Thursday, May 31, 2007

Potato, Potahto, Tomato, Tomahto. Let's Call The Whole Thing Off (?)

Apropos our discussion of marriage, here a story of an evangelical marriage that is lasting, and even doing pretty well, albeit with a twist . . .

What happens when the leader of an anti-Mormon ministry is married to a Mormon? Not what you'd probably think.

Read the article from the St Petersburg (FL) Times here. It's too long to paste in this entry, but it's worth the read.

Although I'd strongly discourage a follower of Christ from marrying someone who isn't (and that's what I believe the Bible teaches, as well), it appears that this was a case of two nonbelievers marrying, then one of them later coming to faith in Christ. The article doesn't state that explicitly, but that's the way it looks to me. In which case, this article portrays a "mixed" marriage that's actually pretty attractive. Check out the husband's comment about what he considers his role in the marriage to be. No wonder they get along.
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(You might also want to check out the husband's web site: WhatMormonsDontTell.com . You can learn some good things about Mormon beliefs there.)
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(And the lyrics in the title come from George and Ira Gershwin's song here. If you haven't heard the version recorded by Ella and Louis, your life isn't complete: Disc 2, Track 5.)

2 comments:

  1. Hardship in marriage can be overcome, no matter who you are. Thank God for that gift.

    I think that the Christian perspective is that God uses those hardships to refine our characters to be more like Him. We don't like the process, it is discipline and as Hebrews says, if we are His children, we will experience it.

    I think the lack of understanding this in American Christian circles is that we forget about God's attributes and how for us, He will sometimes choose to express His fatherhood and love through discipline. Didn't Dobson coin the term "tough love"?

    Also, there is this amazing verse somewhere that talks about how when we are weak, then He is strong and His grace is sufficient for us. Some Christians take this verse out of context and see it as a green light for divorce, when it really should be applied to how God will help us in our weakness to love our spouse as we ought, and be committed despite both of our failures.

    Even though my parents were nominal Catholics most of the time, their marriage took them spiritually to places they wouldn't have imagined, there is a such a strong thread of God's redemption.

    So, even though it is possible to be in a fulfilling marriage as a non-believer, I think that the Lord gives us a chance to become close to Him through a Christian marriage, even when it is disappointing. Perhaps, especially so.

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  2. Previous message was deleted, because I don't want to buy T-shirts from someone in Brazil.

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