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 – Threats – Materialism
In our previous post we considered the topic of Threats to Families, specifically Negative Influences of the Media. We will now take a look at another threat to the family, Materialism.
It almost seems un-American NOT to be a materialist and collect as many TOYS as possible. However, we discover from the Bible, a founding document of our American nation, that at the root of materialism is covetousness.
“Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s.” (Exodus 20:17)
“And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.” (Luke 12:15)
We would do well to consider the dictionary definition of materialism.
“materialism, noun.1. the belief that all action, thought, and feeling is made up of material things and not of ideas. Ex. In the latter half of the 1800's, materialism severely challenged the traditional spiritual view of man (Science). 2. the tendency to leave out or forget the spiritual side of things; worldliness. Ex. Our materialism has produced too much dependence upon industry (Atlantic). 3. the ethical doctrine that material self-interest should and does determine conduct.” (World Book Dictionary)
Some pretty good advice comes from a surprising source, Disney Family.com. This from what appears, on the surface, to be an organization dedicated to covetousness and “making dreams come true.”
“What do you do when you notice that your child is right -- she really is the only one at school without an iPod?”
• “avoid competitive ‘Keep up with the Joneses’ thinking”
• “set the stage for the discussion by explaining that each family is different”
• “learning to cope with disappointment is an important growth skill.”
• “Tell him (your child) that you'll make sure he has what he needs, but beyond that it's a process of negotiation.”
http://family.go.com/parentpedia/preteen-teen/behavior/teen-materialism/ (Disney)
The obvious solution to this threat to our families is “Thou shalt not covet.”
Summary
This post has examined Materialism as a major threat to families. We discovered that the solution is obedience to the commandment of God not to covet. Our next post will take a look at another threat to families, Absentee Fathers.
I remain yours in the name of Jesus Christ, the Creator and Name above every name.
“Mr. Phil”
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Negative Influences from the Media
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 – Threats – Negative Influences from the Media
In our previous post we considered the topic of Threats to Families, specifically Divorce. We will now take a look at another threat to the family, Negative Influences from the Media.
Marshall McLuhan, a futurist or philosopher of the 1960s wrote a piece in which he stated, “The medium is the message because it is the medium that shapes and controls the scale and form of human association and action.” Parents are increasingly aware of this in their children in today’s world. In fact, children seem to be lost in their iPods, G3s, cell phones, or whatever.
The dictionary definition of mass media, “any forms of communication, such as the press, television, radio, and motion pictures, which reach large numbers of people,” demonstrates the scale of the problem with the negative influence on families. Influence is “the power of persons or things to act on others, seen only in its effects.” Influence, in its verb form, works to produce “change the nature or behavior of.” In the case of today’s media the change is not for the better.
Although the mass media is influential in the life of the family, it has become irrelevant because it is sending messages that are “not important or meaningful.” In other words a family spending a lot of time interacting with mass media is wasting valuable time attempting to recover positive messages from irrelevance.
I suppose there are some good things running through our sewer systems on occasion or, perhaps, buried in dumpsters and landfills. Do we spend time cruising through the sewers or mining dumpsters and landfills in order to recover the few “gems” that might be there? Anyone doing this would not readily admit it for fear of being declared insane. Why do we continue allowing and even encouraging our families to cruise the sewers and mine the dumpsters and landfills of the mass media?
Summary
This post has examined Negative Influences from the Media as a major threat to families. Our next post will take a look at another threat to families, Materialism.
I remain yours in the name of Jesus Christ, the Creator and Name above every name.
“Mr. Phil”
“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 – Threats – Negative Influences from the Media
In our previous post we considered the topic of Threats to Families, specifically Divorce. We will now take a look at another threat to the family, Negative Influences from the Media.
Marshall McLuhan, a futurist or philosopher of the 1960s wrote a piece in which he stated, “The medium is the message because it is the medium that shapes and controls the scale and form of human association and action.” Parents are increasingly aware of this in their children in today’s world. In fact, children seem to be lost in their iPods, G3s, cell phones, or whatever.
The dictionary definition of mass media, “any forms of communication, such as the press, television, radio, and motion pictures, which reach large numbers of people,” demonstrates the scale of the problem with the negative influence on families. Influence is “the power of persons or things to act on others, seen only in its effects.” Influence, in its verb form, works to produce “change the nature or behavior of.” In the case of today’s media the change is not for the better.
Although the mass media is influential in the life of the family, it has become irrelevant because it is sending messages that are “not important or meaningful.” In other words a family spending a lot of time interacting with mass media is wasting valuable time attempting to recover positive messages from irrelevance.
I suppose there are some good things running through our sewer systems on occasion or, perhaps, buried in dumpsters and landfills. Do we spend time cruising through the sewers or mining dumpsters and landfills in order to recover the few “gems” that might be there? Anyone doing this would not readily admit it for fear of being declared insane. Why do we continue allowing and even encouraging our families to cruise the sewers and mine the dumpsters and landfills of the mass media?
Summary
This post has examined Negative Influences from the Media as a major threat to families. Our next post will take a look at another threat to families, Materialism.
I remain yours in the name of Jesus Christ, the Creator and Name above every name.
“Mr. Phil”
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Guest Blog - Toys
I would like to introduce a guest bloggist, my good friend and brother in the Lord, Dan. He has written a great piece on toys. He would be glad to hear from anyone and would like to see your comments on his essay.
TOYS
We began getting toys about as soon as we took our first breaths. From the womb to the tomb, we have been involved with toys. Safe to say our parents were delighted with the giggles and other sounds toys seem to encourage from us. As we grew, so did the desire for toys. Few of can not recall the excitement most of us had as we anticipated the arrival of more toys for Christmas or for a birthday celebration. They were expected. Getting older didn’t mean no toys at all but more expensive and larger. Having toys seems to be a modern day necessity. Whether young or old, male or female, westerners appear to have a place in their lives for toys. It may be hard to nail down how other peoples and cultures view toys but for us, they tend to be a big deal.
What is meant by: toy? It seems fair enough to define the word by saying a toy is something a person possesses by which or through which pleasure or excitement is gained but which is not necessary for survival. For adults, toys come in various packages, shapes and costs. Where does a person start when considering a list of toys in today’s adult world? Pleasure vehicles of sundry sorts come to mind, like: speed boats, snowmobiles, motorcycles (not used for getting to and from work), airplanes, skies, mountain bikes. There are hobbies (which are like toys in that they consume time and money) which attract many people, like: collecting beer cans, pasting things in a scrapbook, amateur radio[1], old cars, sky diving, model railroad building, even cooking, keeping track of sports events, watching the skies, collecting stamps or coins or old magazines or books, painting landscapes, etc. There are many others which could be added to such a list. The point is that there are many things and activities which seem to draw our attention, our money and our energies. ..and these can be viewed as toys or toy related programs. They are things we enjoy using and or do through much of our lives.
Consider the broad category of entertainment. These are so often events we see on TV but can also include those events to which a person would have to travel to participate. Here it would include ‘spectator sports,’ or, more precisely, professional sports. People often drive; even fly great distances to see their favorite football, basketball, baseball, hockey, soccer, swimming, and tennis and volleyball squad face competition. Many of these activities occur on Sunday. Die hard fans are likely to miss church in order to attend exciting games.
Perhaps the question to be asked: are these things evil? Not necessarily but they do require a person to consider their importance. At the end of things, it may be a question of balance in a person’s life. If a person would place all these toys and related items on a scale with things of the Church on the other end of the scale, we know the general bent of things. The things of the world would most likely reveal much more attention. This doesn’t mean the things of the world are evil and to be avoided. Such a measure of balance would show that something is out of whack. How these things are viewed is a reflection of how believers view their relationship with God.
About the only Biblical reference to things like toys is in the New Testament. “When I was a child, I used to speak as a child, think as a child, reason as a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things.” (I Cor. 13:11) This is in the so called “love” chapter of the N.T. It is fair to assume toys would also have been set aside. One might ponder, at what point did Paul (known earlier as Saul) become a man. In the context of this entire 13th chapter, the intent seems to be toward a maturation of a person, moving away from non-essentials to a more “grown up” life. This being the case, it can be assumed that Paul became a man, not at 21 years of age as we may think in today’s world, but later. Perhaps becoming a man was not tied to a person’s age but to becoming more mature, especially in things relating to God. One who studies Paul’s life would probably conclude that his turning from childish things to mature things began when he met Christ on the road to Damascus. Maturation is related to the ‘new life’ or ‘new birth’ a person finds in the new relationship a person has with God through the salvation purchased by Jesus Christ. By the time of this Damascus Road event, Paul must have been some years advanced from his 20s as he was busy in the persecution of early church members, not a task usually given to a teen. At the time, Paul must have considered himself a ‘man,’ but when he became a new person in Christ, he realized how far he had been from the mark of true maturation. There was a change in his mind and attitude, in his purpose for living, in what he came to see as more important than all the things he had held as precious as a younger person, as a child.
This verse not only gives a glimpse into Paul’s life and attitude but, being scripture, is an admonition for other believers to consider in their Christian walk.
It may be unfair to ascribe toys as being part of Christ’s life as a youngster. We have little record of those some 30 years. It seems likely, however, that he must have some toys common among youngsters in his neighborhood. Surely nothing like the toys boys and girls have today but we might catch a glimpse of how it may have been when we view children today in the 3rd world. We know how pleased they become when given a shoe box at Christmas time from Operation Christmas Child.
It’s been said by many people, that God has created us in such a way that there is within a hole that only He can fill. We try to fill this hole with many things, with many events, perhaps with many ungodly relationships. All these may seem to be the answer at the time but their ability to satisfy is short lived. To be sure there is nothing inherently wrong or evil about the things discussed here; it largely comes down to matters of balance and what we decide is important in our lives at a particular time.
Someone once said that our lives will soon be past; only what is done for Christ lasts. Maybe this is what our focus should be when it comes to the toys of life, being careful that we put first things first.
Dan Schobert
August 24, 2008
Plover, Wisconsin 54467
W9MFG@Charter.net
[1] This is my hobby, licensed in 1956.
TOYS
We began getting toys about as soon as we took our first breaths. From the womb to the tomb, we have been involved with toys. Safe to say our parents were delighted with the giggles and other sounds toys seem to encourage from us. As we grew, so did the desire for toys. Few of can not recall the excitement most of us had as we anticipated the arrival of more toys for Christmas or for a birthday celebration. They were expected. Getting older didn’t mean no toys at all but more expensive and larger. Having toys seems to be a modern day necessity. Whether young or old, male or female, westerners appear to have a place in their lives for toys. It may be hard to nail down how other peoples and cultures view toys but for us, they tend to be a big deal.
What is meant by: toy? It seems fair enough to define the word by saying a toy is something a person possesses by which or through which pleasure or excitement is gained but which is not necessary for survival. For adults, toys come in various packages, shapes and costs. Where does a person start when considering a list of toys in today’s adult world? Pleasure vehicles of sundry sorts come to mind, like: speed boats, snowmobiles, motorcycles (not used for getting to and from work), airplanes, skies, mountain bikes. There are hobbies (which are like toys in that they consume time and money) which attract many people, like: collecting beer cans, pasting things in a scrapbook, amateur radio[1], old cars, sky diving, model railroad building, even cooking, keeping track of sports events, watching the skies, collecting stamps or coins or old magazines or books, painting landscapes, etc. There are many others which could be added to such a list. The point is that there are many things and activities which seem to draw our attention, our money and our energies. ..and these can be viewed as toys or toy related programs. They are things we enjoy using and or do through much of our lives.
Consider the broad category of entertainment. These are so often events we see on TV but can also include those events to which a person would have to travel to participate. Here it would include ‘spectator sports,’ or, more precisely, professional sports. People often drive; even fly great distances to see their favorite football, basketball, baseball, hockey, soccer, swimming, and tennis and volleyball squad face competition. Many of these activities occur on Sunday. Die hard fans are likely to miss church in order to attend exciting games.
Perhaps the question to be asked: are these things evil? Not necessarily but they do require a person to consider their importance. At the end of things, it may be a question of balance in a person’s life. If a person would place all these toys and related items on a scale with things of the Church on the other end of the scale, we know the general bent of things. The things of the world would most likely reveal much more attention. This doesn’t mean the things of the world are evil and to be avoided. Such a measure of balance would show that something is out of whack. How these things are viewed is a reflection of how believers view their relationship with God.
About the only Biblical reference to things like toys is in the New Testament. “When I was a child, I used to speak as a child, think as a child, reason as a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things.” (I Cor. 13:11) This is in the so called “love” chapter of the N.T. It is fair to assume toys would also have been set aside. One might ponder, at what point did Paul (known earlier as Saul) become a man. In the context of this entire 13th chapter, the intent seems to be toward a maturation of a person, moving away from non-essentials to a more “grown up” life. This being the case, it can be assumed that Paul became a man, not at 21 years of age as we may think in today’s world, but later. Perhaps becoming a man was not tied to a person’s age but to becoming more mature, especially in things relating to God. One who studies Paul’s life would probably conclude that his turning from childish things to mature things began when he met Christ on the road to Damascus. Maturation is related to the ‘new life’ or ‘new birth’ a person finds in the new relationship a person has with God through the salvation purchased by Jesus Christ. By the time of this Damascus Road event, Paul must have been some years advanced from his 20s as he was busy in the persecution of early church members, not a task usually given to a teen. At the time, Paul must have considered himself a ‘man,’ but when he became a new person in Christ, he realized how far he had been from the mark of true maturation. There was a change in his mind and attitude, in his purpose for living, in what he came to see as more important than all the things he had held as precious as a younger person, as a child.
This verse not only gives a glimpse into Paul’s life and attitude but, being scripture, is an admonition for other believers to consider in their Christian walk.
It may be unfair to ascribe toys as being part of Christ’s life as a youngster. We have little record of those some 30 years. It seems likely, however, that he must have some toys common among youngsters in his neighborhood. Surely nothing like the toys boys and girls have today but we might catch a glimpse of how it may have been when we view children today in the 3rd world. We know how pleased they become when given a shoe box at Christmas time from Operation Christmas Child.
It’s been said by many people, that God has created us in such a way that there is within a hole that only He can fill. We try to fill this hole with many things, with many events, perhaps with many ungodly relationships. All these may seem to be the answer at the time but their ability to satisfy is short lived. To be sure there is nothing inherently wrong or evil about the things discussed here; it largely comes down to matters of balance and what we decide is important in our lives at a particular time.
Someone once said that our lives will soon be past; only what is done for Christ lasts. Maybe this is what our focus should be when it comes to the toys of life, being careful that we put first things first.
Dan Schobert
August 24, 2008
Plover, Wisconsin 54467
W9MFG@Charter.net
[1] This is my hobby, licensed in 1956.
Friday, October 2, 2009
Families – Threats – Divorce
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 – Threats – Divorce
In our previous post we considered the topic of Threats to Families, specifically the End of Child Bearing. We will now take a look at another threat to the family, Divorce. This will likely be a most painful blog post for me since my parents divorced when I was 10 years old. From my perspective there is no such thing as an “amicable” divorce, and the children of divorce are always damaged, probably for the rest of their lives.
Taking a look at the statistics reveals that we do have a problem with the divorce rate running at about ½ the marriage rate. See: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/divorce.htm
•Number of marriages: 2,162,000
•Marriage rate: 7.1 per 1,000 total population
•Divorce rate: 3.5 per 1,000 population (44 reporting States and D.C.)
Source: Births, Marriages, Divorces, and Deaths: Provisional Data for 2008, table A
Googling “divorce” yields a number of Page 1 hits of websites devoted to the subject:
www.divorcemag.com/statistics/statsUS.shtml, www.divorcestatistics.org/, www.divorceandlife.com/, www.divorcerate.org/, www.divorcereform.org/stats.html
The organization, Focus on the Family, is a major player providing Biblical teaching and resources to help families understand their responsibilities before God to maintain the family as the fundamental unit of society. See: http://www.focusonthefamily.com/lifechallenges/relationship_challenges/divorce.aspx
The Old Testament passage, Deuteronomy 24:1 – 4, deals with divorce not by way of command but as a form of regulation. The implication is that divorce was being practiced. Moses sought to bring some degree of justice to the practice by providing contractual protection to a woman and allowing her to remarry.
Jesus in the New Testament built upon the Old Testament law and restricted it to allow adultery as the only justifiable reason for divorce (Matthew 5:32). Again, He is not commanding divorce but attempting to regulate its practice with divine law.
How should the church deal with divorce? We must continue to teach that God hates it just as He hates any other sin. We cannot water down the teaching of one man married to one woman with children for life. However, we cannot single out divorced people as some kind of pariahs to be avoided. We are all (i.e. true believers) sinners saved by grace. God will use us after He saves us from sin. If He required perfection, none of us would be qualified to serve. We must advocate changing the laws of our culture to make divorce more difficult and preserve families. One positive change in this regard is to do away with “no fault” statutes. See the book, The Natural Family, by Carlson and Mero.
Summary
This post has examined Divorce as a major threat to families. We discovered that the divorce rate is running about one half the marriage rate. There are many resources devoted to the topic of divorce. Biblical teaching on divorce provides for ways of dealing with the practice as well as proscribing it. Our next post will take a look at another threat to families, Negative Influences from the Media.
I remain yours in the name of Jesus Christ, the Creator and Name above every name.
“Mr. Phil”
“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 – Threats – Divorce
In our previous post we considered the topic of Threats to Families, specifically the End of Child Bearing. We will now take a look at another threat to the family, Divorce. This will likely be a most painful blog post for me since my parents divorced when I was 10 years old. From my perspective there is no such thing as an “amicable” divorce, and the children of divorce are always damaged, probably for the rest of their lives.
Taking a look at the statistics reveals that we do have a problem with the divorce rate running at about ½ the marriage rate. See: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/divorce.htm
•Number of marriages: 2,162,000
•Marriage rate: 7.1 per 1,000 total population
•Divorce rate: 3.5 per 1,000 population (44 reporting States and D.C.)
Source: Births, Marriages, Divorces, and Deaths: Provisional Data for 2008, table A
Googling “divorce” yields a number of Page 1 hits of websites devoted to the subject:
www.divorcemag.com/statistics/statsUS.shtml, www.divorcestatistics.org/, www.divorceandlife.com/, www.divorcerate.org/, www.divorcereform.org/stats.html
The organization, Focus on the Family, is a major player providing Biblical teaching and resources to help families understand their responsibilities before God to maintain the family as the fundamental unit of society. See: http://www.focusonthefamily.com/lifechallenges/relationship_challenges/divorce.aspx
The Old Testament passage, Deuteronomy 24:1 – 4, deals with divorce not by way of command but as a form of regulation. The implication is that divorce was being practiced. Moses sought to bring some degree of justice to the practice by providing contractual protection to a woman and allowing her to remarry.
Jesus in the New Testament built upon the Old Testament law and restricted it to allow adultery as the only justifiable reason for divorce (Matthew 5:32). Again, He is not commanding divorce but attempting to regulate its practice with divine law.
How should the church deal with divorce? We must continue to teach that God hates it just as He hates any other sin. We cannot water down the teaching of one man married to one woman with children for life. However, we cannot single out divorced people as some kind of pariahs to be avoided. We are all (i.e. true believers) sinners saved by grace. God will use us after He saves us from sin. If He required perfection, none of us would be qualified to serve. We must advocate changing the laws of our culture to make divorce more difficult and preserve families. One positive change in this regard is to do away with “no fault” statutes. See the book, The Natural Family, by Carlson and Mero.
Summary
This post has examined Divorce as a major threat to families. We discovered that the divorce rate is running about one half the marriage rate. There are many resources devoted to the topic of divorce. Biblical teaching on divorce provides for ways of dealing with the practice as well as proscribing it. Our next post will take a look at another threat to families, Negative Influences from the Media.
I remain yours in the name of Jesus Christ, the Creator and Name above every name.
“Mr. Phil”
Friday, September 25, 2009
Families – Threats – End of Child Bearing
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 – Threats – End of Child Bearing
In our previous post we considered the topic of Threats to Families, specifically the End of Marriage. We will now take a look at another threat to the family, the End of Child Bearing. As incredible as it seems, humans, the pinnacle of God’s Creation, are bent on ending the human race through “population control.”
God told Adam and Eve to “Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish (fill) the earth.” (Genesis 1:28) The command was repeated to Noah and his family. (Genesis 9:1) God later gave the commandment to children to “Honor thy father and thy mother.” (Exodus 20:12) In the New Testament instructions are given to parents and children regarding mutual responsibilities. (Ephesians 6:1-4) It is safe to assume, therefore, that child bearing is an expectation for humanity on the part of the Creator.
Current world population statistics are not encouraging. Fertility rate statistics are available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Fertility_rate_world_map_2.png.
“Replacement fertility is the total fertility rate at which newborn girls would have an average of exactly 1 daughter over their lifetimes. In more familiar terms, women have just enough babies to replace themselves.” “Taken globally, the total fertility rate at replacement is 2.33 children per woman. At this rate, global population growth would trend towards zero.” See website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Replacement_rate#Replacement_rates
In the United Nations report, ASSUMPTIONS UNDERLYING THE RESULTS OF THE 2008 REVISION OF WORLD POPULATION PROSPECTS, found at: http://esa.un.org/unpp/assumptions.html , is the statement, “Total fertility in all countries is assumed to converge eventually toward a level of 1.85 children per woman. However, not all countries reach this level during the projection period, that is, by 2045-2050. Projection procedures differ slightly depending on whether a country had a total fertility above or below 1.85 children per woman in 2005-2010.”
Therefore, with a total fertility at 1.85 and the replacement value at 2.33, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that we are in trouble, especially in the traditional Western cultures. In fact, some of the traditional high birth rate regions are leveling off and beginning to decline. I invite you to do your own research.
Summary
This post has examined the End of Child Bearing as a major threat to families. World population statistics point to a decline in human population by 2050, which is contrary to the will of God. Our next post will take a look at another threat to families, Divorce.
I remain yours in the name of Jesus Christ, the Creator and Name above every name.
“Mr. Phil”
“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 – Threats – End of Child Bearing
In our previous post we considered the topic of Threats to Families, specifically the End of Marriage. We will now take a look at another threat to the family, the End of Child Bearing. As incredible as it seems, humans, the pinnacle of God’s Creation, are bent on ending the human race through “population control.”
God told Adam and Eve to “Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish (fill) the earth.” (Genesis 1:28) The command was repeated to Noah and his family. (Genesis 9:1) God later gave the commandment to children to “Honor thy father and thy mother.” (Exodus 20:12) In the New Testament instructions are given to parents and children regarding mutual responsibilities. (Ephesians 6:1-4) It is safe to assume, therefore, that child bearing is an expectation for humanity on the part of the Creator.
Current world population statistics are not encouraging. Fertility rate statistics are available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Fertility_rate_world_map_2.png.
“Replacement fertility is the total fertility rate at which newborn girls would have an average of exactly 1 daughter over their lifetimes. In more familiar terms, women have just enough babies to replace themselves.” “Taken globally, the total fertility rate at replacement is 2.33 children per woman. At this rate, global population growth would trend towards zero.” See website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Replacement_rate#Replacement_rates
In the United Nations report, ASSUMPTIONS UNDERLYING THE RESULTS OF THE 2008 REVISION OF WORLD POPULATION PROSPECTS, found at: http://esa.un.org/unpp/assumptions.html , is the statement, “Total fertility in all countries is assumed to converge eventually toward a level of 1.85 children per woman. However, not all countries reach this level during the projection period, that is, by 2045-2050. Projection procedures differ slightly depending on whether a country had a total fertility above or below 1.85 children per woman in 2005-2010.”
Therefore, with a total fertility at 1.85 and the replacement value at 2.33, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that we are in trouble, especially in the traditional Western cultures. In fact, some of the traditional high birth rate regions are leveling off and beginning to decline. I invite you to do your own research.
Summary
This post has examined the End of Child Bearing as a major threat to families. World population statistics point to a decline in human population by 2050, which is contrary to the will of God. Our next post will take a look at another threat to families, Divorce.
I remain yours in the name of Jesus Christ, the Creator and Name above every name.
“Mr. Phil”
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Families – Threats – End of Marriage
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 – Threats – End of Marriage
In our previous post we introduced the topic of Threats to Families with a broad overview of the many evils aligned against this first human institution ordained by God (See Genesis 1:26 - 28). Beginning with this post we will take a detailed look at some of the most egregious wickedness weakening and destroying families in the twenty-first century.
Giving up on marriage and divorce are two sides of the same coin. We will look at how these two phenomena are working together to destroy the foundations of society. Perhaps we should call the combination of these “The End of Marriage.” Since God ordained the human family based on a loving life-long commitment of a man and a woman resulting in children, we can safely say that He hates anything that would go against His will in that area.
See Emmanuel Research Review, http://www.egc.org/research/issue_36.html.
“Emerging Marriage Trends
In the past two centuries, the world has seen an unprecedented scientific, financial, and intellectual growth which has come with a heavy price tag. It has crossed cultural and ethnic boundaries in its course. Until the beginning of the 20th century societies believed in a ‘Biblical morality,’ which meant that there is such a thing as right and wrong and people knew why. For the next fifty years societies moved to a state of ‘abiblical morality.’ Societies knew there were such things that were right and wrong but did not know why. The 60s and 70s saw the influx of immorality where, even though people knew that certain things were right and wrong, they did not care. Since then, both developed and developing societies have been under the influence of a state of ‘amorality’ or ‘relative morality,’ which simply means that there is no such thing as right or wrong. Over the past fifty plus years, the number of single-parent households has skyrocketed to one-third of all U.S. families. The traditional American family structure appears to be crumbling. Furthermore, the world has seen six major trends emerging in the past fifty years that have crossed ethnic and cultural boundaries. They are:
• Overall 50% decline in the number of marriages that are formally solemnized
• 40 to 50% increase in divorce rate
• 10-fold increase in unmarried cohabitation (1000%)
• Decrease in average children per household from four to two
• Increase of single parent families and children born without fathers from 9 to 28%
• Overall changing attitudes about sex, marriage and family, alternatives to marriage, unwed childbearing (35%), abortion, homosexuality, extramarital relationships, and virtual pleasure.”
The solution to these threats to the family is quite simple. Obey God! If one is involved in a live-in arrangement, get married. If one is already married, stay married. Of course either of these must remain within the Biblical definition of marriage. How hard is that?
Summary
This post has examined the “End of Marriage” threat to the family. The solution to this threat is marriage according to the Biblical definition. Our next post will look at another threat to marriage, “The End of Child-Bearing.”
I remain yours in the name of Jesus Christ, the Creator and Name above every name.
“Mr. Phil”
“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 – Threats – End of Marriage
In our previous post we introduced the topic of Threats to Families with a broad overview of the many evils aligned against this first human institution ordained by God (See Genesis 1:26 - 28). Beginning with this post we will take a detailed look at some of the most egregious wickedness weakening and destroying families in the twenty-first century.
Giving up on marriage and divorce are two sides of the same coin. We will look at how these two phenomena are working together to destroy the foundations of society. Perhaps we should call the combination of these “The End of Marriage.” Since God ordained the human family based on a loving life-long commitment of a man and a woman resulting in children, we can safely say that He hates anything that would go against His will in that area.
See Emmanuel Research Review, http://www.egc.org/research/issue_36.html.
“Emerging Marriage Trends
In the past two centuries, the world has seen an unprecedented scientific, financial, and intellectual growth which has come with a heavy price tag. It has crossed cultural and ethnic boundaries in its course. Until the beginning of the 20th century societies believed in a ‘Biblical morality,’ which meant that there is such a thing as right and wrong and people knew why. For the next fifty years societies moved to a state of ‘abiblical morality.’ Societies knew there were such things that were right and wrong but did not know why. The 60s and 70s saw the influx of immorality where, even though people knew that certain things were right and wrong, they did not care. Since then, both developed and developing societies have been under the influence of a state of ‘amorality’ or ‘relative morality,’ which simply means that there is no such thing as right or wrong. Over the past fifty plus years, the number of single-parent households has skyrocketed to one-third of all U.S. families. The traditional American family structure appears to be crumbling. Furthermore, the world has seen six major trends emerging in the past fifty years that have crossed ethnic and cultural boundaries. They are:
• Overall 50% decline in the number of marriages that are formally solemnized
• 40 to 50% increase in divorce rate
• 10-fold increase in unmarried cohabitation (1000%)
• Decrease in average children per household from four to two
• Increase of single parent families and children born without fathers from 9 to 28%
• Overall changing attitudes about sex, marriage and family, alternatives to marriage, unwed childbearing (35%), abortion, homosexuality, extramarital relationships, and virtual pleasure.”
The solution to these threats to the family is quite simple. Obey God! If one is involved in a live-in arrangement, get married. If one is already married, stay married. Of course either of these must remain within the Biblical definition of marriage. How hard is that?
Summary
This post has examined the “End of Marriage” threat to the family. The solution to this threat is marriage according to the Biblical definition. Our next post will look at another threat to marriage, “The End of Child-Bearing.”
I remain yours in the name of Jesus Christ, the Creator and Name above every name.
“Mr. Phil”
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Families – Threats - Introduction
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 – Threats - Introduction
In our previous post we discussed the various resources available to help build strong families according to the will of God. We will now consider threats which are weakening and even destroying families. According to a survey of church pastors by the Minnesota Family Council (MFC) the top three threats to the family are divorce, negative influences from the media, and materialism.
Other concerns listed in the MFC survey are absentee fathers, families that lack a stay-at-home parent, cohabitation before marriage, pornography, morality not being taught in schools, poverty, and unemployment and/or a poor economy. In addition child/teen and parental alcohol/drug use/abuse, teen sexual activity/pregnancy, adultery, sexual predators, sexual abuse, and the expense of child care are listed.
Focus on the Family (FOF) says new forms of human relationships (e.g. trial marriages), loss of power to transmit values to the younger generation, and homosexual “marriage” even with the blessing of the churches. Also mentioned are having sex more for recreation than for procreation, court assaults, and anti-family biases of the media elite as major threats to the family.
Catholic News Service (CNS) considers war and violence, exploitation of the weak, rampant poverty and underdevelopment, destruction of the environment, the arms race, and everything that serves to weaken the family based on the marriage of a man and a woman. Everything that directly or indirectly stands in the way of its openness to the responsible acceptance of a new life and everything that obstructs its right to be primarily responsible for the education of its children are also threats to the family.
Summary
This post has presented an overview of some of the threats to the family identified by the MFC, FOF, and CNS organizations. Just reading the list may give us the impression that the situation is very dark regarding the family in our world. However, we know that God still rules the universe and knew about all of these things before they entered the evil hearts of humanity. As we consider some of these threats in detail in the following posts, we will also look at their solutions. A great resource available to us is prayer, and we should be praying as we read over this list. (See 1 Thessalonians 5:17)
I remain yours in the name of Jesus Christ, the Creator and Name above every name.
“Mr. Phil”
“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 – Threats - Introduction
In our previous post we discussed the various resources available to help build strong families according to the will of God. We will now consider threats which are weakening and even destroying families. According to a survey of church pastors by the Minnesota Family Council (MFC) the top three threats to the family are divorce, negative influences from the media, and materialism.
Other concerns listed in the MFC survey are absentee fathers, families that lack a stay-at-home parent, cohabitation before marriage, pornography, morality not being taught in schools, poverty, and unemployment and/or a poor economy. In addition child/teen and parental alcohol/drug use/abuse, teen sexual activity/pregnancy, adultery, sexual predators, sexual abuse, and the expense of child care are listed.
Focus on the Family (FOF) says new forms of human relationships (e.g. trial marriages), loss of power to transmit values to the younger generation, and homosexual “marriage” even with the blessing of the churches. Also mentioned are having sex more for recreation than for procreation, court assaults, and anti-family biases of the media elite as major threats to the family.
Catholic News Service (CNS) considers war and violence, exploitation of the weak, rampant poverty and underdevelopment, destruction of the environment, the arms race, and everything that serves to weaken the family based on the marriage of a man and a woman. Everything that directly or indirectly stands in the way of its openness to the responsible acceptance of a new life and everything that obstructs its right to be primarily responsible for the education of its children are also threats to the family.
Summary
This post has presented an overview of some of the threats to the family identified by the MFC, FOF, and CNS organizations. Just reading the list may give us the impression that the situation is very dark regarding the family in our world. However, we know that God still rules the universe and knew about all of these things before they entered the evil hearts of humanity. As we consider some of these threats in detail in the following posts, we will also look at their solutions. A great resource available to us is prayer, and we should be praying as we read over this list. (See 1 Thessalonians 5:17)
I remain yours in the name of Jesus Christ, the Creator and Name above every name.
“Mr. Phil”
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