Daniel Lilley on Marriage

Daniel Lilley, Marriage and the Stable Society: The Continued Importance of Marriage (London: Civitas, 2024).

This report from Civitas has been available for a while, though I’m only just getting round to posting about it.

The summary blurb is below, and the report itself is available as a pdf here.

‘Marriage has undergone a remarkable decline in the UK. The marriage rate has fallen two thirds in 50 years; and in 2021, for the first time, more than half of babies were born to unmarried parents. We also see a growing “marriage gap”, in which those who are wealthier and more highly educated are much more likely to be married.

‘This decline in marriage has not corresponded with much increase in singleness; instead, we have seen a huge rise in cohabitation: that is, couples living together without getting married. The cultural consensus seems to be that cohabitation is just as good as marriage, and that getting married is little more than a pointless piece of outdated bureaucracy.

‘Marriage and the Stable Society argues that, on the contrary, marriage remains highly relevant in today’s Britain. The data show clearly that couples who are married are much more likely to stay together long term, and that this is greatly beneficial to their children as well as to couples’ own happiness and wellbeing. Far from being regressive, marriage has the potential to improve the lives of the most disadvantaged people in society, who are currently less likely to marry.

‘The report also examines the reasons that people today, especially those who are less well off, are less likely to marry than they were in the past. As well as changes in cultural attitudes, bureaucracy and cost represent significant barriers, with even the most basic wedding costing over £500 in administrative costs, and most costing many times more than this. Marriage and the Stable Society shows how this burden could be reduced so that more people are able to access the benefits of being married.’

Foundations 89 (Spring 2026)

Issue 89 of Foundations: An International Journal of Evangelical Theology, published by Affinity, is now available from here (requiring an email address for a link to a downloadable pdf, though check here) which includes the below essays on the topic of adoption.

Donald John MacLean

Editorial

Tim Trumper

The Recovery of Adoption: A Brief Progress Report

Talk of the neglect of the doctrine of adoption has become commonplace over the last decades. Less recognised is that this awareness has arisen from a slowly developing concern to recover the doctrine. Thus, the author, participant in the endeavour for thirty-plus years, explains why the recovery became necessary, identifies Robert S. Candlish’s 1864 Cunningham Lectures on the Fatherhood of God as its dawn, and traces the emergent interest in adoption down to the present via the disciplines of historical, biblical, and systematic theology. Various phases of the recovery are traversed, and numerous tensions (methodological, exegetical, linguistic, and structural) are highlighted. Their resolution promises the matured exposition and application of adoption, and calls for the methodological renewal of classic systematics. Aspects of this renewal and its benefits are mentioned, for adoption can only be said to be finally recovered once the doctrine is fully and satisfactorily (re-)integrated into the discipline of systematic theology.  

David McKay

Adoption in the Old Testament

Although the language of adoption is not used in the OT, and the possible examples of adoption practice are few, the concept of adoption is present and significant. Israel is described by the Lord as his son, as at the time of the Exodus, and the relationship established by the Lord is fundamentally covenantal. The relationship between God and the king of Israel is also stated in terms of an adoptive father/son relationship. The concept of kingship in Israel is thus profoundly different from that common in other nations. The ultimate fulfilment of prophetic references to the king as God’s son is found in the person and work of the Messiah, the Son of God incarnate. In the NT context, believers in union with the Son become the adopted children of God and share in a fulness of blessing beyond that experienced by OT believers.

Dan Peters

Preaching a Comfortable Doctrine: the Doctrine of Adoption

The Puritan notion of ‘a comfortable gospel’ (that is, a gospel that minsters comfort to believers) is worthy of consideration by contemporary preachers. The article argues that the doctrine of adoption ought to be a key component of ‘comfortable’ preaching. The various benefits of preaching adoption are delineated, including its impact on a congregation’s holiness and prayerfulness. It is proposed that other, quite specific needs are met when adoption is homiletically prominent: a lifeline is extended to those who have wandered from the faith; and the parents of wanderers also receive valuable help. Attention is given to the benefit the pastor himself yields from prioritising this doctrine in his preaching. Finally, the influence of the seminary on the pulpit is noted, and the implications of that for the preaching of adoption are considered.

Malcom Maclean

A Family Dispute About Adoption

In 1862, a trust was set up to fund a lectureship in honour of William Cunningham, the recently deceased Principal of the Free Church College in Edinburgh. Two years later, Robert S. Candlish delivered six lectures on the theme of The Fatherhood of God, and a year later, in 1865, they were published for the first time. Over the next five years, four further editions of the lectures appeared. Changes in those editions were caused by responses made to the lectures. Candlish claimed that previously very little attention had been given to the doctrine, but his treatment of the theme ensured that a lot of attention was given to his ideas. This article aims to identify the main features of his lectures and also some of the responses made to him. 

Book Reviews

Mission Frontiers 48, 2 (March–April 2026)

The March–April 2026 issue of Mission Frontiers, published by Frontier Ventures, contains a number of articles devoted to the topic of ‘Mission Accomplished? Now What?’

Here’s the issue blurb, which sets the scene:

‘In this issue... We focus on missionaries who have returned to their home country. You’ll read about the struggles, sorrows, joys, and God’s faithfulness through it all. This issue is for those of you supporting workers to help you better understand what moving home means. Agency leaders and mission pastors, please read these articles, share them with your missions committees, and take action to plan for those who return. Missionary alum, read and see that you are not alone. On-field workers, read and consider what you may need to do to prepare.’

The issue is available here, from where individual articles can be accessed, and the entire issue can be downloaded as a pdf here.

Centre for Public Christianity (February 2026)

Among other items, the Centre for Public Christianity has posted a ‘Life and Faith’ podcast here on ‘The Year of Getting Off Your Phone’, looking at ‘the forces at work when it comes to our digital habits, why we might choose to reduce our phone use, and how’.

Southwestern Journal of Theology 68, 1 (2025) on Celebrating Centenaries

The latest volume of the Southwestern Journal of Theology contains the below essays on the theme of ‘Celebrating Centenaries’.

The entire issue is available as a pdf here.

Editorial

Malcolm B. Yarnell III

From Colossae to Nicaea: Paul’s Witness to Christ’s Deity

Benjamin Hawkins

A “Tendentious Translation”?: An Appraisal of William Tyndale’s English New Testament after 500 years

Michael D. Wilkinson

Pilgram Marpeck: Theologian of the Incarnation

Mac Brunson

The Anabaptists and Their Hermeneutic

W. Madison Grace II

“Our Gospel Fellowship”: The Presidential Inaugural Address of Robert E. Naylor

Anthony Wolfe

“Irresistible Cooperation”: Intercongregational Financial Cooperation as a Spiritual Impulse and Theological Obligation according to Lee Rutland Scarborough

Coleman M. Ford

“For Us Humans and for Our Salvation”: The Beauty of Salvation in Athanasius and Gregory Nazianzus

Book Reviews

Tim Harford on the Paradox of Work

There’s a short but interesting article here by Tim Harford on what he calls ‘the paradox of work’.

Taking its cue from an analysis of ‘a Depression-era make-work project for white-collar Americans’, it underlines the importance of work and community contributions in addition to family and close relationships.

Basically, whilst work is often ‘the least enjoyable thing’ in people’s lives, ‘there are few more reliable sources of dissatisfaction and disappointment than being unemployed’.

‘The stories people told about themselves, and especially the stories women told about themselves, did indeed often mention friends and family. But they also emphasised, over and over again, the importance of work as a foundation for a meaningful life.’

Theos Report on Power

The latest report from Theos has recently been published:

Madeleine Pennington and Paul Bickley, A Theology of Power (London: Theos. 2026).

Here’s some brief blurb:

‘We live in an age of strongman leadership on the global stage.

‘From Putin to Trump, our global leaders wield their military, financial, and political power in a way that profoundly challenges historical norms. Is there a more constructive way to think about power?

‘In partnership with Christian Aid, Madeleine Pennington and Paul Bickley explore what power means through a biblical lens.’

More information is available here, and a pdf of the full report is available here.