R. Albert Mohler Jr.'s Blog, page 390

The Briefing 10-08-13

1. New York Times Editors give their opinion on how Supreme Court should rule

The Supreme Court Returns, New York Times (Editorial Board)

2. Originalism, Textualism, and Theology in Scalia’s historic interview 

In Conversation With Antonin Scalia, New York Magazine

3. California Governor signs law allowing more than two parents

Jerry Brown signs California bill allowing more than two parents

4. Final decision for Azusa Pacific University professor comes down amid student protests

Azusa Pacific University Students Rally Behind Embattled Transgender Professor, NBC (William Avila and Ted Chen)

5. Transgender student at California Baptist University calls expulsion “extreme”

Student Expelled from California Baptist University for being transgender, The Advocate (Sunnivie Brydum)

Can Liberal Christianity Be Reinvented? – A Conversation With Theologian Theo Hobson

A pink reformation, The Guardian (Theo Hobson)

The Briefing 10-07-13

1) Supreme Court could take on seismic cultural issues this season

Supreme Court term begins with contentious topics, Associated Press (Mark Sherman)

The question facing Ruth Bader Ginsburg: Stay or go?, Washington Post (Nikki Kahn)

2) Rift over abortion at Catholic School instructive for Evangelicals

Abortion Vote Exposes Rift at a Catholic University, New York Times (Ian Lovett)

3) Dating at 11 years-old is dangerous. Did we need an academic study to tell us?

The Data on Teen Dating, Wall Street Journal (Ann Lukits)

4) New York begins campaign counteracting dangerous and unrealistic fashion advertising

City Unveils Campaign to Improve Girls’ Self-Esteem, New York Times (Anemona Hartocollis)

 

 

 

 

The Briefing 10-04-13

1. Tragedy in DC and resulting social media/cable news frenzy

Woman slain after car chase from White House to Capitol, USA Today (Kevin Johnson, Donna Leinwand, Doug Stanglin)

Shots fired at Capitol after chase from White House, Washington Post (Ed O’Keefe, Peter Hermann and David A. Fahrenthold)

2. Politicians attempt compromise with an eye to re-election 

Government shutdown: Obama cancels Asia trip, standoff continues, CNN (Tom Cohen, Deirdre Walsh and Ed Payne)

3. Wendy Davis uses abortion filibuster fame as springboard for Texas governor run 

Wendy Davis announces run for Texas governor, Washington Post (Sean Sullivan)

4. Lawyer who won national case banning school prayer dies at age 88

Leonard Kerpelman, Who led School Prayer Case, Dies at 88, New York Times (John Schwartz)

5. Charter of Quebec Values overreaches into religious liberty

Former Quebec premier Jacques Parizeau chides PQ for overreaching with values charter, Ottawa Citizen (PostMedia News)

6. Bishop warns against gambling, then calls it a morally neutral act

As Casino Vote Nears, Bishops Warn of Social Risks, New York Times (Jesse McKinley)

Two Is Better Than One—Who Knew?

For some time now, scholars like W. Bradford Wilcox at the University of Virginia and Charles Murray of the American Enterprise Institute have been telling us that marriage is becoming an upper class phenomenon. More accurately, they have been pointing to the fact that lower-income Americans have been progressively abandoning marriage for the last two decades.

Now, along comes Derek Thompson, writing for The Atlantic, making many of the same points. Thompson points to an analysis of census data that reveals the vast economic consequences of this abandonment. Put bluntly, the failure to marry dramatically increases the likelihood of poverty and continued economic retreat.

According to this new data, the average American family with married parents and at least one child under age 18 living in the same home earned $81,000 last year. Interestingly, almost all of the actual growth in this average family’s income in recent years has come from the wife working. Thompson directs our attention to this fact in order to make his larger point: our marriage crisis is making income inequality worse. Those who are getting married and staying married are, on average, moving ahead in the economy. In contrast, those who are not married are falling behind—fast. Add to this the fact that when people marry, they tend to marry someone who shares the same work ethic. The strong get stronger and the weak get weaker.

As Thompson puts it: “In a strange twist, marriage has recently become a capstone for the privileged class. The decline of marriage, to the extent that we’re seeing it, is happening almost exclusively among the poor.”

Unrelated evidence for the importance of marriage comes from The Journal of Clinical Oncology. Researchers have documented the fact that on average married cancer patients live longer than unmarried patients. As Tara Parker-Pope of The New York Times explains, “Married cancer patients live longer than single people who have the disease, suggesting that logistical and emotional support from a loved one may be far more critical to cancer care than previously recognized.”

You will not be surprised to know that unmarried men are at greatest risk. Wives make a huge difference in the health habits of their husbands, right down to making sure that doctor’s appointments are made and medicines are taken. Nevertheless, married women also survive longer than unmarried women with the same disease. Even husbands really help. Single patients are far more vulnerable.

All this is testimony to the power of marriage, and to the fact that marriage is one of the greatest gifts God has given his human creatures.

Interestingly, Derek Thompson ends his article with these words: “This is the marriage crisis behind our inequality crisis. It is not complicated. It requires no regressions. It is the simplest math equation in the world. It says: Two is more than one.”

Really?

I think we know where that equation began: “Then the Lord God said, ‘It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him’” (Gen 2:18 ESV).

Or, as a modern paraphrase of that text might read: “Two is more than one.”

I am always glad to hear from readers. Write me at mail@albertmohler.com. Follow regular updates on Twitter at www.twitter.com/AlbertMohler.

Derek Thompson, “How America’s Marriage Crisis Makes Income Inequality So Much Worse,” The Atlantic, Tuesday, October 1, 2013. http://www.theatlantic.com/business/a...

Tara Parker-Pope, “Marriage May Aid in Longevity,” The New York Times, Tuesday, October 1, 2013. http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/09...

Ayal A. Aizer, et. al., “Marital Status and Survival in Patients with Cancer,” The Journal of Clinical Oncology, JCO.2013.49.6489, Monday, September 23, 2013. http://jco.ascopubs.org/content/early...

Two is Better Than One — Who Knew?

For some time now, scholars like W. Bradford Wilcox at the University of Virginia and Charles Murray of the American Enterprise Institute have been telling us that marriage is becoming an upper class phenomenon. More accurately, they have been pointing to the fact that lower-income Americans have been progressively abandoning marriage for the last two decades.

Now, along comes Derek Thompson, writing for The Atlantic, making many of the same points. Thompson points to an analysis of census data that reveals the vast economic consequences of this abandonment. Put bluntly, the failure to marry dramatically increases the likelihood of poverty and continued economic retreat. According to this new data, the average American family with married parents and at least one child under age 18 living in the same home earned $81,000 last year.

Interestingly, almost all of the actual growth in this average family’s income in recent years has come from the wife working. Thompson directs our attention to this fact in order to make his larger point — that our marriage crisis is making income inequality worse. Those who are getting married and staying married are, on average, moving ahead in the economy. In contrast, those who are not married are falling behind — fast. Add to this the fact that when people marry, they tend to marry someone who shares the same work ethic. The strong get stronger and the weak get weaker.

As Thompson puts it: “In an strange twist, marriage has recently become a capstone for the privileged class. The decline of marriage, to the extent that we’re seeing it, is happening almost exclusively among the poor.”

Unrelated evidence for the importance of marriage comes from The Journal of Clinical Oncology. Researchers have documented the fact that married cancer patients live longer, on average, than unmarried patients. As Tara Parker-Pope of The New York Times explains, “Married cancer patients live longer than single people who have the disease, suggesting that logistical and emotional support from a loved one may be far more critical to cancer care than previously recognized.”

You will not be surprised to know that unmarried men are at greatest risk. Wives make a huge difference in the health habits of their husbands, right down to making sure that doctor’s appointments are made and medicines are taken. Nevertheless, married women also survive longer than unmarried women with the same disease. Even husbands really help. Single patients are far more vulnerable.

All this is testimony to the power of marriage, and to the fact that marriage is one of the greatest gifts God has given his human creatures.

Interestingly, Derek Thompson ends his article with these words: “This is the marriage crisis behind our inequality crisis. It is not complicated. It requires no regressions. It is the simplest math equation in the world. It says: Two is more than one.”

Really?

I think we know where that equation began: “Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” [Genesis 2:18, English Standard Version]

Or, as a modern paraphrase of that text might read: “Two is more than one.”

I am always glad to hear from readers. Write me at mail@albertmohler.com. Follow regular updates on Twitter at www.twitter.com/AlbertMohler.

Derek Thompson, “How America’s Marriage Crisis Makes Income Inequality So Much Worse,” The Atlantic, Tuesday, October 1, 2013. http://www.theatlantic.com/business/a...

Tara Parker-Pope, “Marriage May Aid in Longevity,” The New York Times, Tuesday, October 1, 2013. http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/09...

Ayal A. Aizer, et. al., “Marital Status and Survival in Patients with Cancer,” The Journal of Clinical Oncology, JCO.2013.49.6489, Monday, September 23, 2013. http://jco.ascopubs.org/content/early...

 

The Indispensable Evangelical: Carl F. H. Henry and Evangelical Ambition in the Twentieth Century

I was very pleased to address the Carl F. H. Henry at 100: A Centennial Celebration conference at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary last week. The event was both scholarly and deeply appreciative of Carl Henry and his legacy. In my address, “The Essential Evangelical: Carl F. H. Henry and Evangelical Ambition in the Twentieth Century,” I did my best to speak to Henry’s strategic role in the creation of the evangelical movement in America. I also sought to learn from Henry and his generation of evangelical leaders as we consider what ambitions evangelicals should serve today.

 

The Briefing 10-03-13

1. The Government Shutdown just a show of political theater?

Our Democracy Is at Stake, New York Times (Thomas Friedman)

What happens if they shut down the government and no one cares?, National Post of Canada (Jesse Kline)

2. Euthanasia:

Belgian killed by euthanasia after a botched sex change operation, The Telegraph (Bruno Waterfield)

3. Secularism explodes among American Jewish community

Poll Shows Major Shift in Identity of U.S. Jews, New York Times (Laurie Goodstein)

4. Moms really do have a nose for that baby smell. 

New baby smell: For moms, it’s delicious, USA Today (Kim Painter)

The Briefing 10-02-13

1) Politics important but not ultimate: 3 sobering realities about the government shutdown

House G.O.P. Stands Firm on Shutdown, but Dissent Grows, New York Times (Jeremy Peters)

Defiant Obama blames government shutdown on GOP ‘ideological crusade’, Washington Post (Lori Montgomery, Paul Kane and Debbi Wilgoren)

Government shutdown: What’s the cost?, CBS News (Rebecca Kaplan)

2) Health insurance vs. health care: Why Obamacare doesn’t solve the problem

Obamacare 101: What You Need to Know, CNN (Jen Christensen)

Young and Healthy Needed to Make Obamacare Work, CNN (Jen Christensen)

Health Exchanges Open for Business, Wall Street Journal (Christopher Weaver and Timothy W. Martin)

Muted Rollout for Much Changed Health Care Law, Wall Street Journal (Louise Radnofsky)

3) Study reveals married couples live longer and healthier lives

Married Cancer Patients Live Longer, New York Times (Tara Parker-Pope)

4) Marriage inequality crisis: Has marriage become a capstone for the privileged class? 

How America’s Marriage Crisis Makes Income Inequality So Much Worse, The Atlantic (Derek Thompson)

Coming Apart – America’s Moral Divide: A Conversation with Charles Murray, Thinking in Public

 

George and Barbara Witness a Wedding—When a Private Act Sends a Public Message

Former President George H. W. Bush and his wife Barbara attended a wedding a few days ago, and it made national news. According to The Washington Post, the elder Bushes attended the wedding of Bonnie Clement and Helen Thorgalsen, held at Kennebunkport, Maine. The two lesbians, co-owners of a general store in neighboring Kennebunk, were married in an outdoor celebration attended by family and friends. The 41st President of the United States was present, along with the former First Lady. Bonnie Clement told The Washington Post, “Who would be best to acknowledge the importance of our wedding as our friends and as the former leader of the free world? When they agreed to do so we just felt that it was the next acknowledgement of being ‘real and normal.’”

As it turns out, President Bush did not merely attend the wedding. He also served as an official witness, signing the legal documents for the ceremony and the Maine wedding license. Under a photograph with the former president the couple added the words, “Getting our marriage license witnessed!”

No one should be surprised by the opening line of the report in The Washington Post: “Another prominent Republican has come out in support of same-sex marriage—or, at least, in support of one particular same-sex marriage.” Similarly, the “Daily Intelligencer” column at New York Magazine declared that George and Barbara Bush are apparently in favor of same-sex marriage “since they not only attended a lesbian couple’s wedding on Saturday, but served as witnesses as well.”

The news coverage of the Bushes’ attendance at the same-sex wedding points to a reality that must be understood—and fast. Attendance at a wedding is not a neutral act. The history and context of the wedding ceremony identify all those present as agreeing to the rightness of the marriage and acting as witnesses to the exchange of vows. This is why the venerable language of The Book of Common Prayer, used in the overwhelming majority of Christian weddings, calls upon anyone with knowledge that the proposed union is invalid to speak, “or forever hold his peace.” Anyone remaining silent at that point is affirming the rightness and validity of the marriage, and all who are present are counted as both witnesses and those who celebrate the union.

This issue arose two years ago when controversy erupted over comments that Houston megachurch pastor Joel Osteen made on CNN’s Piers Morgan Tonight. In response to a question from Morgan, Osteen said that he would not officiate at a same-sex wedding. Morgan then pressed him by asking if Osteen would attend a same-sex wedding. Osteen replied:

Well, I haven’t been to many weddings lately to begin with and I’m talking about somebody that was, you know, dear to us. I’m not going to disrespect somebody that’s dear to us and say, you know what, you’re not good enough for us or something like that. That’s the way that I would see it. Now, I’m not going to just run off and go attend, you know, certain marriages just to make a statement because that’s not who I am and that’s not what I stand for and, again, I don’t look down on those people.

That is incoherence, and even Piers Morgan saw through it. It is incoherent to say that you cannot officiate at a same-sex wedding because you believe it to be wrong, and then turn around and say that you would attend a same-sex wedding and join in the celebration. Beyond incoherence, it is ministerial malpractice and bearing false witness.

We must certainly understand the relational challenges and the predicaments that this poses for Christians who do not believe that same-sex marriage is right in the sight of God. Those who would affirm same-sex marriage and the normalization of homosexuality must defy the clear teachings of Scripture. Christians cannot affirm what the Bible defines as sin, and yet that is what is demanded of us in our current cultural context. One of the hardest issues for every Christian will be the responsibility to relate to everyone we know with both love and truth.

But it is truth that protects love from dissolving into mere sentimentality. Likewise, it is love that prevents truth from being reduced to impersonal abstractions. At some point or another, almost all of us will be put into the situation Piers Morgan asked Joel Osteen to consider. At some point, we will either attend a same-sex ceremony, or we will not. Declining to attend will come with undeniable relational consequences, but so would attending. As one believer who struggles with same-sex attraction recently told me, “It does not help when fellow Christians send mixed signals.” We cannot allow our love to lapse into sentimentality, even as we love those who plan to enter into what we know is not and cannot be marriage. Note carefully that Bonnie Clement spoke of the Bushes’ presence at the wedding as a powerful affirmation that the union was “real and normal.”

A spokesman for President and Mrs. Bush said that the former first couple attended the wedding as “private citizens attending a private ceremony for two friends.” There are two problems with this account. First, if the Bushes were simply private citizens, there would have been no news story. After all, Bonnie Clement told the newspaper that President Bush had been invited as a friend “and as the former leader of the free world.” Needless to say, being identified as “former leader of the free world” is not a private matter. Second, a wedding is not actually a private affair. That marriage license was not filed with friends, but with a legal authority. And that legal document, available for public view as a public record, lists George H. W. Bush as an official witness to the union. The Washington Post had every good reason to declare that the former president had “come out in support of same-sex marriage.”

But, this is not just about the Bushes. The same predicament remains, even if we are not the former leader of the free world. To be present at a wedding is to affirm that it is right, whether you sign a legal document or not.

No one said this was going to be easy, and this is hardly the end of the predicaments and perplexities that will challenge Christians who stand on biblical teaching in the days ahead. This is one question, however, that Christians had better think through fast. A wedding invitation might soon be headed your way.

I am always glad to hear from readers. Write me at mail@albertmohler.com. Follow regular updates on Twitter at www.twitter.com/AlbertMohler.

The Reliable Source, “George H. W. Bush Is Witness at Same-Sex Marriage in Maine,” The Washington Post, Wednesday, September 25, 2013. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/r...

Margaret Hartmann, “George H. W. Bush Served as Witness at a Lesbian Wedding,” New York Magazine, Wednesday, September 25, 2013. http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/...

R. Albert Mohler, Jr., “Would You Attend a Same-Sex Wedding?,” Tuesday, October 18, 2011. http://www.albertmohler.com/2011/10/1...

R. Albert Mohler, Jr., “The Osteen Moment—Your Own Moment Will Come Soon Enough,” Thursday, January 27, 2011. http://www.albertmohler.com/2011/01/2...