I am wondering about the rationale for these types of services, however. I wonder if my readers may have thoughts to contribute on the subject.

I realize that such services are a bit of a staple in evangelical/fundamental church circles. There are several reasons why I am against them.

• They seem to me to be a holdover from the infant baptism error of church tradition.
• They seem to be entered into as a matter of superstition, especially among unchurched adherents or sporadic attenders of a church.
• They do nothing for the infant.
• The Bible nowhere gives any precedent or command for such services.

One of my former pastors seemed to sense the problems with a ‘child-dedication’ service, so would do a ‘parent dedication’ service. I suppose there is nothing wrong with this, if the parents are really dedicating themselves… but I am not sure what the show in front of the church has to do with a private commitment to our holy God. And again, many of those who seek this kind of service are doing it to satisfy some superstitious sense of obligation to God, but are really undedicated to living the Christ life on a daily basis. They are using the service as kind of a ‘good luck charm’ to compensate for their lack of personal dedication and discipleship. They reduce God to a tribal deity.

Yes, I understand there are sincere and devoted Christians who ask for these services as well. Why? Probably out of ‘tradition’. The fact is the presence or absence of such a dedication service will make no difference in the spiritual life of the child.

So… just wondering what others think. (And hoping to get our minds of the latest internet hysteria!)

HH: As we speak, marriage is up, it’s a knockout punch that is being aimed at marriage in California.

PH: Yes.

HH: The consequences of that, do you have any opinion?

PH: Well, I think it’s immensely serious, and it’s also rative of a fight, because those who fight it on the grounds on which the left have chosen to make it a battle, can very easily be portrayed as bigots and intolerant and cruel, because it’s always an issue of allegedly giving something to somebody, and why are you against giving something to somebody? Are you a cruel person? Are you a nasty person? Are you a vindictive person? And it’s turned into that development. And this is partly, of course, because the battle over divorce, which both in your country and in mine, was made so ridiculously easy in the 1960s. The battle over divorce has already been conceded, and therefore marriage among heterosexuals is so weakened, that this assault on it is not seen for what it is, namely a further blow at what I regard is the constitution of private life, that the marriage contract is the basis on which private life can be lived. And the moment the state becomes more important, and the moment big corporations become more powerful than the marriage bond, then private life is over, and we’re all slaves. And this is the difficulty. You need to find, and the conservative movement on both sides, I think, need to find a language in which to fight this war without it being easy for the other side to portray them as bigots.

(Quote comes about 2/3 of the way through the interview)

Most of my readers are probably aware that this is a present battle for the essential building blocks of human society.

Recently, I conducted the ceremony for my sister and her husband. Two comments highlight how much on the front lines of the battle real Christian marriage is.

• The unsaved acquaintances of both my sister and brother-in-law were astonished that they wouldn’t live together first. I think cohabiting first is the norm in our west coast Canadian culture. That is where we are.
• In the ceremony we used (with very little modification) the original of Thomas Cranmer’s wedding ceremony from the first Book of Common Prayer. Notable in that ceremony in particular is the promise of the wife ‘to obey’ her husband. One of my sister’s friends came to her after the ceremony with the wish that the submission be ‘mutual’. That is where we are.

One blog that regularly comments on matters matrimonial and male/female issues is that of the Bayly brothers, David and Tim, called “Out of our minds too…” (The name is in honour of a column the Bayly bros’ father, Joe Bayly, used to write, ‘Out of my mind…’). I would encourage you to be a regular reader. You may not agree with everything (they’re Presby’s, for one thing), but you will gain some understanding of the seriousness of the issues we face.

Every Christian marriage is a victory in the face of an onslaught against mankind at the very foundation of human society. This campaign is waged by the evil one who hates God and all that God has made. May we have the courage to promote true Christian marriage and guide those who come to us seeking marriage in the scriptural principles upon which it rests.