A Fetus is a Life Worth Sacrificing

So says Mary Elizabeth Williams in her recent article on Salon.com.

http://www.salon.com/2013/01/23/so_what_if_abortion_ends_life/

The Meaning of Marriage and Singleness

The following is the epilogue from Barry Danylak's excellent book Redeeming Singleness: How the Storyline of Scripture Affirms the Single Life. Here he summarizes the practical conclusions from his detailed discussion of the biblical texts.

"Christianity is distinctive from its monotheistic sibling faiths of Judaism, Islam, and Mormonism in its affirmation of singleness. While on the one hand Christianity, like the others, affirms a high view of marriage and family and a high sexual ethic, understanding sexual relations as something designed by God for and within marital union, it differs from the others in distinctly affirming both singleness and marriage as something good within the new family of God. The reason for this difference has its roots in what makes Christianity fundamentally different from its sibling faiths, namely, its affirmation that Jesus Christ has come in human history as God’s offspring and that through him come all the blessings of the new covenant.

Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of the promised seed of Abraham, and in him are Abraham’s true offspring, heirs of the eternal inheritance promised by God. Since all the blessings of the new covenant are realized through our reconciliation to God through Christ, marriage is no longer a fundamental marker of covenantal blessing as it was in the covenant of Sinai. Singleness lived to the glory of God and the furtherance of his kingdom testifies to the complete sufficiency of Christ for all things. The Christian is fully blessed in Christ, whether he or she is married or single, rich or poor, in comfort or duress. The distinctive calling of singleness within the church testifies to this truth. 

Paul distinguishes the spiritual gift or charisma of singleness by three elements. First, it is characterized by one who, by the grace of God, lives a continent life apart from marriage, that is, above reproach in the sexual arena. Second, it is distinguished as a life free from the distractions of a spouse and children, a life characterized by freedom and simplicity, which testifies to the complete sufficiency of Christ. Third, it is a life enabled for constant service to the King and the kingdom. It emulates the model of the eunuch who is ready and waiting to serve the king whenever and however he is called.

The macro-trend in Western society indicates that the institution of marriage is in steady decline. This largely reflects the continued waning influence of Judeo-Christian presuppositions in the wider public sphere, i.e., the fundamental presumption that marriage between a man and a woman is something good and to be cherished. From the limited data I have examined from the ancient world, the macro trend of the West is moving much closer to approximating the marriage and sexual behavior patterns of pagan Roman culture—patterns characterized by a wider variety of living arrangements and a dissociation between marriage and the locus of one’s sexual behavior. Thus, the distinctively biblical-Christian view of singleness and marriage needs to be articulated again to an increasingly pagan wider world. 

This re-articulation should draw people to the positive vision the Christian Scriptures provide for both marriage and singleness as well as for human sexuality: Christian marriage is a testimony of the utterly faithful and unchanging love of God for his people in a permanent covenant relationship with him;1 Christian singleness is a testimony to the complete sufficiency of Christ for the present age and gives visible witness to the hope of our eternal inheritance yet to come; and Christian sexuality is an expression of the exclusive unity and oneness in the bond of the marriage relationship. 

Within the church this message is also in need of fresh articulation. Our youth are subject to an endless barrage of confusing messages concerning relationships and sexuality. Our culture idolizes the never-satiated lusts for sexual intimacy and the trappings of material comforts. To this end the Christian church needs to be intentional in teaching the biblical vision for both Christian singleness and Christian marriage. This entails not “Christianizing” the pervasive relational and material lusts of our culture into a preoccupation with building perfect families and exquisite homes. What is needed is a vision for promoting lifestyles in accordance with the fundamental tenets of the gospel, that the kingdom of God is at hand and that consummate satisfaction is to be found ultimately only in being reconciled to our God in Jesus Christ.
In accordance with this, the church should encourage all those who can to receive the challenge of both Jesus and Paul to remain single and free for the kingdom of God as a visible testimony of Christ’s sufficiency in the present age and the true inheritance yet to come. Similarly, the church should again articulate within its ranks Paul’s admonition that the choice to remain single is not independent of one’s sexual behavior. Sexual union was ordained by God to be a physical expression of marital union, and the two go together necessarily and exclusively. Christian marriage is thus a holy and blessed alternative to Christian singleness, testifying to the exalted covenantal union of God with his people and modeled after the relational intimacy of that union. 

The excessive value the Western world has placed on individualism fosters a psychological tendency to associate singleness with living alone. This is a tendency the church should resist. Christian singleness is not a denial of the underlying principle of Genesis 2:18, that it is not good to be alone. Neither Jesus nor Paul as single men was devoid of relationships. On the contrary, their relationships flourished in both number and depth by the freedom and flexibility their singleness afforded them. 

There are many possible living arrangements for single Christians. As a single adult, I have lived alone in a house, with roommates, as part of a community of singles, as part of another Christian household, and with elderly parents. Of all these arrangements, living alone was least satisfying for my personal and spiritual welfare. The flexibility and simplicity of singleness can be a strategic asset for building quality and substantive relationships within the family of God—living arrangements are an opportunity to leverage this asset. 

Like Christian marriage, Christian singleness lived in its fullest expression is a powerful testimony to the gospel. In the unchanging commitment of love and submission expressed between husband and wife, Christian marriage testifies to God’s faithful covenantal love toward his people and their submission and reception to his sovereign love. Christian singleness is a testimony to the supreme sufficiency of Christ for all things, testifying that through Christ life is fully blessed even without marriage and children. It prophetically points to a reality greater than the satisfactions of this present age by consciously anticipating the Christian’s eternal inheritance in the kingdom of God. Christian singleness lived as testimony of this gospel truth is a redeeming singleness.

--Barry Danylak, Redeeming Singleness: How the Storyline of Scripture Affirms the Single Life 

Abba isn't Daddy

Found this through our pal Richard Barcellos.

Part 1
http://reformedreader.wordpress.com/2013/01/07/abba-is-not-daddy/

Part 2
http://reformedreader.wordpress.com/2013/01/16/abba-is-not-daddy-part-2/

It also reminds me of a helpful article by Sam Storms called "The Dangers of Intimacy."
http://www.enjoyinggodministries.com/article/dangers-of-intimacy/

Louie Giglio and the New State Church

Timely article by Russell Moore on religious liberty.

http://www.russellmoore.com/2013/01/10/louie-giglio-and-the-new-state-church/