October 02, 2015
What a Happy Marriage Looks Like
In our 41 years of marriage, my wife and I have never discussed whether
we're egalitarian or complementarian. What we've discussed is how to
make our marriage work, and we answer that question not by some
ideology, but in light of the on-the-ground realities of family, gifts,
and gender differences. That's one reason I especially appreciated "The Female Breadwinner Conundrum:
Most women don't want to be the family breadwinner, but new research
finds they're happy with just about any arrangement if they're married."
I suspect many couples would be happier if they stopped talking about
what "should be" based on preconceived notions and instead looked at
their specific marriage, with its unique circumstances, and how that marriage can be made to work better.
| ||
Why It's Hard to Be a Pastor-Theologian
The entrepreneurial pastor has been ascendant for some decades now.
These pastors are geniuses at starting and growing churches, but often
at the expense of richer biblical and theological teaching. At CT we've
been championing the return of the pastor-scholar. Congregations not
grounded in biblical teaching are very much subject to every wind of
culture. Still, any pastor who tries to study more deeply and integrate
theology into preaching and teaching will live with a few tensions, as this article by CT columnist Andrew Wilson explains. Having been a pastor-theologian back in the day, I believe he "gets it."
| ||
Put Down the Cell Phone, and Walk Away Slowly
That might be the best advice to engender deeper conversations.
Apparently cell phones make it harder for us to talk to one another at
more significant levels.
In a 2015 study by the Pew Research Center, 89 percent of cellphone owners said they had used their phones during the last social gathering they attended. But they weren't happy about it; 82 percent of adults felt that the way they used their phones in social settings hurt the conversation.
The New Yorker's article "Stop Googling. Let's Talk."
made me wonder if we should make people get permits to "conceal and
carry" cell phones, making it a federal offense to use them when in
conversation with a real human being.
| ||
Nature Doesn't Care About Us: That's Good News Actually
Whether you've seen "Nature Is Speaking,"
the videos produced by Conservation International that have garnered
millions of views on YouTube, you may be interested in this brief review
of the one in which Julia Roberts speaks as Mother Nature herself.
There is a lot that is wise and good in modern environmentalism, and
some that borders on nature worship. But Robert Barron does a judo move on the Roberts film,
showing that while formally assuming a more pagan view of creation, the
segment is an inadvertent apology for the need for a Christian view.
| ||
Grace and peace,
| ||
| ||
No comments:
Post a Comment