| Family,
Marriage, Remarriage & Divorce
In recent years marriage has been under discussion in both Church
and society. Early in 1999 the Government issued its report Supporting
Families. Whilst this was notable for its failure to define what
a family is (thereby anyone to define it as they wish) it did
dare to use the M word which had become taboo in politically correct
circles. Despite the best efforts of many modernists the idea
of marriage will not go away. This is hardly surprising since
marriage is a part of God’s purpose and plan for mankind
and is therefore written not only in His word but in the hearts
of all people.
It is widely recognised that marriages and families are under
strain. More than one in every three marriages now ends in divorce
and the survival rate amongst Christians does not seem any better.
In order to help and strengthen marriage it is important not only
to look at what can keep marriage alive but also to recognise
the importance of marriage and its place in God’s loving
purposes.
Against this background the Church of England has produced a number
of new reports on marriage, divorce and remarriage and has also
revised its Marriage services.
Marriage
in the Purposes of God: what the Bible teaches on marriage,
singleness and living under God's will.
Texts
Church Society articles:
The Purpose of Marriage. Churchman article by Christopher Ash.
The
telos or 'Chief End' of Marriage. Churchman article by Simon
Vibert discussing the ideal of the marriage relationship and its
ultimate fulfillment in the relationship between Christ and his
Church.
Discipline
of Children
Gillian
Hall a mother and teacher writes on the currently contentious
issue of disciplining children.
Homosexual
Parenting: does it make a difference? A re- evaluation of
the research with adoption and fostering in mind.
(Churchman
article by Joy Holloway)
Children
and Their Relationship to Jesus - Cross†Way article
by Joy Shearer discussing conversion in children.
Statistics that show the state we are in. Cross†Way article by David Phillips commenting on the Social Trends statistics released in April 2007.
News
items relevant to this issue
7 May 2004
Church
of Wales appoints its first remarried Bishop.
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