tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66180080254896601002024-11-05T21:07:54.351-06:00Harlan Paulsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00591808981889780298noreply@blogger.comBlogger59125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6618008025489660100.post-27333277355903670382022-03-21T06:26:00.001-05:002022-03-21T06:26:06.750-05:00

"“Consider the word ‘husband,’” University of North Carolina at Charlotte sociology professor Rosemary L. Hopcroft wrote for the Institute for Family Studies this week. “It derives from two words, ‘hús’ (from the Old Norse for house) and ‘bóndi’ (from the Old Norse for occupier and tiller of the soil), and its original meaning was a man who had a home and therefore could marry and support a

Harlan Paulsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00591808981889780298noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6618008025489660100.post-47628475128212665292020-08-09T19:46:00.002-05:002020-08-26T18:04:36.393-05:00

 May 9 AD 2020What does Separation mean in Paul’s teaching?  I was helped initially by reading Jay Adams looking at  I Cor 7. I had not even thought about this until this year and I don't expect most Christians in the West  to have ever thought this through either.  Here’s what the Apostle Paul said in I Cor. 7:10 & 11 To the married I give this charge (not I,

Harlan Paulsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00591808981889780298noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6618008025489660100.post-4294031772868538072020-01-18T13:13:00.001-06:002020-08-09T20:16:47.207-05:00

Place and Time:It is clearly stated at the beginning that this wedding is not secret or clandestine; the bride and groom will take their vows with both God and the assembled congregation as their witnesses, and future violations of those vows will carry the weight of condemnation those witnesses imply.  In fact, Malachi 2:14 reminds us that "the Lord was witness" in the marriage

Harlan Paulsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00591808981889780298noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6618008025489660100.post-18965031212130057302019-01-21T08:00:00.002-06:002019-01-21T08:00:38.795-06:00

Here is part of a decision on marriage: ...on the 8th of December, 1788, after the passage of the act establishing religious freedom, and after the convention of Virginia had recommended as an amendment to the Constitution of the United States the declaration in a bill of rights that "all men have an equal, natural, and unalienable right to the free exercise of religion, according to the

Harlan Paulsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00591808981889780298noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6618008025489660100.post-73657136117645804162019-01-05T08:26:00.000-06:002019-01-05T12:13:24.152-06:00

Interesting article from a secular stance. https://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2014/01/11880/ Whenever a child is born, a mother will always be close by. That’s a fact of biology. The question for culture and the question for law is whether a father will be close by. And if so, for how long? Marriage is the institution that different cultures and societies across time and place developed to

Harlan Paulsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00591808981889780298noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6618008025489660100.post-52629608999927831072015-11-28T09:31:00.000-06:002015-11-28T09:31:00.761-06:00

Last summer I skipped having a garden .   The year before had been a disaster: the seeds had been planted, they had sprouted and grown, but weeds were not pulled and it was soon a jungle.  I had to fight my way through to find zucchini and peppers. This all came back to me as I read Joel Beeke's tender, frank book on marriage called Friends and Lovers: Likewise, cultivating friendship

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6618008025489660100.post-37527225735724818702015-11-08T16:04:00.003-06:002015-11-08T16:04:16.720-06:00

Numerous courts have addressed whether contracts requiring mediation and/or arbitration pursuant to The Rules of Procedure for Christian Conciliation are enforceable. The courts have also addressed whether proceedings according to such Rules are valid and enforceable. The following courts have found that contracts requiring the parties to resolve disputes according to the

Harlan Paulsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00591808981889780298noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6618008025489660100.post-67795165980404142762015-10-02T18:37:00.002-05:002018-09-05T09:36:11.699-05:00

here is Census Bureau statistics in a graph: Description English: In 2004 the United States Census Bureau conducted a Current Population Survey. Among other things, it surveyed whether US residents were married, divorced, separated, widowed, or never married. Their aggregated and categorized data was then released to the public in 2005. Date29 June 2005 SourceUnited States Census Bureau

Harlan Paulsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00591808981889780298noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6618008025489660100.post-215871307507064702014-03-19T11:15:00.000-05:002014-03-25T18:05:01.717-05:00

David Powlison is one of a good number of godly Biblical counselors God is raising up.  God is good to give such gifts to his bride.  Find a quiet place to listen to these videos and see if they do not help you to watch and pray more sensitively and wisely for your own marriage or that of your brothers and sisters. How can we make our marriage a better friendship

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6618008025489660100.post-82190822315563850702014-03-18T12:39:00.001-05:002014-03-18T12:39:11.451-05:00

In her punchy little book Your Future 'Other Half' It matters whom you marry, Rebecca VanDoodewaard expresses her concern for single people who often do not see trouble coming until it is too late: This came home to me one day as my husband and I ate dinner with a youth group.  Three teens sat across from us at the table -- two guys and a girl.  One guy was a computer geek with

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6618008025489660100.post-78300366770706595662014-03-10T12:47:00.004-05:002014-03-10T12:58:09.364-05:00

One of Jeannette Oke's most popular books is called Love Comes Softly .  It is about a man and woman out west in the pioneer days who both lose their spouses.  Because the man has a daughter and needs help with her,  he enters into a marriage of convenience with the widow.  In spite of the immoral arrangement (they agree the marriage be temporary and not include the

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6618008025489660100.post-39580165984797691742014-02-01T20:29:00.000-06:002014-02-01T20:29:05.885-06:00

Evan Welcher, a pastor, (EvanWelcher.com) has a great blog.   Recently he wrote a tender post about the  pain of his wife fighting cancer.   In the middle he reflects on what "I Do" really means.  It is essential for us to understand this if  we are to put feet to our marriage commitments: I said “I do”, and I still do.  The “I do” of marriage is always in the

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6618008025489660100.post-41118993858643878042013-12-07T15:56:00.000-06:002018-09-03T13:01:01.486-05:00

  A Methodist jury convicted Frank Schaefer, pastor of Zion United Methodist Church of Iona in Lebanon, Pa., of officiating a same-sex marriage and flouting church rules. Schaefer had presided over his son’s gay wedding ceremony in 2007. Although some UMC churches have accepted gay and lesbian members, the denomination officially condemns homosexual practice and bars ministers from

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6618008025489660100.post-78566650810658848152013-07-16T13:12:00.003-05:002013-07-16T13:12:30.721-05:00

 Dr Joel Beeke describes a tour through the little village of Staphorst, The Netherlands, where they had a unique way of letting the community know that a daughter was available: We drove through Rouveen and Staphorst, beautiful, tidy, farm villages, in which some residents still wear the traditional costumes. The homes have the living quarters in the front, parents first, then married

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6618008025489660100.post-91710272328965763022013-07-13T12:04:00.000-05:002013-07-13T12:04:55.406-05:00

After the Supreme Court ruled that the states should rule on marriage, Russell Moore writes "How Should Same-Sex Marriage Change the Church's Culture?"   He challenges the church to rethink how we do marriage in the church.  One way we can take marriage more seriously is by using an arbitration agreement that we talk about in this blog. As marriage is being redefined Moore calls the

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6618008025489660100.post-52519016637994769582013-06-17T09:38:00.001-05:002013-06-17T09:41:02.081-05:00

 In his excellent book Crowded to Christ L.E. Maxwell lays open how God brings difficulties into our lives in order to crowd us to himself. Tami was in an agonizing place -- a difficult marriage.  But she didn't take her commitment lightly.  Though it felt like desert waste, she stayed.  And God crowded her to himself: I used to depend so much on

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6618008025489660100.post-28621708768225409502013-06-05T09:20:00.001-05:002018-09-02T17:09:34.834-05:00

Because of the resurrection, we always have reason to hope.   Really hope.  This hope keeps us from despair and prompts us to look for solutions to complex problems.  We love a recent post //www.desiringgod.org/articles/when-two-so-called-married-women-or-men-repent  by John Piper on the problems the church will need to deal with when thousands come to Christ

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6618008025489660100.post-74899485738237803362013-05-25T11:02:00.000-05:002018-09-02T17:14:00.023-05:00

The Witherspoon Institute has a perceptive post on marriage called "TheFeminist, Pro-Father, and Pro-Child Case against No-Fault Divorce."        What we do not view as sacred will not be treated as sacred.   Women, ironically, fought hard for no-fault divorce.  But even the flaming feminist Betty Friedan later admitted that it had "unintended consequences"

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6618008025489660100.post-17199207480853539682013-04-21T20:31:00.000-05:002013-04-21T20:31:28.779-05:00

    Last year Andrew Hess wrote a wonderful article on parental involvement in choosing a spouse.   Specifically he told about how the Puritans did it.  The Puritans were serious about the pursuit of happiness and therefore unwilling to have the choice of a marriage partner be whimsical and impulsive. We cannot resist pulling out a few paragraphs for you to enjoy: &

Harlan Paulsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00591808981889780298noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6618008025489660100.post-21464421923277046272013-04-10T12:42:00.000-05:002013-04-10T12:42:23.407-05:00

This week we came across a fascinating article called "Marriage ceremonies that defend the faith...."  in which Tim Bayly resolve to do their part as pastors to maintain the seriousness of Christian marriage. ... if the spiritual graces of modesty, submission, and fidelity are missing from our ceremonies, we have no one to blame but ourselves. Pastors must reckon with the fact that we are

Harlan Paulsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00591808981889780298noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6618008025489660100.post-29709763642187092652013-03-02T20:51:00.004-06:002013-03-02T20:51:54.292-06:00

I want to talk more about bridewealth but not without defining it.   I consider this a beginning definition.  It is from an Encyclopædia Britannica Article: bridewealth also called  bride-price  or  marriage payment  payment made by a groom or his kin to the kin of the bride in order to ratify a marriage.... The payment .... consolidates friendly relations

Harlan Paulsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00591808981889780298noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6618008025489660100.post-53495882872759980052013-02-28T11:46:00.001-06:002013-03-02T19:57:14.568-06:00

 I recently heard a delightful story of a young woman, Christine, who fell deeply in love with a piano player, Martin, at Bible School.  The only problem was that he was unaware and going out with another girl.  After one year she transferred to another school, but when she heard that Martin and his girlfriend had broken up, Christine wrote and suggested that they correspond.

Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6618008025489660100.post-48369831925831796522013-02-24T18:59:00.001-06:002013-02-24T18:59:24.397-06:00

Forty years ago no-fault divorce became legal in some states of the USA.   Then, like creeping charlie, it spread over the land.  Seriously redefining marriage, it knocked out incentives for staying married.  To define marriage, are we at the mercy of the states we live in? Can they change our marriages at will? Is there nothing that we can do to correct this except passing new

Harlan Paulsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00591808981889780298noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6618008025489660100.post-75404172968659631382013-02-17T05:58:00.000-06:002013-02-17T05:58:11.333-06:00

Heritage Foundation Research Associate Rachel Sheffield told CtizenLink that young people benefit greatly by learning more about marriage. “The government should provide information to youth about the value of marriage, and help connect them with community resources that will help them relearn the skills needed to sustain those healthy marriages,” she said. http://www.citizenlink.com/2012/09/10

Harlan Paulsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00591808981889780298noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6618008025489660100.post-33708875998005025852012-11-07T14:46:00.001-06:002012-11-07T14:46:45.164-06:00

 Marvin Olasky says that the loss of this election has been on its way for 50 years.   One significant step concerns marriage: Forty years ago, as state after state created no-fault divorce and marriage became a contract breakable by one party for any reason, rather than a lifelong commitment. Married women still vote Republican, but the increasing number of the

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