HT: JT

Yeah, listen: Justin Taylor I think has a caucus of caucasian clerks culling computers from Canada to Calcutta to find everything which you might find useful for your spiritual health out there on the internets. he doesn't really blog much: he just finds all the interesting stuff on other blogs and links to it. It's brilliant.

Now, in that sea of (as he would say) "helpful" links, today he has posted something which every Christian man should read and consider repeatedly for the next 30 days.

The original link is here, but I have PDF'd the text and have stashed it on my private host site here in case the link ever breaks.

In particular, I want you to read this paragraph:

But in our unconstrained age, tradition is, at best, a quaint relic, a lifeless curiosity gathering dust in an unfrequented museum. At worst, it is synonymous with oppression, the destructive force that brought us slavery, misogyny, and imperialism. Seeing farther now than our ancestors ever did, we are no longer burdened by the prejudices of the past or bound by promises that linger long beyond the point of their initial inspiration. We are now entering a brave new world, where marriage is easily dissolved before it becomes tyrannical, where parenthood is the product of choice not mere biology, where reproductive technologies allow us to have the children of our own making, and where fathers have finally earned the hard-won freedom to follow their dreams and leave their children behind.

Even if you don't read the rest of that essay (and i forbid you to come back unless you do), think seriously and often about this: what dream is worth missing the delight on one of your children?

Think about this

See more Jack Black videos at Funny or Die

It's the Funny Or Die Prop 8 musical.

You need to watch it because this is the argument that is going to trot itself out against, well, what you probably believe about the whole picture. What are you going to say to this stuff?

I have a hint for you: a canned answer isn't going to cut it.

Not from the Bible

But useful: 10 Ways to Reduce Your Divorce Risk.

The 2-year courtship thing seems like a bit much to me, and this list omits advice I would deem indispensable like "do hard things together" (she says just "do things together", which I think is less than the minimum), and "plan your family's future".

However, for someone who's not marriage at all, this list is a good place to start thinking about what it means to be married and not just in a relationship.