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SBC leader: Family suffers when women choose career over children

A Southern Baptist theologian has warned the World Congress of Families in Poland that the advance of feminism and "the marginalization of men" are threatening the home.



Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary president Paige Patterson says families need to be concerned that in America, 60% of college students are female. He predicts that in a few years, men will be increasingly underrepresented among "the intelligentsia" and will gradually cede leadership in many areas to women.

Patterson laments that most of the women ascending to these new roles will maintain a major focus on a career, not on the family and on children.

"Instead of encouraging adolescents to cut the apron strings of mother and venture out into society, we are begging mothers not to cut the apron strings [to] their babies and catapult them prematurely into a menacing world," said the two-time president of the Southern Baptist Convention. "Mom and hot apple pie have been replaced by institutional daycare centers and cold apple turnovers at McDonald's."

Patterson warned the more than 3,000 people attending World Congress of Families IV that the traditional family unit is now under attack worldwide. He said this assault was initially focused in Western Europe and North America, but has now spread to other societies that seemed immune to family disintegration.

A biblical model of the family is key to restoring social order in the world, stated the Southern Baptist leader. Although innocents continue to be executed in the womb by their mothers and divorce is "eviscerating family life on every hand," said Patterson, there is still hope for the world.

"As promising social and education programs have cratered along with promised noble deeds, [and] more sophisticated and determined evils proliferated, have we no place to turn?" he asked rhetorically. "The family remains -- both the first and the most important social unit created by an all-wise, omniscient God."

Patterson made his remarks on the closing day of World Congress of Families IV in Warsaw, Poland.

Hello Pastor Roger,

Brother, some people might read this article and think that it's sexist, but it isn't. People need to understand the reasons for strong Christian men from the BIBLE. The world won't understand the stance of the HOLY BIBLE, but Christians should.

A Christian man is to be the head of a home - but under the LORDSHIP of CHRIST. SO, CHRIST should actually be the head over all homes.

A Christian woman should be subject to her Christian husband, as this is the way of the HOLY BIBLE for this union and family to be blessed.

SO, can anyone guess why divorce and family violence is escalating through the roof? How many men and women, even Christians, make CHRIST the head of the home these days? PLEASE try to be honest about this. How many husbands love their wives anywhere close to the way that JESUS loves HIS CHURCH? How many husbands are willing to give their lives for their wives?

Here's a secret for everyone. Christian wives don't have any problem in subjecting themselves to their husbands if the husband is properly subjected to CHRIST and the husband loves them according to BIBLICAL principles. This isn't sexist at all, rather the BIBLICAL instructions for a happy marriage with CHRIST as the head of the home. The world will call this sexist, and feminists will go crazy over posts like this, but doesn't this give us some idea about why the home and family are in crises?

What about single parent homes these days? With tiny numbers of exceptions, they aren't caused by the death of a spouse. Didn't something fail, and why did it fail? Please don't even think about blaming this on GOD. GOD gave us instructions to follow, and one or more in those failed marriages didn't follow the instructions and didn't subject themselves to CHRIST. SO, many people have misery, and the misery is self-imposed for at least half of the people involved in failed marriages. In many cases, both the man and the woman are at least partially at fault.

Big cars, houses, and things do not equal happiness. In fact, many people rich in the things of this world are miserable. There aren't any secrets about being happy. It's all in the HOLY BIBLE.

Love In Christ,
Tom

Philippians 4:7 NASB  And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Amen! It is far from being sexist. Women have a very important function in a family, the families future and as mentioned in this article and another post I made on here, the future of the entire world. How families raise their children is of utmost importance and women have a major role in this.

I couldn't agree with you more!

After reading the last couple of posts, I hope that I didn't hint anything other than your exact thoughts. I agree 100% that women have a major role in all of our futures, and I'm thinking primarily about strong Christian women.

I've give thanks that my life has been full of strong Christian women, including my wife. I've been spoiled and blessed beyond measure. Who was my first teacher? My mother - AND she certainly had her work cut out to deal with me.   ;D  Many strong Christian women in my family are wives of pastors, including my mother and many of my aunts. I simply give thanks.

It's hard to discuss this topic on a forum without some people thinking some of the posts are sexists. That's what I was attempting to avoid, but maybe I failed. I hope not.

I don't think that you failed in the least bit. It looks to me like we are all in agreement. God has a plan and a task for strong Christian women and it is no less important than the role of men. Both Christian men and women have their parts to do and it is important that we all work together in unity to achieve God's plan for us all.