John W. Miller's book
Biblical Faith and Fathering, published in 1989, was prophetic: the social consequences he foresaw of the rejection of God-as-Father and the biblical ideals of fathering have all come to pass, and grown much worse. For that reason, I'm going to continue to post some of his most poignant observations, like the following:
Biblical tradition upholds the integrity of the marital bond between a man and his wife by its very explicit and detailed teaching against adultery in all its forms--whether as incest (see Lev 18; 20:8-21), or philandering (see Prv 5; 7:6-27), or as the outright seduction of another man's wife (Ex 20:14). Needless to say, where adultery is not proscribed in this outright manner, the foundations of the father-involved family are undermined. Israel was therefore not unjustified in regarding its teachings and laws on this issue specifically as among its most important distinguishing characteristics. Failure to hold firm on this point, it was believed, would result in her being "vomited out" of the land (Lev 18:24, 28). Marital fidelity, on the other hand, guaranteed the stability of the two-parent family and helped to secure the respect due to both parents, father and mother. (p. 70, emphasis mine).
How are we doing in America, where virtually no forms of adultery are sanctioned either legally or socially; and, in fact, movies and television portray adulterous relationships positively? Who was the genius that thought that would be a good idea for society?
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