… if it had a punchline. But I got a text message from my friend C this morning that amused and depressed me in equal measure:
Heh. The God Delusion is in the
Science section of Hodges Figgis.
The CSO figures released that show that single parent families and co-habiting couples are the fastest growing modes of domestic life in Ireland surprise no one. What amazes me is how this report has been received in the media. Listening to radio, it seems like people think this is a grand sign of liberation. The only place where dual-parent families are still strong is the commuter belt, which is also reported as if it is a telling fact instead of a blazingly obvious logical outworking of our sparse population planning.
Co-habiting couples have almost as many children as married couples. But they break up more often. And children raised in single parent homes are statistically more likely to face all kinds of trouble. This doesn’t mean of course, that single parent families are bad or that my single parent friends are somehow deficient. I feel if I am going to stand against the received wisdom on this issue I have to couch myself in clarifications to prove I am not a nutjob. Whatever response is appropriate to this news, I can’t imagine that the numbers on pieces of paper match up to liberated homes filled with content and secure families the way it is being reported.
On The Kingdom…
Me and Jimlad were having a chat about my heaven post in the comments and it got me thinking about The Kingdom of God, that most under-nourished of all theological ideas (its even more neglected than Covenant)! The Kingdom is here and is coming. That is the standard line. Jesus defines his mission as coming to declare the Kingdom of God. We often think therefore that Jesus brings the Kingdom.
Of course, this is madness. The Kingdom is not here fully but the Kingdom has always been here. The Kingdom didn’t just pop into existence in 30AD. Rather, I like to think about the Kingdom as being a beautiful house that was always in your neighbourhood. It was only when you met the beautiful girl who grew up in that house that you noticed its existence. It was only when she took you home to meet her father that the importance of this house came home to you. It was only when you realised that she should be the girl you spend the rest of your life with that you come to see this house as home to you. And so it is with Jesus, our Groom, who introduces us to the Kingdom that was already there, but we couldn’t see. And so it is with Jesus, our Groom, who brings meaning to the Kingdom that was already there, but we didn’t care.
Your Correspondent, Its the bravest who make mistakes
I really like that analogy. I give you 75% for content and 17% for effort. That gives you 92%, or an A in my class. I docked you 8% because your tshirt smells faintly stale.
It does. I don’t know why.
Hint: it’s because you smell of sick.
It’s because Neuro didn’t wash it properly!….please don’t hurt me Neuro!
Good analogy alright.