Nearly four decades ago, Dr. Mervyn Cadwallader, then a
professor at San Jose State University, wrote an article for
”
The Atlantic Monthly
”
entitled
”
Marriage as a Wretched Institution
”
in which he attributed the high U.S. divorce rate of that time
to the fact that
”
marriage was not designed to bear the burdens now being asked of
it by the American middle class.
”
Nearly four decades ago, Dr. Mervyn Cadwallader, then a professor at San Jose State University, wrote an article for “The Atlantic Monthly” entitled “Marriage as a Wretched Institution” in which he attributed the high U.S. divorce rate of that time to the fact that “marriage was not designed to bear the burdens now being asked of it by the American middle class.”
Forty years later finds American marriage still in a troubled state: high divorce rates, large numbers of children born out of wedlock and a movement to allow same-gender weddings.
Recognizing the challenges to marriage today, Gilroy’s Trinity Bible Church invites South County residents to a free two-day course on Christian marriage which will be held at the church (370-A Tomkins Lane) on Saturday, Nov. 18, from 10 to 11:30am, 12:30 to 2pm, and 2:30 to 4pm Sunday it will continue meeting from 9 to 10am, 10:30 to noon, and 6 to 7:30pm Free child care will be provided, but no food will be served either day.
Many topics crucial to a successful marriage will be addressed, including:
– communication
– conflict resolution
– pursuing a Christlike marriage
– forgiveness
– “love-covering”
– biblical decision-making.
The guest speaker for this event is Dr. Stuart Scott, professor of biblical counseling at Southern Seminary and Boyce College, both in Louisville, Ky. Scott has received training at the Atlanta Biblical Counseling Center and from the National Association of Nouthetic Counselors, and has received a doctor of ministry degree, with an emphasis in biblical counseling, from Covenant Seminary in St. Louis, Mo. He has been a pastor of churches and has taught at The Master’s College and The Master’s Seminary in Sun Valley, Calif.
As a counselor, Scott has emphasized the truth of God’s word, “that the Bible is totally sufficient for all things in life. God’s message to us in His word is complete and perfect: it needs no outside wisdom to help make it applicable to the problems of everyday living.”
He has also written many books, including “The Exemplary Husband” (Focus, 2002). It discusses “the attributes of a husband as God meant for him to display in marriage.”
In addition to teaching college classes, Scott has become a popular speaker on the subject of marriage at many churches and at conferences such as this one being sponsored by Trinity. It is provided as a service to the community in an effort to strengthen and encourage “God-honoring marriage relationships”; attendance is especially invited by “couples contemplating marriage and singles who want to know more about what God’s word says about husbands and wives, how they should relate to one another, and how they can please God in marriage.”
Chuck Flagg teaches English at Mt. Madonna High School. Write to him at P.O. Box 22365, Gilroy, Calif. 95021.
