Marriage is under attack in America from numerous directions. The most visible at this time is the attempt by homosexual activists to actually change the definition. But marriage is being denigrated from other fronts as well. The continuing stress on marriage based on “no-fault” divorce makes it too easy to walk away when things get tough. Then, there is the lax attitude throughout the entire culture about living together outside of marriage. All of these things work to tear down marriage in our culture.
Recently, a sex education organization called “Good in Bed” did a survey to gauge the current attitude of Americans regarding monogamy. Some of the survey’s findings include:
• Almost two-thirds said they believed that their current partner was their “partner for life.”
• More than half believed forming monogamous relationships is a part of human nature and that relationships would be healthier if people valued monogamy more.
• About 78 percent agreed being monogamous helps a relationship grow over time.
• Fifty-six percent said they simply assume monogamy with a partner, while just 13 percent said they had explicitly negotiated it.
The percentage of those who think monogamy is not necessary is startling enough, but real life results are even more so.
• About half admitted to having had a partner cheat on them, either sexually or emotionally.
• Forty-two percent confessed to having engaged in infidelity themselves.
• Half of people who had been cheated ended their relationship as a result, but 70 percent of people who admitted cheating did stay in the relationship—and 54 percent believed that their partner never discovered the infidelity.
Here is the problem. Naturalism has become the default worldview foundation in modern American culture, and this set of beliefs has no concrete moral basis for supporting monogamous marriage. And while the ideal of monogamy remains strong in the culture, for a large percentage of the population this ideal is only a romantic notion, not part of an actual worldview platform. When that is the case, people will somehow manage to justify in their minds that infidelity is not really so bad or is someone else’s fault.
A person who truly holds a Christian worldview is certainly not beyond temptation, but will never fall into the category of one who accepts sexual relationships outside of marriage. There are those who claim to love God but somehow justify their participation in extra-marital sexual relationships. Many of these claim to be Christians, but their participation in this kind of immorality demonstrates that they have taken in worldview beliefs which are decidedly not Christian. Their actions betray their real beliefs – those which give them permission to act in non-Christian ways.
The problem regarding marriage is certainly serious, but is actually only a symptom of a deeper problem. The deeper problem is that too many Christians don’t really hold a Christian worldview. The cure for this is to understand the beliefs which constitute the various worldviews (particularly our Christian beliefs) in order to quickly and clearly see the lines which define our faith. We hope that the resources you find on the MarketFaith Ministries website help you in your spiritual trek as you strive to totally conform your life to the image of Christ.