller would be helpful.
"I live in the spirit of prayer. I pray as I walk, when I lie down, and when I rise. And the answers are always coming. Tens of thousands of times have my prayers been answered. When once I am persuaded that a thing is right, I go on praying for it. The great point is never to give up till the answer comes. The great fault of the children of God is, they do not continue in prayer; they do not persevere. If they desire anything for God's glory, they should pray until they get it."
When it comes to God's timetable, let's not get impatient. Let's stay persistent in prayer. As Jesus said, we ought not to faint in prayer. And, let's keep looking and expecting an answer, no matter how God chooses to get the job done.
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