World News and Trends: Marriage crisis grows in Britain
With the decrease of marriages and religious ceremonies, are we leaving God out of our relationships?
Young people in the United Kingdom are increasingly choosing not to get married. Living together without getting married is becoming ever more popular. A Times article stated, "The proportion of Britons choosing to marry is at the lowest level since the figure was first calculated in 1862" (March 27, 2008). First marriages are experiencing the biggest decrease.
Moreover, the average age for tying the knot has increased by about five years. Both men and women are now around 30 when they choose to marry—about age 31 for men and close to 29 for women. Another disturbing fact is that "of the 244,710 marriages in 2005, only 34.4% were religious ceremonies, with the remaining 65.5% being civil ceremonies" (Scotland on Sunday, Feb. 10, 2008) .
We are increasingly leaving God out of our marriage plans and marital lives. Yet we should all remember that He created the first man and woman and instituted marriage in the first place.
The predictions for the state of modern marriage are grim indeed. According to another Times article, half of newlywed couples are predicted to split and "one in ten will not make it past five years" (March 28, 2008).
If you would like to protect your marriage, or if you are single and would like to learn how to choose a spouse wisely, request or download our free booklet Marriage and Family: The Missing Dimension. As it reveals, we live in a moral universe ruled by God, and we ignore His spiritual laws at our peril. (Sources: Scotland on Sunday, The Times[London].)
An Article from:
Good News Magazine: May - June 2008
Course Content
Jerold Aust
Jerold Aust has served in the ministry for 52 years, as a public speaker for 58 years, a published writer for 38 years, and is employed by UCG’s Media and Communications Services. He is a Senior Writer, interviewer, and editor for Beyond Today Magazine and has taught Speech Communication for UCG’s ministerial online program and the Book of Revelation for ABC.
Jerold holds a BA in theology from Ambassador College, Pasadena (1968), an MA in Communication from California State University, Fullerton (1995), a distance-learning Ph.D (2006), and a Famous Writers School diploma in non-fiction writing (1973). Additionally, he studied post-grad communication at University of Southern California (1995), radio, TV, voice-overs, and Public Relations at Fullerton College (1995-1996), and graduate communication at Wichita State University (1978). Jerold has taught communication at the University of South Alabama (7 years) and ABC (17 years). His published works include, Ronald Reagan’s Rhetoric: Metaphor as Persuasion and EZSpeakers: Public Speaking Made Easy in 7 Steps. Jerold's overarching goal is to share with humankind its incredible destiny!
John Ross Schroeder
John died on March 8, 2014, in Oxford, England, four days after suffering cardiac arrest while returning home from a press event in London. John was 77 and still going strong.
Some of John's work for The Good News appeared under his byline, but much didn't. He wrote more than a thousand articles over the years, but also wrote the Questions and Answers section of the magazine, compiled our Letters From Our Readers, and wrote many of the items in the Current Events and Trends section. He also contributed greatly to a number of our study guides and Bible Study Course lessons. His writing has touched the lives of literally millions of people over the years.
John traveled widely over the years as an accredited journalist, especially in Europe. His knowledge of European and Middle East history added a great deal to his articles on history and Bible prophecy.
In his later years he also pastored congregations in Northern Ireland and East Sussex, and that experience added another dimension to his writing. He and his wife Jan were an effective team in our British Isles office near their home.
John was a humble servant who dedicated his life to sharing the gospel—the good news—of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God to all the world, and his work was known to readers in nearly every country of the world.
