Family, The: A Christian Perspective on the Contemporary Home [Paperback]

Jack O. Balswick (Author), Judith K. Balswick (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2007

In considering the meaning of human relationships and family life, the Balswicks integrate a biblically based Christian perspective with insights from psychological and sociological studies. They give excellent insight into the many stages, functions, and problems that affect family life, and explore the implications of four central themes found throughout the Bible: covenant, grace, empowering, and intimacy. (57)

Editorial Reviews

Review

An excellent text . . . from a distinctively Christian perspective, integrating the very best of theology, ethics, and biblical studies with the social sciences and clinical perspectives. Pastors will find this text a superb update on Christian family life. -- --first edition--Guy Greenfield, Southwestern Journal of Theology

No other book has been written [on family living] from a Christian perspective with as much care as this one by the Balswicks. . . . Christian workers anxious to update their libraries with one readable, yet pertinent, book on family concerns will want to add this book and will refer to it frequently. -- --first edition--Joyce Carroll, Reformed Review

This Christian perspective on the contemporary home, based upon social science research, clinical insight, and biblical truths, is skillfully written and extremely insightful. Almost everything a person would like to know about the family and its many stages, functions, and problems is included. -- --first edition--Wesley Engstrom, Evangelical Beacon --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

From the Back Cover

The Family, a must-have resource for almost twenty years, is well known among college and seminary faculty, pastors, and Christian counselors. Now it its third edition, this important study has been revised and updated throughout to include the results of current research and contemporary trends.Praise for previous editions:"Every sociologist who teaches courses on marriage and the family or who engages in personal or family counseling ought to read this stimulating book. Many will conclude that it is the best textbook for college, seminary, and marriage preparation courses."--Christian Sociological Society Newsletter"An excellent resource for marriage and family studies in the church and in academia. Few texts come close to this one in blending the biblical ideal with the contemporary scene."--Theological Educator"This is a rare book in its synthesis of rich sources in family scientific theory with a theological version of the meaning and purpose of the family. I consider this book an excellent resource for preachers and teachers and an obvious choice for a text in family studies in a Christian college."--Calvin Theological Journal"As a consequence of their theological foundation, presentation of major sociological perspectives of the family, and integrating visualizations, The Family is a most helpful resource for understanding the modern family."--Review and Expositor"No other book has been written [on family living] from a Christian perspective with as much care as this one by the Balswicks. . . . Christian workers anxious to update their libraries with one readable, yet pertinent, book on family concerns will want to add this book and will refer to it frequently."--Reformed Review"This Christian perspective on the contemporary home . . . is skillfully written and extremely insightful. Almost everything a person would like to know about the family and its many stages, functions, and problems is included."--Evangelical Beacon"An excellent text . . . from a distinctively Christian perspective, integrating the very best of theology, ethics, and biblical studies with the social sciences and clinical perspectives."--Southwestern Journal of Theology

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Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Baker Academic; 3 edition (June 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0801032490
• ISBN-13: 978-0801032493
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #48,504 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent and Theologically Sound Read, March 17, 2005

By 

Jon Holmes (Sacramento, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Family, The,: A Christian Perspective on the Contemporary Home (Paperback)

I was delightfully surprised at the complex view of family that this book takes. If the reader is holding a rigid American -conservative "Christian" view of family, then this book will be utter torture. It challenges how Christians of today look back a view generations and idolize the "family" of that time as the ideal biblical family. However, with Jack Balswick's keen sociological perspective, he is able to create in the reader an awareness that each believing generation struggles with the issue of what if means to be a biblical, Christ-honoring family. The Balswicks finish the book with a hard look, sociologically and theologically, at the current state of the family in our culture. They clarify exacltly what is happening to families inside and outside of the church, and consider some of the strengths and weaknesses of the Church's response to these current cultural and familial trends. If you're looking for a book that is going to exegete texts to prove a formula for the biblical family, well, pass this one up. However, if you're looking for a work that considers the greater themes of Scripture, the overriding character of God as Father, and how you can navigate the insanity of our current cultural state without moving to the vacant spaces of Idaho, then delve into this one and expect to be challenged, encouraged, and equipped.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fine Theological Model for Family Relationships, October 6, 1997

By 

[e-mail] (Medellín, Colombia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Family: A Christian Perspective on the Contemporary Home (Paperback)

The biblical model for family relationships proposed by the authors provides an easy to understand framework to explore family problems of today. The basic concepts of covenant love, forgiving grace, empowering service and intimate knowledge, which comprise this model, constitute a major advance in the formulation of a theology of family relationships.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Food for Thought, November 7, 2007

By 

Dazoo (Yazoo City, MS) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Family, The: A Christian Perspective on the Contemporary Home (Paperback)

Jack and Judith Balswick present a comprehensive theological and sociological framework for healthy marriage and family living. They interact with traditional and non-traditional models while proposing their own alternative view. Against their proposed theological framework a discussion of a wide array of marital and family issues is provided.

The Balswicks contend that the best theological basis for understanding how families are to function is found in God's relationship as parent to Israel and groom to the church as bride. While allowing that there are many individual texts in scripture relating to family life they argue that those passages are often interpreted without regard for the cultural context within which they were written, or the wider context of biblical revelation, and often with a modern western traditional family overlay. Citing a number of authors who share similar views the Balswicks present a four-stage sequential but non-linear model of family relationships: covenant, grace, empowering, and intimacy.
Covenant is characterized by unconditional love and commitment. Grace grows out of the security provided in covenant commitment. Empowering occurs in an atmosphere of grace. Intimacy flourishes against the backdrop of empowerment. All of this results in deeper and deeper levels of commitment and issues forth more grace, empowering, and intimacy. It is a dynamic process. With this model in place various family life concerns are filtered through this framework.

Topics examined in this book are:

Marital issues (mate selection, strengthening marriages, models of Christian marriage)
Parenting issues (goals of parenting, child development, adolescence, midlife, later life)
Sexuality (gender roles, authentic sexuality)
Communication (expressing love, expressing anger,, achieving intimacy, resolving conflict)
Social dynamics of family life (power and empowering, stress and strain, divorce and remarriage)
Family life in modern society
Healthy shaping of the family in today's culture


There are numerous illustrative figures and tables that reinforce the Balswicks' presentation. They cover a wide range of topics including: types of commitment, types of love relationships, styles of parenting, styles of conflict management, various developmental theories, and rules for fair fighting among many other concerns.
The Balswicks have provided the reader with a valuable distillation of their considerable theological, sociological, and family systems knowledge. While I have not found myself in total agreement with them on all points I have found their arguments to be well-reasoned and challenging. I will recommend this book to any instructor who is teaching a course on family life or to any student who is struggling to develop an overarching theological framework for family. Their discussion of gender roles and power is especially relevant in a modern society and church.