QIdeas reposts a short piece by Tim Keller – ‘Three Ways With Families’ – in which he writes about the declining interest in family in secularism alongside the idolatry of the family in traditional religion.
He draws fairly heavily on one of my favourite pieces from Stanley Hauerwas, which reminds us that Christians ‘do not place their hope in their children, but rather their children are a sign of their hope... that God has not abandoned this world’ (Hauerwas, Community of Character, 191).
Keller writes:
‘The gospel-based community practices a view of family that is contrary both to the cultural idols of secular and traditional societies. The gospel frees singles from the shame of being unmarried they find in conservative cultures. Their truest identity is in Christ and their assured future hope is the kingdom of God. Even bearing children, in the Christian view, is merely nurturing more lives for the family of God. That can be done in other ways than the biological. On the other hand, the gospel gives us the hope and strength for the sacrifices of marriage and parenthood that is lacking in liberal cultures. Christians grasp that they were only brought to life because of Jesus’ radical sacrifice of his independence and power. We know that children are only brought to life and self-sufficiency if their parents sacrifice much of their independence and power. In light of the cross, it is the least we can do.’
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