{"id":66841,"date":"2018-02-04T14:00:37","date_gmt":"2018-02-04T21:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/restlesspilgrim.net\/blog\/?p=66841"},"modified":"2020-01-06T22:42:40","modified_gmt":"2020-01-07T05:42:40","slug":"the-eagle-and-child-s1e19","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/restlesspilgrim.net\/blog\/2018\/02\/04\/the-eagle-and-child-s1e19\/","title":{"rendered":"PWJ: S1E19 – MC B3C6 – “Christian Marriage” (Part 2)"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/span>\"Marriage-P2\"<\/p>\n

This week Matt and I conclude<\/a>\u00a0the chapter in “Mere Christianity” on the subject of Christian marriage.<\/p>\n

If you enjoy this episode, you can subscribe\u00a0manually<\/a>, or\u00a0any place where good podcasts can be found\u00a0(iTunes<\/a>,\u00a0Google Play<\/a>,\u00a0Podbean<\/a>,\u00a0Stitcher<\/a>,\u00a0TuneIn<\/a>,\u00a0Overcast<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Castbox<\/a>). Please send any objections, comments or questions, either via email\u00a0through my website<\/a>\u00a0or tweet us\u00a0@pintswithjack<\/a>. Be sure to follow\u00a0our new Instagram account<\/a>!<\/p>\n

Episode 18: “Christian Marriage (Part 2)”<\/strong>\u00a0(Download<\/a>)<\/p>\nhttp:\/\/restlesspilgrim.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/TEAC-S1E19.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

<\/p>\n

— Show Notes —<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 My outline for\u00a0today’s chapter is available\u00a0here<\/a>. Thankfully, once again,\u00a0there’s a C.S. Lewis doodle<\/a>!<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0Lewis asks whether or not the Christian conception of marriage should be enshrined in law (particularly with regards to divorce). Lewis thinks it should not:<\/p>\n

“A great many people seem to think that if you are a Christian yourself you should try to make divorce difficult for every one. I do not think that. At least I know I should be very angry if the Mohammedans [Muslims] tried to prevent the rest of us from drinking wine”<\/span><\/p>\n

–\u00a0 C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (Book 3, Chapter 6)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0Jack goes on to say that he thinks the two different kinds of marriage should be very clearly distinguished\u00a0from each other:<\/p>\n

“My own view is that the Churches should frankly recognise that the majority of the British people are not Christians and, therefore, cannot be expected to live Christian lives. There ought to be two distinct kinds of marriage: one governed by the State with rules enforced on all citizens, the other governed by the Church with rules enforced by her on her own members. The distinction ought to be quite sharp, so that a man knows which couples are married in a Christian sense and which are not”<\/span><\/p>\n

–\u00a0 C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (Book 3, Chapter 6)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 I pointed out that Lewis’ distinctions between the two different kinds of marriage\u00a0played out in\u00a0his life. He had a paper marriage to\u00a0his friend, the American Joy Davidman<\/a>, in order to\u00a0allow her and her sons to remain in England. However, several years later the two fell in love and entered into a real, Christian marriage.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Part of me found Lewis’ argument for separating the different kinds of marriage very compelling.\u00a0By separating civil marriage\u00a0from the sacrament of matrimony, you protect the influence of the state over Christian marriage. However, I argue against this using principles which Lewis has established in earlier chapters. If the Christian conception of marriage is in accord with the Moral Law and it is, in fact, the ideal plan for the “running\u00a0 the human machine”<\/span>, why\u00a0wouldn’t<\/span> you enshrine it in Law, so as to\u00a0reflect\u00a0the Moral Law and aid in the successful running of society?<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0Others have pointed out the difference between Lewis and Tolkien on this subject<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0Matt argues that it would be better to work on the inner character of people, rather than to simply legislate. He drew upon the analogy of the convoy from Episode 13 (“The Three Parts of Morality”<\/a>).<\/p>\n

\u2022 Matt said that an atheist would say we should make laws which are for the good of society, so I raised the\u00a0fact that we live in a no-fault divorce state<\/a>. Is the swift break-up of marriages a good thing for society or a bad thing? I suggested that it’s a bad thing…<\/p>\n

\u2022 The final sensitive\u00a0issue of this chapter\u00a0was the subject of “headship” in marriage:<\/p>\n

“Christian wives promise to obey their husbands.\u00a0In Christian marriage the man is said to be the “head.” Two questions obviously arise here, (1) Why should there be a head at all -why not equality? (2) Why should it be the man?”<\/span><\/p>\n

–\u00a0 C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (Book 3, Chapter 6)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 Although I don’t think\u00a0Lewis gives this subject sufficient attention after raising it, Jack does do a good job of addressing each of these questions in turn…<\/p>\n

1. Does there really need to be a head in marriage?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u25cb\u00a0Lewis explains that in a two-vote system, one person must necessarily<\/span> have the casting vote…<\/p>\n

“…as long as the husband and wife are agreed, no question of a head need arise; and we may hope that this will be the normal state of affairs in a Christian marriage. But when there is a real disagreement, what is to happen? Talk it over, of course; but I am assuming they have done that and still failed to reach agreement.\u00a0 What do they do next? They cannot decide by a majority vote, for in a council of two there can be no majority. Surely, only one or other of two things can happen: either they must separate and go their own ways or else one or other of them must have a casting vote”<\/span><\/p>\n

–\u00a0 C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (Book 3, Chapter 6)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\u25cb Matt explains that a 50:50 business partnership rarely works in the long-term.<\/p>\n

\u25cb I\u00a0recounted the story of when a girl I was dating told me that she believed in Christian headship in marriage.<\/p>\n

\u25cb We briefly discussed St. Paul’s words to the Ephesians about husbands and wives<\/a>. Once again I encouraged listeners to get Brant Pitre\u2019s talk\u00a0\u201cWives have to do what?!\u201d<\/a>. You can also\u00a0watch the trailer<\/a>\u00a0for it, or even\u00a0watch the entire talk online<\/a>.<\/p>\n

2. If there does, does it really need to be the husband?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u25cb\u00a0Jack begins by asking whether or not anyone really wants this…<\/p>\n

“…as far as 1 can see, even a woman who wants to be the head of her own house does not usually admire the same state of things when she finds it going on next door…I do not think she is even very flattered if anyone mentions the fact of her own “headship.”…the wives themselves are half ashamed of it and despise the husbands whom they rule”<\/span><\/p>\n

–\u00a0 C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (Book 3, Chapter 6)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\u25cb Matt says John Eldredge speaks a lot about men being “domesticated” and that, once this has been achieved, women typically fall out of love with the\u00a0man they married.<\/p>\n

\u25cb Lewis offers a final thought, suggesting male headship as a moderating influence\u00a0over the fierce natural love\u00a0which a\u00a0wife has for her husband and children:<\/p>\n

\u00a0If your dog has bitten the child next door, or if your child has hurt the dog next door, which would you sooner have to deal with, the master of that house or the mistress?<\/span><\/p>\n

–\u00a0 C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (Book 3, Chapter 6)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\u25cb Matt shared his thoughts on the prospect of being the “head of the household”. The world makes a profound mistake when it frames headship in terms of a power-play, rather than in terms of responsibility and self-sacrifice.<\/p>\n

\u25cb I explained that the Pope, who is the visible head of the Catholic Church is also at the “bottom of the pyramid”, so to speak, since one of his titles is “Servant of the servants of God” (in Latin, “Servus Servorum Dei”<\/em>). I also gave the example of\u00a0when Solomon’s son,\u00a0Rehoboam, once he ascended to the throne of Israel. Despite being king, the advice he was given was to be a servant<\/span> to the people:<\/p>\n

Then King Rehobo\u2032am took counsel with the old men, who had stood before Solomon his father while he was yet alive, saying, \u201cHow do you advise me to answer this people?\u201d And they said to him, \u201cIf you will be a servant to this people today and serve them, and speak good words to them when you answer them, then they will be your servants for ever.\u201d But he forsook the counsel which the old men gave him, and took counsel with the young men who had grown up with him and stood before him.<\/span><\/p>\n

– 1 Kings 12:6-8<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Christ is the head of the Church, but he still described Himself as a servant:<\/p>\n

“For the Son of man also came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

– Mark 10:54<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\u2022 I said I would include a link to the video<\/a> of the discussion William Lane Craig and Barron. It’s a wonderful discussion between a Protestant philosopher\/apologist\/evangelist and one of the most recognizable names in American Catholicism today.<\/p>\n

\u2022 We’ll plan a mailbag episode soon! Send us you questions and comments!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This week Matt and I conclude\u00a0the chapter in “Mere Christianity” on the subject of Christian marriage. If you enjoy this episode, you can subscribe\u00a0manually, or\u00a0any place where good podcasts can be found\u00a0(iTunes,\u00a0Google Play,\u00a0Podbean,\u00a0Stitcher,\u00a0TuneIn,\u00a0Overcast\u00a0and\u00a0Castbox). Please send any objections, comments or questions, either via email\u00a0through my website\u00a0or tweet us\u00a0@pintswithjack. Be sure to follow\u00a0our new Instagram account! Episode 18: “Christian Marriage (Part 2)”\u00a0(Download)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":66889,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3111],"tags":[4067,5012,4467,2969,4703,815,4705,4365,4708,4438,627,2028],"class_list":["post-66841","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-podcast","tag-bishop-barron","tag-c-s-lewis-2","tag-christian-marriage","tag-featured","tag-headship","tag-husband","tag-joy-davidman","tag-mere-christianity","tag-no-fault-divorce","tag-the-eagle-and-child-podcast","tag-wife","tag-william-lane-craig"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/restlesspilgrim.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/FeaturedMarriage-P2.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/restlesspilgrim.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66841","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/restlesspilgrim.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/restlesspilgrim.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/restlesspilgrim.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/restlesspilgrim.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=66841"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/restlesspilgrim.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66841\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":73614,"href":"https:\/\/restlesspilgrim.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66841\/revisions\/73614"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/restlesspilgrim.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/66889"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/restlesspilgrim.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=66841"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/restlesspilgrim.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=66841"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/restlesspilgrim.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=66841"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}