Second Chance: A Redemptive Approach to the Problem of Dissolved Marriages

ABSTRACT

            A new war currently rages on the Western front.  Unlike most wars, this battle is neither for booty and bounty nor for territory and terrain; instead, this is quite simply a fight for freedom—personal, individual, self-centered freedom.  It’s a combat that threatens the very fabric of our society.  The ideological castle under siege is marriage.

What has brought this time-tested and time-honored institution under attack?  Is it the fact that so many couples are making such a mess of their marriages that the entire ediface is on the brink of collapse?  Or is this merely a symptom and not a root cause?  Will Western individualism with its premium on personal freedom be the force that ultimately delivers the coup de grace to the traditional model of marriage?

This paper argues (1) that the current ideological crisis regarding marriage is due neither to a design flaw, nor to inferior workmanship, but rather to a sabotaged blueprint and defective materials, and
(2) that the original blueprint is recoverable and the materials reparable.

This essay is a paper I presented as part of my doctoral studies at Baylor University.  I have made only a few changes that I felt improved the style and readability.  Otherwise, the basic content is unchanged.  Amazingly the study is even more relevant today!  It is a somewhat lengthy (but I believe profitable) read.  This work is surely not the “final word” on the subject.  I do invite your comments and interaction, so that all who read may profit from both.  Blessings!

[To access the file, just CLICK HERE!]

(Hint:  For improved ease of reading, download the file to your computer, or print the document (12 pages).

~ Rob Starner