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Christianity was supposed to be about becoming like Jesus. | |
We went in the wrong direction. |
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Christian Pioneer - eBook for Cell Phone The Traditional Christian's Guide to the Family in Modern Times |
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| Introduction Up until a little over 100 years ago, most families in the US lived as had families throughout the world and history. These were large both in breadth (siblings and cousins) and depth (generations). In addition, families were usually located in one geographical area as community. While there may still be some families that continue this tradition, most seeking traditional family life are attempting to construct it in a world hostile to their efforts and without much of the information both about obstacles to expect and what can and should be done. For the Christian who would like to guide his family towards some of what has been lost, he will need to be familiar with more than a romanticized or nostalgic view of the traditional family. He needs a practical understanding of large family dynamics as well as the challenges imposed by modern life. The reader should be cautioned as Paul writes Timothy that all who would live godly (piety) will be persecuted (2Tim 3:12). The desire to guide a family to a more godly life will result in people being offended and even acting against you (perhaps within your own family). The phrase in 2 Timothy translated “shall suffer persecution” is from the Greek word dioko and means to put to flight or being made to flee. The implication here is that anyone trying to live a godly live can expect a negative reaction from the rest of the world. In a way, there is an advantage in modern life in that most people are not known well enough to be reviled. Satan sets the course of the world (Eph 2:2). One might attribute to Satan both the increasing abandonment of Christianity as well as the apparent impoverishment of the family. It might seen that the artificial construct of “society" could have been given momentum to replace family as it can be more easily directed by Satan. A researcher named Stanley Milgram conducted experiments (in an attempt to learn why so many people implemented Nazi policies) and discovered that about 85% of people would torture others when told to by authority figures. As a result, one might expect that the social currents of modern society have been directed to operate against those seeking traditional values. Christians just starting a family might consider that high density population centers (concentrated societal influence) may not be the most welcoming environment. Perhaps not yet as bad as Sodom, these locations can make it difficult to thrive. Each family has to make choices and face individual circumstances that can be limiting. One might wish to have many options from which to select such as employment, location, and proximity to other families seeking a more traditional life. Often choices are limited and one finds that one has to make do with whatever is available. Perhaps even more than financial restrictions are the limits on time. Traditionally, families had a home business in which the children grew up participating. This may have been the family farm or a shop in town. Today usually one parent has a full time job (including commute time) that limits what is available for the family. In order to make the most of what is often limited time, parents need to have a good idea of what their children need to learn and how to teach it. This means that parents need to learn themselves. For example, in deciding how much home entertainment (books, movies, TV shows, games, etc.) to allow their children. It can be helpful to consider that one enters into artifically created worlds when being immersed in entertainment. These worlds are crafted to be enticing and can be both seductive and corruptive to the point where real life can be seen as so burdensome as to be avoided. In addition, one comes to be imprinted with worldly values. Some parents avoid these worldly influences while others use them to teach their children what to avoid and why. These are not easy choices, but are best made when parents have a more complete understanding of the effects. |
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Information about Christianity and the Christian life. |
Pictures and views of our farm | Some of our animals | See some of the old-fashioned crafts we are trying to relearn | ||