Family

O. Balswick Jack

Description

Two respected senior professors in the marriage and family field cover every issue that affects family life, including marriage, parenting, sexuality, communication, social dynamics, and family life in modern society. This proven resource for studying the most established of human institutions has been in print for over twenty years, with over 80,000 copies sold. The fourth edition has been updated to address current family-related issues and refined to reflect teaching practices for the contemporary classroom, including updated references to online resources.Praise for a Previous Edition"An excellent resource for preachers and teachers and an obvious choice for a text in family studies in a Christian college."--Calvin Theological Journal

Sujets

• Christianity

Informations

• Publié par: Baker Publishing Group
• Date de parution: 06 mai 2014
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781441245625
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

Other Books by Jack O. Balswick and Judith K. Balswick

A Model for Marriage: Covenant, Grace, Empowering, and Intimacy
Relationship-Empowerment Parenting: Building Formative and Fulfilling Relationships with Your Children (with Don and Boni Piper)
Authentic Human Sexuality: An Integrated Christian Approach
The Dual-Earner Marriage: The Elaborate Balancing Act
Families in Pain: Working through the Hurts
The Gift of Gender (with Allen and Margery Corben)
Raging Hormones: What to Do When You Suspect Your Teen Might Be Sexually Active
Other Books by Jack O. Balswick

The Reciprocating Self: Human Development in Theological Perspective (with Pam Ebstyne King and Kevin S. Reimer)
The Inexpressive Male
Life in a Glass House: The Minister’s Family in Its Unique Social Context (with Cameron Lee)
Men at the Crossroads: Beyond Traditional Roles and Modern Options
Social Problems: A Christian Understanding and Response (with Kenneth Morland)
Other Books by Judith K. Balswick

Life Ties: Cultivating Relationships That Make Life Worth Living (with Boni Piper)
Mothers and Daughters Making Peace: The Most Intimate, Tangled, Beautiful, and Frustrating Relationship Shared by Women
Then They Leave Home: Parenting after the Kids Grow Up (with Boni Piper)

© 1989, 1999, 2007, 2014 by Jack O. Balswick and Judith K. Balswick
Published by Baker Academic
a division of Baker Publishing Group
P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287
www . bakeracademic . com
Ebook edition created 2014
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means for example, electronic, photocopy, recording without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
ISBN 978-1-4412-4562-5
Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1989, by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
An electronic copy of Strengthening Your Family Life , the study guide to this book, can be obtained by sending an email request to [e-mail] .
With Our Love and Appreciation to Our Parents,
Agnes and Arvid Nelson Frances and Orville Balswick
Contents
Cover i
Other Books by the Authors ii
Title Page iii
Copyright Page iv
Dedication v
Illustrations ix
Preface xi
Part 1: Theological and Social Perspectives on Family Life 1
1. A Theological Foundation for Family Relationships: Developing a Theology of the Family 3
2. The Family as a Developing Biosocial System 22
Part 2: Marriage: The Foundation of Family Life 43
3. Mate Selection and Cohabitation: Romance and Reality 45
4. Establishing Marriage: Moving toward Differentiated Unity 73
5. A Model for Biblical Marriage 87
Part 3: The Expansion of Family Life: Parenting and Beyond 101
6. Parenting: The Process of Relationship Empowerment 104
7. Developing a Mature, Reciprocating Self 124
8. Family Spirituality: Nurturing Christian Beliefs, Morals, and Values 146
9. Adolescence and Midlife: Challenging Changes 159
10. The Joys and Challenges of Family in Later Life 172
Part 4: Gender and Sexuality: Identity in Family Life 189
11. Changing Gender Roles and Relations: The Impact on Family Life 191
12. Becoming an Authentic Sexual Self 214
Part 5: Communication: The Heart of Family Life 239
13. Expressing Love Achieving Intimacy 241
14. Expressing Anger Negotiating the Inevitable Conflicts 252
Part 6: The Social Dynamics of Family Life 271
15. Becoming Powerful through Empowerment 273
16. Through the Stress and Strain of Family Life 286
17. Divorce and Single-Parent Families 300
18. Complex Families in Contemporary Society 321
Part 7: Family Life in Postmodern Society 337
19. The Erosion of Biblical Truth in a Modern World 339
20. Creating a Family-Friendly Society 355
Bibliography 371
Index 396
Back Cover 403
Illustrations
Figures A Theological Basis of Family Relationships 7 Types of Commitment in Family Relationships 11 Family-Systems Theory 23 Levels of Social Systems 25 Disengagement, Differentiation, and Enmeshment 37 Adaptability and Cohesion within Families 39 A Filter Theory of Mate Selection 52 Styles of Instrumental Parenting 110 Styles of Socio-emotional Parenting 112 Christian Parenting: Empowering to Maturity 120 Differences between Male and Female Behavior 203 An Interactive Developmental Model of Human Sexuality 218 Styles of Conflict Management 263 An Analysis of Family Power 278 Stages of Recovery in a Family Crisis 293 The Four Dimensions of Sociocultural Life 342 Support Structures 364 Societal Complexity and Family Type 365
Tables From Hurting to Healing Behavior 19 Family Development 33 3. Characteristics of Strong and Weak Families 35 Traditional, Biblical, and Modern Marriages 88 Major Stage-Specific Theories of Child Development 127 Rules for a Fair Fight 257 Models of Family Power 277 The Impact of Modernity on the Family: Dilemmas and False Hopes 347 Creating a Positive Family Environment 357
Preface
W e initially wrote The Family : A Christian Perspective on the Contemporary Home to present an integrated view of contemporary family life based on current social-science research, clinical insights, and biblical truth. The positive response to the previous three editions of our book has warranted this updated fourth edition. The biblical integration reflects broad theological truths woven throughout the Scriptures rather than specific proof texts. We chose to present the social-scientific knowledge in an easy-to-read style rather than one that was academic but more cumbersome. Building on the previous material, this new edition incorporates the most current research to date, with over a hundred additional references in this fourth edition, and our response to the continued changes that are taking place in modern society and family life, including a section on premarital cohabitation. And in recognition of the importance of biosocial influence (D’Onofrio and Lahey 2010, 762), we highlight the interactive effect of bio-psycho-socio-cultural factors that help us understand family dynamics. A recent article predicted that in the future “the study of culture and genomes together will provide important information about family relationship and child development” (Deater-Deckard 2011, 822).
Our book is divided into seven parts. In part 1, “Theological and Social Perspectives on Family Life,” we put forward a basic theology of relationships and theoretical perspectives on the family as a developing biosocial system. Part 2, “Marriage: The Foundation of Family Life,” is devoted to the topics of mate selection, cohabitation, and the establishment of a strong Christian marriage. In part 3, “The Expansion of Family Life: Parenting and Beyond,” we focus on the development and rearing of young children, the particular challenges of midlife parents and their adolescent children, and the joys and challenges of the later-life family. In part 4, “Gender and Sexuality: Identity in Family Life,” we consider the changing definitions of masculinity and femininity and the implications they have for family relationships, and discuss the complex dimensions of becoming an authentic sexual self as part of God’s design and intention. Part 5, “Communication: The Heart of Family Life,” describes the expression of love and intimacy as well as the expression of anger and normal conflicts that inevitably occur between family members. In part 6, “The Social Dynamics of Family Life,” we attend to the critical aspects of family life such as power, life stressors, divorce, single parenthood, remarriage, and building new family forms. Part 7, “Family Life in Postmodern Society,” deals with the effects that modern industrialized society and postmodern thinking have had on family life. Suggestions are made for changing social structures to create a more family-friendly environment.
Rather than taking a piecemeal approach, devoting each chapter to a specific topic, we have attempted to make every chapter an integral part of the overarching theme of the book. Therefore, we have aspired to weave into the content of each chapter our theological basis for family relationships from the perspective of the family as a developing system.
Coauthorship and teamwork make this book a collaborative project. A marriage and family therapist for over forty years, Judy is senior professor at Fuller Theological Seminary in the Marriage and Family Therapy Department. Jack, a professional sociologist with forty-five years of teaching, research, and writing experience at the university and seminary level, is also a senior professor at Fuller. We have each had postdoctoral seminary training in theology and biblical studies, and we speak throughout the United States and abroad on marriage and family life.
Although we have attempted to blend academic, clinical, and theological understandings of the family, our interest in family life is not merely as scholars. The core of our lives has been experienced in the context of family, and our joint calling is to minister to families. We both feel most fortunate to have been reared and nurtured in loving Christian homes. Our parents modeled unconditional love and grace that provided secure foundations and brought profound spiritual meaning to our lives.
Being married for over fifty-three years has taught us much about what it takes to live out the principles we propose in this book. Our adult children, Jacque and Joel, have challenged and continue to challenge us to grow throughout every life stage. We have tried to maintain balance through the joys and pains, ups and downs, ebb and flow, stress and elation of family living. Forty years a