Two research projects find, respectively, that\u00a0marriage and religious people in community lead to social well-being.\u00a0Jesus certainly affirmed marriage and he gathered a community of disciples.<\/p>\n
The first research project<\/em> is Australian and\u00a0finds that marriage is good for children<\/strong>.<\/p>\n We need to look afresh at the overwhelming evidence that children do best in\u00a0 families with two married parents. It is not the wedding ring that does it. What\u00a0 seems to make the difference is that process of clear decision and public\u00a0 commitment. The promise to commit for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer,\u00a0 in sickness and in health really matters when the ”worse” happens, when money\u00a0 is tight, and when sickness strikes. Of course it is not a guarantee,\u00a0\u00a0 but the\u00a0 likelihood that a non-marital relationship with children will break down is many\u00a0 times higher than for marriages.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Children are a blessing from God and ideally a child is nurtured in the loving public commitment of their father and mother. Jesus affirmed marriage as between a man and a woman in Matthew 19: 4-6.<\/p>\n Read more: Marriage at the heart of a crucial commitment to children<\/a>\u00a0 Another report on the same research which carries more statistical information, Falling marriage rates hurting children: report<\/a>.<\/p>\n The second research project<\/em> finds that “religious people make better citizens and neighbours<\/strong>“. It was conducted\u00a0 in the USA and has some support from Australian data.<\/p>\n The authors, Putnam and Campbell\u00a0 write that ”for the most part, the evidence we review suggests that religiously\u00a0 observant Americans are more civic, and in some respects simply ‘nicer’ ”.<\/p>\n They are more likely to give blood, money to a homeless person, financial aid\u00a0 to family or friends, a seat to a stranger and to spend time with someone who is\u00a0 ”a bit down”. . . .<\/p><\/blockquote>\n In an interesting “sober thought” the authors hit on a conversation topic earlier in my day in which my friend commented on the healing and\u00a0healthy role that his Christian community played in his life.<\/p>\n A sobering note for believers is that this study reveals that the content of a\u00a0 person’s belief isn’t what matters so much as their level of involvement in a religious community<\/em>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n In the reformed tradition we too often place the cognitive (content of belief) before the relational (belonging in the Jesus’ family).<\/p>\n Jesus invited people to come and follow him, joining in\u00a0his community, and while following him they learned of him and his way of life for the world.<\/p>\n Read more:\u00a0God’s truth, believers are nicer<\/a>.<\/p>\n The research conclusions: marriage and religious people in community lead to social well-being, are an encouragement for me to follow Jesus ever more closely, day by day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Two research projects find, respectively, that\u00a0marriage and religious people in community lead to social well-being.\u00a0Jesus certainly affirmed marriage and he gathered a community of disciples. The first research project is Australian and\u00a0finds that marriage is good for children. We need … Continue reading