Categories: uncategorized
Date: 26 May 2006 08:41:10
Amongst my reading at the moment I have two books which are generating completely different reactions from those I expected them to.
Book One - The Secret Message of Jesus, by Brian McLaren
I have to admit that I believed the hype on this one. That it was going to contain something radically different and potentially life changing. Er, no.
What I found myself thinking as I read most of it was this is sounding v.similar to a load of other stuff I've been reading, hearing from progressive evangelicals and is actually a much harder read than the other ways I've seen similar ideas put forward.
I'm not saying the ideas contained within it aren't good, and if you haven't heard numerous Tony Campollo talks or read the work of Jim Wallis in the US or Steve Chalke in the UK that they wouldn't be novel exciting ideas but ....
Book Two - Growing Up with a Single Parent: what hurts, what helps, by Sara McLanahan and Gary Sandefur
This I had read summaries of before and was prepared to sit down and read through, disagreeing with everyword. I thought that any research which could be referred to so often by the New Right as evidence had to be dodgy. Also as a single parent I so want their findings to be wrong.
However, reading through and reflecting upon my own personal experience I can see that there may be some accuracy in somw of what they are saying, (although there are still parts I would strongly dispute). I don't like to admit that there may be alot of "common sense" in the book, but certainly they are reaching some logical conclusions even if they are conclusions that lone parents, such as myself, would rather not face up to.
What gets me though is the way the research has just been used to say "families with two biological parents living with the child are best and so people should get married and stay married" (paraphrasing a couple of articles I've read). This book identifies real issues, perhaps the findings could equally well be used, if not better used to see how appropriate support can be offered to lone parents.