Article May 19, 1980 Issue

Get the family out of Eden

DARREN NELSON

Troubles with the family aren't exactly new. In a way, the family has always been in transition. Symbolically, mythical Eve tempted Adam, and Cain slew his brother Abel. History records how family loyalties and manipulations have caused wars and unified continents. Family relationships have inspired some of our finest (and weakest) literature, entertainment, and drama.

No family is perfect. But the traditional form of father, mother, children—legally related people—appears to offer the best structure for stabilizing male-female relationships, caring for the young, and securing economic, moral, and social equilibrium. Many anthropologists and sociologists concur with the 1965 Report of the President's Commission on the Status of Women, which observed that no permanent substitute for the family has been found in any known society as a way of shaping the next generation.

Contemporary trends, which fragment many families and undercut even the intention and viability of the institution of family, are a particular challenge to Christian thinkers. What can we do? How can we solve our own family problems?

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Demonstrating morality and spirituality in family
May 19, 1980
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