What Is the Family's Purpose?

Countless people--not only Christians, but especially Christians--have decried the downfall of the family. Recent surveys show that the percentage of adults in a marriage is steadily declining, and the percentage of children born out of wedlock is steadily rising. It doesn't take a degree in psychology or theology to recognize that this is not good (in fact, those with degrees in psychology are the ones insisting that this does not matter--shame on them! But that is another matter....)
In Christian circles (and especially in Reformed circles) some have sought to fight this by insisting that, in fact, the family is a small church, and the church exists primarily to strengthen the family. Does the Bible truly teach this?
It may be that you have never asked that question--and you might say, Wendell, where on earth are you getting this? That's OK. But if you have asked yourself what the relationship is between church and family, here is an article you may find helpful--at least to understand how family relates to church in a theological way.

Church + Friends = Happiness

At least so says the research in this article. Is anyone surprised? What do you think?

Unlocking the Mysteries of Life

Here is a video by that title that I watched this morning. Beware--it is over an hour long.



It is excellent. Primarily because it does not try to do too much. What I mean by that is this: you can't get from science to Christian faith--that is the work of the Spirit through the preaching of the gospel. But scientific discovery does undermine the false assumptions behind naturalistic evolution--as it must, because this is God's world.

You can also watch it here on google video.

Failed Human Predictions

Click this link for a most interesting observation about the reliability of biblical prophecy--and the failure of human predictions! The blog operator does not allow me to copy and paste--otherwise I would paste it in here. But just click on the link.

Here's another video--this one puts me at risk of violating the 10th commandment. I wish I could have been there:



By the way, this one was "sponsored" by a small business in Canada that, I take it, wants to make itself known. Not a bad way to do so!

Here is something that I have heard a lot about, and have seen in person. How do we handle this for ourselves, our children, and our church? I welcome your thoughts. This, by the way, is why I still only have a pay-as-you-go cell phone, and it will take a miracle for me to permit my kids to have a cell phone (let alone an I-phone) anytime before their, say, 30th birthday :). Is that the answer? I'm not sure, honestly.

Another Good Book

We recently had an election. Once in a while I am asked why I do not preach sermons about elections--how to vote, etc. There are many reasons for this, most notably that we are tempted enough to do what Psalm 146:3 tells us not to do: "Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation...." Perhaps the most powerful sermon that could be preached about elections is NOT to trust in elections for anything eternal and ultimate.

But of course it behooves us to vote, and every election time, although I do not preach on how to vote, I usually do turn my mind to that vast subject of how, as citizens of heaven, we best fulfil our citizenship on earth. Recently I mentioned Carl Trueman's book Republocrat, and now I want to mention another that I am reading: The City of Man, by Michael Gerson and Peter Wehner.

Although these two books come at it differently (Trueman from what might be called the "center-left," and these guys more from the right), what they have in common is this: they all advocate that we think about our political commitments as comprehensively as possible. Abortion and gay marriage are not the whole ballgame; they are parts of it, but they are not the whole game. There are other moral issues at play.

Gerson and Wehner begin (after some introductory chapters) with "The Morality of Human Rights," writing: "... issues of war and peace, human rights and genocide, extreme poverty and pandemics have massive human consequences and, therefore, unavoidably moral dimensions."

That's about how far I've read in this book--so far so good! I'll let you know if somethings trikes me, one way or another, as I keep reading.

What Do Atheists Know About God?

If you have asked that question, or if it seems a strange question, follow this link.