I thought this was an interesting article. I am posting it here so i look at it again!

Changes in family life need not threaten Christians

UPDATE:

Still haven’t had chance to consider this further, but here is Adam’s response from the comments:

An interesting article that doesn’t really contain much on the surface that I would disagree with…

However…

For an article on the changes in family life the author doesn’t really mention one of the most significant aspects of the family: children.

No right thinking person would suggest that modern women - or even their 1st century ancestors would not be physical, mentally or spiritually equipped for independent living. Even in the past - say Victorian times thru to post war Britain, young women who were often seen as being incapable of looking after themselves - often in reality spent more time looking after their husbands than the other way around.

Unfortunately the same can not been said about their children. Whilst it is true to say that some children grow, mature, and prosper in single parent families - many others don’t. And whilst it is equally true that many children from seemingly stable traditional “nuclear” families go off the rails, surely this environment still gives our young people the best possible start in life.

As a full time father I’m the last to advocate women being the ones that have to stay at home and after the children, but at the same time I believe that someone should take that roll – not necessarily full time – and either mother, father, or step parent.

Also – marriage is a great avenue of God’s grace. As someone who learnt that he was going to be a dad outside of marriage – but actually become one within marriage I can attest to that.

Rant over.

Normal service can be resumed.

When you have two ‘impulses’ in one day, it seems to grab your attention more. Here are my two.

Jason Clark mentioned on his blog that he had used this video on Sunday. It is called Miniature-Earth and presents some fact and figures as if the world were a village of 100 people, and based on the “State of hte Village report” of 1990. Somehoe it brought it all to life a bit more. It helpled too when having a conversation with Jack about India and Hinduism over dinner!

Rhoda sent me a link to the Micah Challenge from tearfund. Micah Challenge refers to Micah 6:8: “…what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God”. They are encouraging having a micah sunday on October 15th to make note of the Micah challenge and to sign up to the Micah call. Do it!

When you have two ‘impulses’ in one day, it seems to grab your attention more. Here are my two.

Jason Clark mentioned on his blog that he had used this video on Sunday. It is called Miniature-Earth and presents some fact and figures as if the world were a village of 100 people, and based on the “State of hte Village report” of 1990. Somehoe it brought it all to life a bit more. It helpled too when having a conversation with Jack about India and Hinduism over dinner!

Rhoda sent me a link to the Micah Challenge from tearfund. Micah Challenge refers to Micah 6:8: “…what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God”. They are encouraging having a micah sunday on October 15th to make note of the Micah challenge and to sign up to the Micah call. Do it!

I was trawling my inbox this morning and found this article that I meant to blog about and I can’t find whether I actually did or not. A rare and fascinating interview with Bono from Rolling Stone magazine. Given the website this is, you might be interested in this quote:

What is your religious belief today? What is your concept of God?

If I could put it simply, I would say that I believe there’s a force of love and logic in the world, a force of love and logic behind the universe. And I believe in the poetic genius of a creator who would choose to express such unfathomable power as a child born in “straw poverty”; i.e., the story of Christ makes sense to me.

How does it make sense?

As an artist, I see the poetry of it. It’s so brilliant. That this scale of creation, and the unfathomable universe, should describe itself in such vulnerability, as a child. That is mind-blowing to me. I guess that would make me a Christian. Although I don’t use the label, because it is so very hard to live up to. I feel like I’m the worst example of it, so I just kinda keep my mouth shut.

Do you pray or have any religious practices?

I try to take time out of every day, in prayer and meditation. I feel as at home in a Catholic cathedral as in a revival tent. I also have enormous respect for my friends who are atheists, most of whom are, and the courage it takes not to believe.

How big an influence is the Bible on your songwriting? How much do you draw on its imagery, its ideas?

It sustains me.

As a belief, or as a literary thing?

As a belief. These are hard subjects to talk about because you can sound like such a dickhead. I’m the sort of character who’s got to have an anchor. I want to be around immovable objects. I want to build my house on a rock, because even if the waters are not high around the house, I’m going to bring back a storm. I have that in me. So it’s sort of underpinning for me.

I don’t read it as a historical book. I don’t read it as, “Well, that’s good advice.” I let it speak to me in other ways. They call it the rhema. It’s a hard word to translate from Greek, but it sort of means it changes in the moment you’re in. It seems to do that for me.

You’re saying it’s a living thing?

It’s a plumb line for me. In the Scriptures, it is self-described as a clear pool that you can see yourself in, to see where you’re at, if you’re still enough. I’m writing a poem at the moment called “The Pilgrim and His Lack of Progress.” I’m not sure I’m the best advertisement for this stuff.

I was trawling my inbox this morning and found this article that I meant to blog about and I can’t find whether I actually did or not. A rare and fascinating interview with Bono from Rolling Stone magazine. Given the website this is, you might be interested in this quote:

What is your religious belief today? What is your concept of God?

If I could put it simply, I would say that I believe there’s a force of love and logic in the world, a force of love and logic behind the universe. And I believe in the poetic genius of a creator who would choose to express such unfathomable power as a child born in “straw poverty”; i.e., the story of Christ makes sense to me.

How does it make sense?

As an artist, I see the poetry of it. It’s so brilliant. That this scale of creation, and the unfathomable universe, should describe itself in such vulnerability, as a child. That is mind-blowing to me. I guess that would make me a Christian. Although I don’t use the label, because it is so very hard to live up to. I feel like I’m the worst example of it, so I just kinda keep my mouth shut.

Do you pray or have any religious practices?

I try to take time out of every day, in prayer and meditation. I feel as at home in a Catholic cathedral as in a revival tent. I also have enormous respect for my friends who are atheists, most of whom are, and the courage it takes not to believe.

How big an influence is the Bible on your songwriting? How much do you draw on its imagery, its ideas?

It sustains me.

As a belief, or as a literary thing?

As a belief. These are hard subjects to talk about because you can sound like such a dickhead. I’m the sort of character who’s got to have an anchor. I want to be around immovable objects. I want to build my house on a rock, because even if the waters are not high around the house, I’m going to bring back a storm. I have that in me. So it’s sort of underpinning for me.

I don’t read it as a historical book. I don’t read it as, “Well, that’s good advice.” I let it speak to me in other ways. They call it the rhema. It’s a hard word to translate from Greek, but it sort of means it changes in the moment you’re in. It seems to do that for me.

You’re saying it’s a living thing?

It’s a plumb line for me. In the Scriptures, it is self-described as a clear pool that you can see yourself in, to see where you’re at, if you’re still enough. I’m writing a poem at the moment called “The Pilgrim and His Lack of Progress.” I’m not sure I’m the best advertisement for this stuff.