From our Introductory Post:
“The righteous have sat back and allowed the wicked to take over our relationships to God, families, churches, governments, schools and colleges, journalism, entertainment, sports, sciences, and a whole litany of other endeavors in our society.”
Families - Definition
Our previous series of posts discussed the various aspects of our relationship to God. We now begin to consider the topic of families.
The first human institution given by God was the family. Genesis 1:26 – 28 simply states, “26And God said, Let us make man in our image. . .; and let them have dominion . . . . 27So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. 28And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish (fill) the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.”
The definition of family is very clearly given in the Scripture. God created a MALE and a FEMALE and told them to FILL the earth with children. This very simply means that a man and a woman are to be united in a loving life-long relationship for the purpose of raising children to the glory of God.
For those who try to make this passage say something that it does NOT, the word “replenish” simply means “fill.” The Lord is giving them the specific command to populate the whole earth with humans for the very first time.
An earlier Webster’s definition of family is “The collective body of persons who live in one house and under one head or manager; a household, including parents, children and servants, and as the case may be, lodgers or boarders.” Although, obviously, somewhat archaic with reference to servants, lodgers, and boarders, this definition follows the Biblical model.
The World Book simply states, “The Nuclear Family, consisting of a husband (man), a wife (woman), and their children, is considered the traditional American family.”
Summary
With this post we begin a series looking at families. We discovered that, by all definitions, a family is a man, a woman, and children in a committed life-long relationship. In the following posts we will look at the family in depth, how the family is deeply troubled, and how we can strengthen it by God’s formula.
I remain yours in the name of Jesus Christ, the Creator and Name above every name.
“Mr. Phil”
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I look forward to the blog as the term "family" is definted several different ways in our culture today. Although God's original intention (in a perfect pre-sin world in the Garden of Eden) was one man, one woman, and their offspring - I'm sure we can all agree there are now many different types of family situations.
ReplyDeleteThe question at hand in our culture is how can we take God's word, make it relevant for the situations we find ourselves in and if we can't/don't live in the "intended" family situation, how do we allow God's grace to penetrate and cover the family we do live in?
Ginger, let's take an extreme example. Suppose one is in a "family" that is defined by same-sex Sodomy. I would say the best way to allow God's grace to act would be to leave as soon as possible, and cut off all ties. What do you think?
ReplyDeleteEd, who is doing the leaving and cutting off all ties? What if there are children being raised by this same sex couple? Once these questions are answered, I think we'll be ready for a discussion. :-)
ReplyDeleteAllow me to quote from The Natural Family by Carlson and Mero, pp. 145, 146
ReplyDelete"The homosexual household puts children at risk. . . . 92 percent identified one or more problems with or concerns about the nature of their upbringing. . . . 97 percent of the harms were attributed to the homosexual parent by the courts. . . . the children in homosexual households face a disproportionate risk of being seexually molested, of experiencing gender confusion, of becoming sexually promiscuous, of losing a parent through parental separation or death, of sliding into depression, of becoming users of illegal drugs, and of commmitting suicide."
So much for homosexual "parenting."
I think most children who do not grow up in a loving, nurturing, caring family end up falling into some type of dysfunction as you have described above. On the flip side, there are many children who grew up in "Godly, Christian" homes who turned out just as dysfunctional and who suffered many of the things you described above.
ReplyDeleteI don't believe it's because they were raised by a "homosexual" couple (I happen to know a child that is a product of a homosexual couple). He is married (to a woman) - is definitely not gender confused; has never been abused, etc etc.
As the church, we are too quick to assume that it is the "homosexual couples" that cause all the issues - but I dare say, it is any type of family that is not God honoring. If a child grows up not knowing God and not being taught that God is his/her Creator and that they are in need of a Savior - they run the exact same risk of dysfunction and abuse no matter what "family unit" they find themselves in.
In fact, all of us run that risk - I don't care what type of family you are in. The fact is, we all live in a fallen world and we are all affected by it.
Let's start adding the statistics for the above issues for other types of family situations. Don't just pull out the "homosexual" card.
It is the radical homosexual element that has tried to redefine what they do as "just another lifestyle" on a par with the natural family. As Carlson and Mero have documented, this is not true.
ReplyDeleteYou are correct - it is the "radical" homosexual element. I am very careful to assume all homosexuals fall into this category though as I personally know some who have raised healthy children. I think everyone is responsible for their own families, no matter what they look like - ultimately we are all responsible for our faith in God and how we train, educate, and direct our lives and those who have been placed in our care.
ReplyDelete