The So-Called Religion Which Has Stained Our Existence!

India is considered to be a land of 33 crore Gods and Goddesses! We all worship the form that we believe in. But religion, now a days, has turned out to be a sort of business. People are more indulged into religious affairs, when there are thousands of children who don't have food to eat or cloths to wear! People spend millions of rupees behind the construction of temple, and then for its maintenance! It's utterly useless! What I believe in is that worshipping is an inner job and we do not need to go to distant places to worship! Moreover it is the feelings that we have and it is the work that we do, rather to just banging our heads in the temples, mosques, gurudwaras etc. Our society is not so powerful just because of our religious beliefs. They are so stubborn! The cast system which was set up in the Vedic era, still affects our mind! Discrimination based on the grounds of religion is widespread! All the riots and terrorism which break out is all due to the religion.

After the independence of India, when Pakistan seceded or to put in, when India and Pakistan were formed, there were a lot many problems arising between the Hindus and Muslims! Lakhs of people were killed just because either they were Hindus or were Muslims! There were many riots happening at that time. It was also believed that Pakistan was for Muslims and India was for Hindus! This period could be considered as the 'Reign of Terror' in the Indian History! The chief reason behind all that blood shed was religion. Even today so far almost 80% of the Indian and Pakistani population consider each other enemies! One reason for the enmity, which is prevalent even today is the again the Religion, the difference of Hindus and Muslims. We all often fail to look from a broader perspective and just tend to stick in the dirty web of religious disharmony! If we all consider each other Human Beings and sink all our personal grudges than we would realize the true power of the nations! We constantly fight against each other and day by day our rivalry is becoming stronger and stronger. We are becoming more hostile and boisterous towards each other! It must not be forgotten that India and Pakistan once upon a time were a part of the same nation; it is today that Pakistan has become a separate nation. The current issue is that 'should, Kashmir go into Pakistan or should it stay with India?' The probable answer to this question from my point of view is that Pakistan and India shouldn't be considered as different nations and should work collaboratively to accomplish the tasks. This unity will help both the countries to save a huge amount of money that they spend on fighting with each other and moreover the when both the countries unite their prosperity would be worth seeing! As such if we rationally look at the situation today, there seems to be no problem with India and Pakistan, all the problems that we see are all illusive and can be dissolved if we just open our eyes and try to think differently!

Actually all the religions teach a single thing - 'Love' but it is we who perceive it in different ways! There cannot be any religion in the world which would teach 'Inhumane customs'. In an Indian village, during Navratri, there is a huge lamp that stays lit through the 9 days! The Ghee that is used is pure, original ghee! Now, such things are so stupid! People don't get pure ghee to eat while they burn it off to ashes there!! We are the evils of our society! Lot many temple might simply be galloping all that finance that they get as charity! People are ready to give a thousand rupees when someone says, "Today is Janmashtmi, we are arranging for a grand festival tonight. You are a devotee of God, please lend us some money" but they would not have a penny to give to poor children who do not have books to study! Such is our mentality! We perform rituals and religious rites (Like the Havans, and Yagnas and what not!) in each and every small thing and spend thousands of rupees, or to put in give thousands to the ones which have lakhs! What I feel is that it is a mere waste of money and time - the very precious things, which do not return once gone! I must say we are the evils!

The truth that lies in our sacred texts is something very different from what we consider to be! It is said that we must 'Perform our duties regardless of the result we may receive. We must serve the humanity as right fit.' What I personally believe in is that we should never waste time in 'specially' worshipping the Lord. It is our work, which is our worship and thus we should always keep our selves busy and productive. That's the way we can progress. Currently the amount of money and time that is spent behind worship is the money and time from which we can make hundreds of remarkable and productive changes. But unfortunately we want to waste it like anything, in spite of knowing that it has troubled us so much and now it's the time to be 'Practical'!

Have you ever heard that your God complained against you if in the morning you didn't pray to him or you did not perform a Yagna or something of that sort? Than why the hell do you need to do all that? It is an illusion created by all of us and we are the people who need to break through it! I'm saying that we all must become atheists, but at least we must learn to prioritize the real world and the religion! So just to conclude we all are spending millions and billions of rupees, across the country, through centuries. Now it's time to stop all this nonsense! I must say that if we stop all these useless ceremonies, rituals and religious tasks than we would be capable to pension off all the debt on our country!

Political Activism and the Presidential Election With Fulbright Scholar Michael Sonnleitner   Lessons Learnt   The Death Penalty - Ineffective, Irrational and Fiscally Irresponsible   Building Cultural Icons and Tearing Them Down - It's Wrong and Even Those Who Do, Know It   

Why Do People Gain Weight?

Why do people gain weight? This important question has many easy and not-so-easy answers. According to recent statistics, over one-third of the United States population is obese. An even higher percentage of the population is overweight, without being considered obese.

The American population has been gaining weight at an alarming pace over the past few decades. The rate of obesity in the United States has already surpassed epidemic proportions, and there is no sign that it will slow or decline.

For most people, weight gain or loss follows a pretty simple formula. It is easy to understand and is similar in concept to budgeting money. For example, when you make a budget, if you spend more money than you make, you are losing money. This is similar to losing weight. When you spend more calories than you take in, you lose weight. Conversely, when you spend less money than you take in, you save money and when you spend less calories than you eat, you gain weight.

Obesity has become a major problem for one-third of the American population because as a nation, we have stopped being active and tend to overeat. Of course, there are a few people who have other health issues that directly affect their weight. This argument may not apply to them. But it applies to the majority of the population who is overweight.

If it is really that easy to explain, why do people gain weight? Why are so many Americans obese and why are the answers to solving the obesity epidemic so difficult to find?

Obesity is a health problem that carries risks for the entire country and not just those who are obese. Consider the costs of health care for example. You might be an individual of normal weight, but your health insurance premiums will continue to rise as the country struggles to pay for the healthcare costs of those who are obese. There are plenty of costs and additional health problems that arise because of a person's obesity. This may include heart disease, diabetes and a host of other issues. Who pays for the costs taking care of obese individuals? Everyone does!

The answers to the obesity epidemic may not be clear. But it should be clear to everyone that if something does not happen to stop and reverse the epidemic, the health of our nation as a whole will deteriorate very very quickly.

Political Activism and the Presidential Election With Fulbright Scholar Michael Sonnleitner   Lessons Learnt   The Death Penalty - Ineffective, Irrational and Fiscally Irresponsible   Building Cultural Icons and Tearing Them Down - It's Wrong and Even Those Who Do, Know It   China's Stealth Fighter-Bombers and the US Military's Political Sequestration Problems Pondered   

State Of Insecurity In Nigeria And The Need To Find Lasting Solutions

The current State of Insecurity in Nigeria crept on the country like a thief in the night, while the leaders and watchers of the country's collective security, were asleep or too blind to see what was going on. In less than 10 years, Nigeria has moved from a country where issues of suicide bombing was totally inconceivable, by the even the most imaginative minds, to where suicide bombing is now a daily occurrence. The country has moved from a nation where church buildings and mosques used to held sacred by everyone, including unbelievers, to a tragic situation where churches are now being bombed with regularity.

The nation has transformed from a country where our National Independence day celebrations was always a time of unbridled public expression of pride and joy, to a situation where the President was forced to deliver his last Independence day speech from his bedroom, simply because terrorists dared him to come to the stadium.

Nigeria is now surrounded, and hemmed in on all sides, in a deadly siege by the Militant Terrorists in the South-South; escalating menace of armed robbery in the west; economic terrorism in the Midwest; kidnapping for ransom and political assassination in the east and suicide bombers in the North. That Nigeria is under siege from all sides, not by a foreign power but by their own home grown terrorists is no longer a matter for debate, but a deadly and sober reality, that even the most ardent patriots have come to acknowledge

The descent to a state of complete state of insecurity all started out with intra-party skirmishes and use of thugs by some of our politicians. While Nigerians were still occupied with the mundane affairs, the political thugs turned to vicious assassins.

In the South-South, restive militants in the Niger Delta turned up the heat to alarming levels after their political and social leader was brutally killed. The government had to declare amnesty for the self-confessed anarchists before the country could have a semblance of peace.

Just when Nigerians we breathing a sigh of relief from the respite provided by the Niger Delta militants after the controversial amnesty program, the Boko Haram insurgency erupted in the North.Police stations and police officers were killed with regularity and even the newspapers stations were drawn into this boiling pot of terrorism when the offices of some newspapers such as Thisday and Sun were bombed by suicide bombers.

In the Western states, the armed robbers seemed determined not to be outdone. They have taken their game to another level with daylight robberies followed by midnight visits. Cars are being hijacked with regularity and the police appeared to be at a loss on what to do about it.

While the State of Insecurity in Nigeria continued to worsen on an hourly basis, the government appeared paralyzed and incapable of dealing with the level of savagery and arrogance of the terrorists from everywhere.

The State of Insecurity in the nation has reached such an alarming level that even some of the most ardently patriotic, well-meaning, and optimistic Nigerians are beginning to accept the obvious fact that Nigeria is tottering towards becoming a failed state. One writer actually called it the 'Somalization of Nigeria'. To some, this may be an exaggeration of the reality on ground, but I personally will not disagree with those sentiments. When a Nation can no longer guarantee a basic necessity for survival in the country, then it is tending towards failure though it may not have totally failed. I am sure those who have been living with the terrorist nightmare on a daily basis in Jos, Kano, Abuja and other cities will definitely agree that Nigeria has failed them in the area of security.

The effect of this problem is so far-reaching that I am still surprised that the National Assembly and the Executive arm of the nIgerian government have not even appreciated the economic, social and political ramifications of this security nightmare. More than 80% of activities on Nigeria's capital market occur from foreign investors. Obviously, no reasonable investor will put continue its money in a country with poor security. Also, over 70% of food supplies in the country come from food supplies from the north and the state of insecurity in the country has led to drastic cuts in supplies of essentials such as Tomatoes, Pepper and Yam. As it is, many Nigerians have not even connected the rising cost of these staple foods to the terrorism in the North. People just knew prices are rising without even understanding why.

As this condition continues to worsen, Nigerians are going to be in for a season of famine and hunger. As one commentator put it, 'It may well get to the point where the poor have nothing else to eat but the rich people around them'.

As Nigerians continue to cower in their bedrooms praying for the scourge of terrorism, militants and armed robbery to be taken away by God, many have tried to find the cause of this modern day siege of the most populous black nation. Some have traced the root causes to poverty; some have fingered corruption of our leaders while others have tried to pin it on foreign influence.

Meanwhile as allegations and counter allegations continue to assault the citizen's already frayed mental conditions, they are yet to be provided with any practical solutions to this scourge on theircountry. Government keeps assuring the people that terrorism will soon be a thing of the past. How this will happen, in view of the daily bombings, nobody has told the anxious citizens. Nigeria's security problems continues to worsen at a rate, where even some of the most patriotic and courageous Nigerians, are now wringing their hands in despair, with a scary acceptance of the fact that Nigeria could be tending towards anarchy and failure as an entity.

The Government appears confused and powerless to stem the tide of this siege and state of insecurity. The President appears totally disassociated from the climate in the country. He has moved from one of the most popular presidents to be voted for, just a year ago, to a President that everyone now looks at with anger and scorn.

In order to find lasting solutions to the security problem, some smart people all over the world have made some useful suggestions that should be considered in arresting this security problem. Maybe it is also time for the President to consider some of these previously inconceivable options in confronting the siege on his country. Some of the viable solutions to the problem in my view include:

1.Government should swallow its pride and recognize that it is time to engage the terrorists in a meaningful discussion in the same way the government engaged the militants in Niger delta area a few years ago. That engagement led to their laying down their arms and brought relative peace in the South. There is no reason to suggest that the same strategy would not work in the Northern states.

2.Another positive step may be for the president to admit that the country's law enforcement officers are simply not trained, or equipped, to deal with the level of sophistication from people who are presumably illiterates, and call in the terrorism experts from USA, U.K and Israel.. These foreign governments have decades of experience in dealing with the kind of insecurity presented by terrorists and they may be able to offer some very useful approaches towards containing this problem. This is not the first time for the government to hide behind ineffective patrotism. The country needs help and it should get it from wherever it can.

3.Another possible solution may be for the government to set up a Northern Development Commission for the Northern parts of the country to help with the alleviation of poverty, improvement in education and enhancement of local development, just like the Niger Delta Commission is doing for the Southern States.

This is a viable option because many people have suggested that lack of education in majority of the populace; poverty; and under-development of social amenities are some of the root causes of terrorism in the Northern parts. Afterall, hungry and poorly educated people are very susceptible to becoming suicide bombers. Providing a special development commission to deal with issues of development, education and poverty in the northern Nigeria will go a long way in reducing the level of their disenchantment with the whole country as appears to be the case now.

4. Of course if none of these options or others are acceptable to the government, another option may be for the President to simply hold up his hands in surrender and tell Nigerians that he is way out of his depth and resign from the position honorably along with his Vice President. I really don't know

While we all agree that the state of insecurity in the land is indeed a serious one. Everyone is also agreement that the President must take some very active measures to solve this problem before Nigeria becomes a complete pariah among the comity of nations. The country can simply can survive without the patronage of foreigners. Yet, no foreigner in his right senses will want to go invest in a country with serious security problems. So it is time every stakeholder in the country get together and solve this problem of insecurity in the country.

Nigeria has enormous potential to be the economic and political tiger in Africa and solving its security problems will be a good way to start living up to that potential.

Political Activism and the Presidential Election With Fulbright Scholar Michael Sonnleitner   Lessons Learnt   The Death Penalty - Ineffective, Irrational and Fiscally Irresponsible   Building Cultural Icons and Tearing Them Down - It's Wrong and Even Those Who Do, Know It   

Indian Higher Education - An Overview

Wide discussions are held on the state and concerns of Indian higher education. What really is the issue here? Let us take a look!...

Though the problems associated with this sector are multilayer-ed, I had divided it broadly in to administrative and academic problems, with few subtitles under these as I feel that all other problems like, social, psychological etc. associated with this sector comes in the backdrop of these broad problems. Let us first look in to these problems before going in to the reforms required.

CONCERNS

I) ADMINISTRATIVE-

i) Reservation- Reservation and Privatization are perhaps the most debated topic in our higher educational sector, and hence I have listed it first in the list. Increased concern over reservation has negatively affected our higher educational system as it has taken away lime light from many other major concerns. Reservation in any sector (&especially I educational system), causes loss to society, as the brightest do not reach better institutes; but we still continue with it thinking it would bring more good to the society than its losses. Though the need for a reservation still exists it is time to think of its re-allotment for more effectiveness. Sam Pitroda, the chairman of National Knowledge Commission, "Reservation has probably set us back several years in our ability to carry out the reforms we need to."

The popular support that reservation gets had prompted many of our politicians to o on further with reservation (with a need for Supreme Court to intervene in the matter and cap reservation limit to maximum of 50 Percent). The social tensions faced by the authorities against this policy is mainly managed by increasing the total number of seats and also because many among the upper class pursue foreign education.

The proper implementation and gradual reduction of reservation in a democratic country like ours need strong political will, free of prejudices.

ii) Political intervention in universities- This takes place both in policy formation and implementation. Bureaucratic sluggishness, misconceptions and prejudices retard the growth of our higher education sector. The denial of visa for prominent global educationalists to come to India, the slow moving files in government offices on matters concerning collaboration of industry and institutes, the delays in allocation of new courses etc. are the finest examples of this aspect.

Among the policy matters too, the absence of Political visionaries had been a problem while there were 5 IITs established during Nehru's period, only 1 IIT was established prior to the recent establishment of5 new IITs. Unhealthy political among the teaching and the student community and the inefficient funding has also retarded the growth of this field. A prominent educationalist tells, "Our deans and administrators now hang on the spoken word of our politicians, and student unions and teachers beat to their drum. It's so entrenched that asserting independence in appointments and day to day decision turns you in to a radical, a rebel in the system."

As political elite and the government receive benefits of these negative aspects, they prefer a status-quo. Thus, in our higher educational system, we have this uncomfortable condition, as Nandan Nilekani puts it "the state interferes, rather than guiding; (play) politics rather than policy".

iii) Regulation- In the regulatory aspect of higher education, we have a dual problem. On the one hand, we have a confusing array of different regulatory bodies like UGC and AICTE and on the other hand, neither the government, nor UGC or AICTE has an effective control over our Universities. The rating system of the UGC and AICTE is also one with many loop holes.

Due to absence of good legislation, UGC and AICTE had reduced to regulatory bodies that stand helplessly by, as India's university system crumbled, and thus half of India's expanding colleges, as a Vice-chancellor remarked, "are intellectual and social slums".

iv) Funding- India spends only 1.9 percent of its GDP on higher education, the lowest among any nations with GDP higher than $500 billion. Its spending on research activities at universities is also very low compared to both the developed and the emerging nations. Even the funds that are presently allotted are not efficient enough. But, it should be noted that higher funding or investment in higher education can lead to better results only with reforms in the total system.

II) ACADEMIC-

i) Quality of the Higher education- India is the 3rd largest in the number of higher educational institutes after China and USA and is one of the largest degree producers in the world.

But, quality of these is quite unsatisfactory. No worthwhile invention has been made here. Rote learning can identified as one of the factor behind this. India's engineering and medical colleges, management schools and universities are facing a serious shortage of quality academic faculty by about 20 percent. Global competitiveness of Indian students is comparatively small and is still smaller if the top 10 institutes of India are taken out. India does not have more than 5 universities in the top 500 bracket of the academic ranking of world universities.

ii) Number of Institutions for higher education- Though India is one of the largest in terms of number of institutes for higher education; it is still short of them. This shortage is expected to be more by 2015, thanks to the efforts to improve the enrollment ratio. By 2015, we need at least 1500 universities, against 350 we have today.

iii) Research- The research standards of our country has been poor, both in terms of quality and quantity. If we consider a particular area, say Computer Science, where we are assumed to be strong, we can see that annual PhDs in this field in our country is 25, while it exceeds 800 in USA and 2500 in China. IIT is granted 3-6 patents in a year, where as it is 64 for Stanford and 102 for MIT! We haven't seen any technological adaptation after 1970s and 1980s and not a single major invention emerged from India over past 50 years!!!

iv) Employability- "75 percent of the Indian graduates are unemployable for the work they are trained for", was said by Shri. Narayana Murthy of Infosys. Many people prefer sub-standard engineering degree than good vocational skills, where as 90 percent of the employment opportunities require vocational skills. McKinsley estimates that only 10 percent of Indian students in arts and humanities and only 25 percent of Indian engineering graduates are globally competitive. 12 percent of the 41 million unemployed are either a graduate or a postgraduate!

REFORMS

It is an agreed fact that reforms are required in the area of higher education. Many suggestions on this matter address many of the problems mentioned earlier. Some of them are a panacea for more than one of those problems.

A 'super regulator' which forms a single independent regulatory body would eliminate the confusion prevailing over multiple arrays of regulatory bodies. This would also bring more transparency, setting up of uniform controls and better quality in higher education. We need independent regulatory body free from government or political intervention.

Private participation, if properly propelled can bring out both qualitative and quantitative improvement in our higher educational sector. It is neither possible nor sensible for the government to invest the huge amount that is required for, in our higher educational sector. Private participation, from both inside and outside the country should be encouraged to make more institutes in our country. This will take away the deficit between the demand for higher education and the availability of institutes. This will avoid the instances like that which happened in Delhi University this year, when a 100percent cut-off was announced in a college under the university. Institutes like TISS, BITS, Lady Sriram College, Sriram College of Commerce, Xavier Labour Relations Institute (XLRI), CMC Vellore, St. Stephen's College, etc. has taken away our doubts on the quality of private institutes.

The interactions between industries and institutions should be encouraged, taking necessary precautions, as this can increase the employability of the students.

Reforms have taken in our country when visionaries came in to action, like it happened during Nehru's times. When visionaries like M.S. Swaminathan, Vikram Sarabhai, Sam Pitroda, Verghese Kurien etc. acted, reforms required happened with direction. In the higher educational sector of our country, we have "a Niagra of reports and a Sahara of actions". Reforms required in higher educational sector requires controversial steps, as we are in a democracy. In fact, the market economy has been pushing us to the necessary reforms, to an extent. The question is, whether India can bring about these reforms fast enough to avail the opportunities that the country has today- domestically and globally???

Political Activism and the Presidential Election With Fulbright Scholar Michael Sonnleitner   Lessons Learnt   The Death Penalty - Ineffective, Irrational and Fiscally Irresponsible   Building Cultural Icons and Tearing Them Down - It's Wrong and Even Those Who Do, Know It   China's Stealth Fighter-Bombers and the US Military's Political Sequestration Problems Pondered   

The Future of the World Depends on Failure of the EU - Human Freedom and Liberty Needs It to Fail

Yes, I'll admit that title is a little hard-hitting and in your face, but what better way to get the point across. Now then, you are going to want my explanation for such a harsh reality type statement like that, and I believe you are justified in your inquiry, so, let's get right into the meat of this debate, and then you can contemplate on this argument, whether you agree or disagree is immaterial, my objective is purely to get you to think about it all.

Now then, if you will recall Greece is world of financial hurt, mostly due to their over expenditures on socialist type government give-aways, and rather than going to austerity measures to re-align themselves with the rest of Europe, they elected a more left-leaning socialist leader. What did France do? Well, they are not without their own challenges although far better off than the PIIGS - Portugal, Italy, Spain, Greece, and Ireland. But what did France do, well, they too voted in a more left leaning President recently.

All these left-leaning socialist methods are what has caused all these problems, and rather than fixing them, they decide to add more fuel to that fire and dig a bigger hole, rather than digging their way out of the one they'd created. If the ECB becomes an entity with the same power as the Federal Reserve and attempts to borrow its way out of things without changing this socialist mindset, it only will blow the balloon up bigger for one less hoorah before the big pop and implosion in the years ahead.

Worse, in the meantime it gives other nations a model to follow, and they too will reach the same potential eventuality and drive off a similar future cliff. And, let's not forget our own nation's problems, isn't our current leadership also following socialist theory and borrowing so many bad economic habits from Europe already? If the governments of the world become the parents and nannies of their citizenry, then what happens when the parents can no longer provide.

Perhaps you will recall when you were young and your parents took care of you? You didn't have that much freedom, and you always wanted more, but those were the rules right? Well, if the government is your new parents and you live as a socialist subject then you will not have any freedom or liberty, and then may I ask what you intend on doing when your parents lose their home, and leave you all alone? Freedom and Liberty come with responsibility my friends.

Of course, I am utterly amazed that the US voters would elect a regime that promised them such a socialist dream, something that goes against everything this great nation stands for. It's time to understand that socialism does not work, and maybe it is time for the European Union's experiment to fail before other nations follow it into the same abyss. Mexico is about to elect a left-leaning socialist, and many nations in South America already have. History shows this to be unwise, and it will surely cause those economies an early demise.

We as Americans know better, or at least most of us used too, today, it appears that the majority may not know better - nevertheless, maybe it's time that everyone see the light. It might be much better off for the future of mankind, for freedom and liberty worldwide, if the EU simply fall apart and those nations which are less socialistic are allowed to succeed on their own accord and those which aren't are allowed to pay for their foolhardy mistakes, then we might see a rebirth of freedom and liberty, yes, with responsibility, as that is the nature of things on this planet, it's always been that way, no matter what a politician might say.

Please consider all this and think on it.

Political Activism and the Presidential Election With Fulbright Scholar Michael Sonnleitner   Lessons Learnt   The Death Penalty - Ineffective, Irrational and Fiscally Irresponsible   Building Cultural Icons and Tearing Them Down - It's Wrong and Even Those Who Do, Know It   China's Stealth Fighter-Bombers and the US Military's Political Sequestration Problems Pondered   Getting Elected Is the Easy Part, Why Is It So Hard for the Obama Campaign to Win Reelection?   

More Than a Piece of Paper

According to a recent story from the New York Times Americans are increasingly feeling the pressure of raising children outside the context of marriage. In short we are witnessing the disintegration of the family in the United States (and all the western world for that matter) take place right before our very eyes. The article goes on to say that the only reason most Americans will even wade through the doll-drums of matrimony is to establish a stable financial structure on which to build a family upon. Even going so far as to say "It is the privileged Americans who are marrying, and marrying helps them stay privileged".May I quickly point out the logical implications of such a view on marriage?

For those who would say that the only practical reason to "tie the knot" is to build a stable economic platform for a family, you have to follow your logic to its end. First the obvious implication is that you should shoot to marry someone who is wealthy, and that perhaps not alone but certainly primarily should determine if someone is suitable to marry. Secondly(lets dig a little deeper now), lets imagine for a moment that you and your spouse try for several years to build a solid financial foundation for your family, but then tragically it fails miserably and you end up filing bankruptcy. According to the logic employed here, you should get rid of that spouse who is hindering your financial conquests, and look for one who is more entrepreneurial, or business savvy. After all, if marriage exists solely for economic security, then what basis do we have to preserve a failing marriage?

It's not as though people are not following the logical implications derived from such a view on marriage. Have we not seen the divorce rates sky-rocket? For not only first marriages, but second, and third marriages as well? The newest cultural development however, is to avoid the heart-ache associated with marriage all together and just cohabit or "shack up". This graph from a Washington research group (link below) shows the staggering amount of children born out-of-wedlock. As you can see the trend to have children outside the context of marriage has grown from that of the previous generation. So instead of a child having at least a shot at a mommy and a daddy who are committed to each other, now the child has to cycle through a seemingly unending line of boyfriends that mommy brings home. Boyfriends who perhaps show a fatherly affection towards the child for a time, but only because the goal is to get with mommy. Such is the fate of a society in which the word of God is so unilaterally rejected. There is no devotion to a spouse, or to children, or to the institution of marriage because there is no understanding of where marriage came from or what it represents. what the bible says in reference to Israel is so relevant for us today "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge"(Hosea 4:6). We will be destroyed, because we are not having enough children (our death rate is rapidly closing in on our birthrate), and we are not giving our children Godly instruction in order to make them into properly functioning adults. So whats to be done? As Voddie Baucham would say "I'm glad you asked".

We must return, return, return to a biblical view of marriage. Volumes have been written on this subject, but we will try to ascertain at least the general concept of marriage. To do this we will ask, and then answer three basic questions. First, "Where does marriage come from"? Secondly "Who can/should partake in it". Finally "What does marriage ultimately represent"? Let's see what scripture shows us.

Who created marriage? When the pharisees asked Jesus in Mathew chapter nineteen "Why did Moses permit divorce"? Jesus gives a great answer. He doesn't start with Moses, he takes the pharisees all the way back to Genesis, and shows them from whom the institution of marriage is derived. Listen to what Jesus says "Haven't you read," he replied, "that at the beginning the Creator 'made them male and female', and said, 'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh'? So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate." (Mathew 19:4-6). Jesus gives a direct quote from Genesis "That a man shall leave his father and mother and be united to his wife". The answer to the question is that God made marriage. Man did not come up with marriage on his own in order to benefit society, or to help preserve and perpetuate the species. No, God ordained the institution of marriage.

Who can/should be married? Again let's look at Genesis "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh" (Genesis 2:24). There is no qualifying statement to this. God does not say "my people", or "Sons's of Adam" rather he simply says "man" and "women". So who should marry? Men who have the desire to engage in relations with women and women who have the desire to engage in relationship with men. These are the only parties allowed to take part in God's institution of marriage. Anything else (e.g; Homosexuality, sex outside the context of marriage) is a perversion of God's decree and is a crime against God (AKA sin).

What does marriage represent? Ultimately we don't find out the full answer to this question until Ephesians five. The fifth Chapter of Ephesians tells us that "For we are members of his body. 'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.' This is a profound mystery--but I am talking about Christ and the Church. However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband"(Ephesians 5:30-33). Clearly Ephesians five tells us that marriage was ultimately given to represent the oneness that the Church experiences with Christ. Paul even references the same verse in Genesis to prove his argument!

So based on what the bible says we can dogmatically infer that God created marriage, that it was made for men to marry women and for women to marry men, and finally that it was made to represent Christ's relationship to the Church. This is a far cry from the culture's misconception of what marriage is and what it is for. Marriage is so much more than a piece of paper. It is a vessel by which the king of kings revives glory. We ought not to trend upon that vessel, but rather to prop it up and defend it. It is therefore our responsibility as followers of Christ to communicate the biblical outline for marriage to the culture and to do so lovingly. After all, what is the mark of a Godly marriage but that of love.

New York Times Article

Washington Research Group

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