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What the Experts Say about
Family Challenges

Balswick and Balswick (1999) summarize
some of the challenges families face as they
adapt to contemporary social changes.You
may find some dilemmas embedded in their
discussion.

Loss of Moral Authority

Political and social diversity means less
agreement about family values. This loss of
moral authority may result in privatization
of the family.What this means, ironically, is
that in a country of diverse cultures, one
family may not have much in common with
another family. Devoid of a community that
promotes a singular conception of the
family, married couples are left to struggle
privately to apply their faith to the
competing interests of home and career.

Some Christian family experts have

advocated a return totraditional family

values. It is not easy to identify what is

meant by“traditional.”Is it the eighteenth-

and nineteenth-century model, the pre-

World War II model, or the 1950s model?

Thus, returning to traditional family values

is not likely to provide much guidance in a

society that is dramatically more complex

than the“good old days.”It may be that old

patterns of family life are not practical in

modern society. Clearly one needs to look

more closely at the biblical model of

marriage (see chapter 6) as a viable and

time-tested way to deal with changing

cultural climates.

Mixed Messages

The increasing complexity of

communication forms in contemporary

society has contributed to the speed of

communication and variety in

communication ability. For example, a cell

phone now can take pictures and send

them via e-mail; that same cell phone can

download music, allow you to view a

football game or connect to the Internet.

However, not everyone is at the same level

technologically. Often, changes occur so

rapidly that the cell phone purchased last

month is already obsolete. Technology

itself may present obstacles to

communication if some people are not

able to “keep up with the Joneses.” More

The Future of the Family

3. Premarital sex:With the advent of
   reliable birth control, sexual
   behavior has become increasingly
   separated from married life. Of
   course, extramarital sex has always
   plagued humanity since the Fall, but
   today couples are more likely than
   ever to be sexually active before
   marriage and to live together before
   marriage (see chapter 4).