A Liberation Theology for Single People by Christena
Shepherdess2 on Twitter sent me a link to this (the link is farther below, thank you Shepherdess2) – I sure do appreciate that. At this point, I’ve skimmed over the first half and like what I see so far.
The author seems to touch on a few themes I have on my blog a time or two before, like how in spite of the fact conservative Christians say they respect singleness, they actually spend more time and attention supporting marriage than they do singleness, which I believe reveals their true feelings, as far as I am concerned.
For every book, sermon, or blog post by a conservative Christian group about singleness, I can point you to ten more about marriage by those same people.
She (the author Christena), like I, have noticed that most Christians are out of step with our changing culture: over half of Americans are now single, but many Christians take no notice of this and continue to act as though everyone is married with children at home.
The few Christians who have noticed this change in demographics go into fits of hysteria or complaining, yelling and screaming at young people to marry, when they should rather be assisting singles where they are in their singleness.
(Link): A Liberation Theology for Single People by Christena
Here are a few excepts:
- ….Now that I’m “35 and alone,” I’m beginning to formally construct a liberation theology of singleness. This article is just a beginning — and I’m hoping for feedback from single people.
- …The Love of God for Single People
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A couple of weeks ago while I was at Biola University (an evangelical Christian institution), the administration highlighted a brand-new (Link): Center for Marriage and Relationships (CMR). Generously funded by the university, this center seeks to strengthen marriages by offering premarital resources, free marriage conferences, and online articles such as “5 Healthy Habits of Happy Couples.”
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To be fair, the CMR’s webpage does include one video on “healthy perspectives on marriage and singleness” in which singles are encouraged not to view singleness as “a malady to be cured.”
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However, the large volume of marriage-centric resources compared to the lone video on singleness suggests that singleness — while perhaps not a malady — is definitely not worth thinking about, supporting or investing in.
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I’m not interested in singling out (no pun intended) Biola’s CMR (in fact, I like and respect the folks who are leading it), but it’s a vivid and current contributor to a long-standing injustice.
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Despite the fact that almost half of U.S. adults are single and the majority of U.S. women are single, the dominant Christian culture insists on prioritizing and elevating marriage above singleness. The vast majority of resources, support and interest are channeled toward married people. Meanwhile single people are left out.
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The marginalization of single people in the church is not just a sociological problem; it is also a theological problem.
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The dominant, marriage-centric theology — in which Christian colleges create centers for marriage (but not singleness) and pastors wax poetic about marriage (but not singleness) for 8-week sermon series — points to a God who loves single people a bit less than married people.
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Not only does this corrode the identities of single people who are rightful and invaluable members of the family of God, it tarnishes our perception of God.
- ….The Love of God for the Single Person isn’t limited by marriage-centric metaphors, which were written by marriage-centric apostles for marriage-centric ancient cultures, and are perpetuated by marriage-centric theologies today.
(( please click here to read the rest ))
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Related Posts:
(Link): Never Married Christians Over Age 35 who are childless Are More Ignored Than Divorced or Infertile People or Single Parents
(Link): Statistics Show Single Adults Now Outnumber Married Adults in the United States
(Link): Really, It’s Okay To Be Single – In order to protect marriage, we should be careful not to denigrate singleness – by Peter Chin
(Link): Stop Overlooking Singles in Church By Joy-Elizabeth Lawrence
(Link): Sex Regarded as Passage Into Adulthood
(Link): Singles Shaming at The Vintage church in Raleigh – Singlehood Shaming / Celibate Shaming
(Link): Francis Chan Challenges Christians: Stop Idolizing Family, Put Christ’s Mission First
(Link): Family as “The” Backbone of Society? – It’s Not In The Bible
(Link): Creepy: ‘Barna: [Christian] Women Value Family Over Faith’
(Link): Our Bodies Were Not Made for Sex by T. Swann
(Link): The Obligatory, “Oh, but if you’re single you can still benefit from my marriage sermon!” line
(Link): The Nauseating Push by Evangelicals for Early Marriage
(Link): Lies The Church Tells Single Women (by Sue Bohlin)
(Link): The World Does Not Need More Marriage Sermons – They Don’t Stop Divorce or Get People Married
(Link): Are Single People the Lepers of Today’s Church? by Gina Dalfonzo
(Link): If the Family Is Central, Christ Isn’t, by John B. Carpenter, CP Guest Contributor
(Link): The Changing American Family (article)
(Link): Do Married Couples Slight Their Family Members as Well as Their Friends? / “Greedy Marriages”
(Link): False Christian Teaching: “Only A Few Are Called to Singleness and Celibacy”
(Link): All Dating Advice is as Terrible As the People Who Give It by Oliver Burkeman
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