Catching up on some blogs

Here are some blogs of interest from the past few days —

In the past two days, Al Mohler has written two articles that all parents ought to read. Yesterday he wrote, "The Death Culture Strikes Again," addressing the role of the internet in increasing suicide rates among teens, concluding with yet another admonition to parents to be wary of what their children are consuming digitally.

And this morning he wrote, "Are We Teaching Our Children to Lie?" addressing not only the issue that our children lie (they do — "In the end, 98 percent of the teens admitted lying to parents. At the same time, 98 percent of the same teens said that lying is wrong. Add to this the fact that many of these kids admitted lying a great deal. It turns out that children begin to lie very early. As a skill, lying seems tied to intelligence. The smarter kids lie earlier and more skillfully. Really smart kids can lie at 2 or 3."), but that they may be learning to lie from their parents! As people of the truth, this is an issue worth considering some honest self-evaluation.

And Terry Mattingly writes an interesting column on adultery, offering some data that hopefully suggests adultery may not be as pervasive as is commonly reported, but still concluding with this disheartening comment: "When it comes to matters of infidelity, Christian Americans act more like Americans than they do like Christians."

Mohler on the new atheism

Last week, Al Mohler presented the W. H. Griffith Thomas lectureship at Dallas Theological Seminary, speaking on the new atheism. If you are wondering what men like Sam Harris, Daniel Dennett and Richard Dawkins are saying and writing (and millions of people have purchased their books, so someone is wondering), then you will find these lectures helpful:

• The New Atheism And The Endgame Of Secularism
• The New Atheism And The Assault On Theism
• The New Atheism And The Defense Of Theism
• The New Atheism And The Future Of Christianity

There are also many links to commentaries and blogs on Al Mohler's website about the new atheism.

Another testimony for permanent marriages

In yesterday's blog, Al Mohler, citing a recent article from the Washington Post, articulates a downside to divorce that has rarely been mentioned. We speak often of the impact of divorce on young children, and the detriment it is to the marriage partners, but after decades of increased divorce rates, the influence on divorce for aging parents is also being realized.

The strained relationships that result from divorce when the children are young carry over to adulthood so they are disinclined to visit their aging parents often, cultivate a meaningful relationship, or care for them in their illness.

Mohler concludes his commentary this way:

Almost 40 percent of adults have divorced parents. The bonds of family and kinship have been strained over the last century by advanced industrialization, career mobility, and a host of developments that have subverted family intactness and intimacy. But none of these can equal the total impact of easy divorce and the divorce culture that is now simply taken as a fact of life.

The impact of divorce on children has been a controversial issue for decades now. Marquardt and Glenn now point to a challenge that will explode in significance in years to come. They warn of "lonely grief" as a common experience.

In Marquardt's words:

As the generation that ushered in widespread divorce ages, an epidemic of such lonely grief may well sweep in behind it. Much of the expert literature on death and dying implicitly assumes an intact family experience. It assumes that people grow up with their mothers and fathers, who are married to each other when one of them dies. Some scholars are beginning to investigate aging and dying in families already visited by divorce. But most scholars and the public still give scant attention to the loss of other parent figures or to the deeply complicating, long-lasting effects of family fragmentation.

Here is yet another warning and reminder of what divorce represents and what happens when marriage is undermined by a social and legal revolution of this significance. This will challenge churches as well as families. "The New Alone" is a very troubling report.

The believer is not committed to marriage because of social implications or statistical surveys which might reinforce the benefits of a permanent marriage. We are committed to marriage because God is committed to His marriage to His people Israel, because Christ is committed to His marriage with His bride, the church, and because Scripture consistently teaches the righteousness of permanence in marriage.

This report does not change the reason why we are committed to marriage; but it does offer testimony to God's good and eternal plan for the family.

Discernment needed

On my upcoming sabbatical, I want to read a number of books. One of those is one just published by blogger Tim Challies, called The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment. It is an important book on an important topic. Al Mohler explains why.

The Reading List

I'm always on the lookout for good new books. Sometimes it can be a daunting task to walk into a bookstore and try to determine which book is worth reading and which is not.

Al Mohler has begun a new feature called "The Reading List" on his web/blog site. I have always found him to be an excellent resource for thinking Biblically about cultural events. This book review list should be equally helpful. It's worth bookmarking in your RSS reader and perusing regularly.