Eternal God,
hear your diverse people
as a world unites in prayer and compassion
for the people of Newtown Connecticut.
We pray for all involved in the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
Bless with your kindness those who speak to the broken-hearted.
Bless the teachers, paramedics, medical staff and police
with courage, skill and wisdom.
Bless those who mourn.
Bless those who grieve
and comfort the bewildered.
Help us each to build a world safe and fit for children.
Amen. Amen. Amen.
4 responses to “D.I.V.O.R.C.E.”
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I am a little worried about this concept of “African Marriage”. It seems to assume that Africa as a continent is culturally homogenous. This is not something that we would ever say about Europe or Asia, and it is simply not true. Morocco has very little cultural similarity to Mozambique. In South Africa, Xhosa-speaking men are circumcised at about 16 years old. Zulu-speaking men are not circumcised. They live in neighbouring provinces and inter-mingle in the cities. I think we have to be very careful when we describe practices that are common in Nigeria or Tanzania or Namibia as African, as they may not apply across the whole continent. It would be like calling bullfighting or reindeer racing European cultural norms, when we know that they are specific to particular countries.
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I think what Christians and others need to bear in mind is that it is possible to be accepting of divorce as a fact of life while still valuing commitment and regarding marriage as ideally being a lifelong covenant. In truth, if a couple is considering divorce then there is already brokenness (or sin—although in this context the word has some uncomfortable connotations) in their relationship, and trying to maintain it purely because the Church (or, heaven forfend, God) Says No doesn’t seem to me to be in any way a holy or virtuous thing to do.
‘D.I.V.O.R.C.E.’ is a lot less effective an obfuscation in writing than when Dolly sang it.
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Jacob Zuma has five wives, Desmond Tutu has one wife, Nelson Mandela had three wives and divorced two of them. What does this tell us about the concept of “African Marriage”?
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I was quoting an African priest. And I agree with you.
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