Brian & Beau: Thanks for a quite challenging and thought provoking article. Clearly something that Christians of all varieties should have some honest, open discussion about. Sadly and tragically, in our current "Christian" environment, I have doubts that is possible. Although it would, or at lease could, be a most interesting and even possibly a exercise in understanding, accepting, and coming to some common ground. Keep up the good Writing!!
The statement that many grandparents maried at age of 16 or 17 and are still married ignores a lot of the then cultural norms at the time. First, women did not have many legal rights such as having their own bank accounts without a male relative as a co-signer meant living married or staying under her father's "protection". Now my parents married young and were married for 72 years. However, neither advocated as that as a norm. In fact when my mother found out one of her granddaughters was pregnant and unmarried told her "Don't jump into marriage just because of the baby." Unfortunately this granddaughter jumped into marriage only to be divorced within the year. She said later she should have taken her grandmother's advice. Although some early marriages may be successful, I would not encourage it. Marriage is hard and is much more that the wedding.
And is it just me or are some of these people are unnaturally obsessed with procreation?
Brian & Beau: Thanks for a quite challenging and thought provoking article. Clearly something that Christians of all varieties should have some honest, open discussion about. Sadly and tragically, in our current "Christian" environment, I have doubts that is possible. Although it would, or at lease could, be a most interesting and even possibly a exercise in understanding, accepting, and coming to some common ground. Keep up the good Writing!!
The statement that many grandparents maried at age of 16 or 17 and are still married ignores a lot of the then cultural norms at the time. First, women did not have many legal rights such as having their own bank accounts without a male relative as a co-signer meant living married or staying under her father's "protection". Now my parents married young and were married for 72 years. However, neither advocated as that as a norm. In fact when my mother found out one of her granddaughters was pregnant and unmarried told her "Don't jump into marriage just because of the baby." Unfortunately this granddaughter jumped into marriage only to be divorced within the year. She said later she should have taken her grandmother's advice. Although some early marriages may be successful, I would not encourage it. Marriage is hard and is much more that the wedding.
And is it just me or are some of these people are unnaturally obsessed with procreation?