Please read this well-written and concise article by Aiden J. Humphrey, which is posted at www.ladiesagainstfeminism.com. This is a thought-provoking look at our current culture through the lens of the order of creation and the Christian countercultural view of the family.
He implores men to live up to their God-given vocation as the head of the family over and against the feminist model of family life that dominates our culture, even among conservative Christians. Humphrey cites Scripture in his argument, and points out the various pitfalls of the modern American lifestyle that, I suspect, most Christians have not even considered.
His article is provocative and articulate, a call to repentence that is long overdue, one that will upset a lot of people, and will, no doubt, be met by cries of "legalism!" and "Pietism!" by some confessional Lutherans. But frankly, I see no holes in his thought, and I agree with him that we should be taking very real steps toward restoring traditional family institutions among ourselves, weaning ourselves from the luxuries that we perceive to be "necessities" for the sake of our families.
This is also an example of why "traditionalism" is a better and more comprehensive path than mere "conservatism" (I'm working on an article on this topic, please check back later). Most members of the LCMS are self-described conservatives, and yet, most of our families have capitulated to the modern, feminist, secularized model of family life that is alien to the Holy Scriptures and to the Christian life, a way of life that is indistinguishable from the lives of non-believers.
Thanks for the link to the story.
ReplyDeleteWhen my wife quit work with our first child we couldn't believe how much less stress there was. Instead of both of us working on the weekend to catch up the house work we could actually enjoy the weekend time. By having children we actually gained more time indirectly , from here quiting work. Many families unfortunatly will have the mother working outside the home for a small net amount, after paying for babysitters, gas and car maintenance, more meals out, ect.
I always try to convince new families of these benifits. Congregations would be well served in supporting these young traditional families.
Try looking at some of the "crunchy cons" articles when you get around to your traditional / conservative peice.
Your St. Polycarp retreat sounded great.
Peace
Jack