Marriage Culture

Is something wrong with our culture? What can we do?

• Introduction
• Herding the Masses
• Personal Anecdote
• Evaluation and Alternatives
• Suggestions to Parents and Young People

Introduction

I believe that parents should set up marriages for their children.

Make sure you know the whole range of what "set up" could mean before you jump to cultural knee-jerk conclusions. Think this whole issue through- this issue of parental guidance and help in marriage- in light of where our culture has been going.

I also wonder about appropriate age difference. What if women married older men? What if girls were "set up" to be wooed and to marry in their late teens, marrying a gentleman in his late twenties or early thirties- a gentleman fairly well established in his career, who has been examined and approved by the family of the girl? Wouldn't this result in stronger more enduring attractions and a stabler economic and psychological buttress for an enduring marriage?

How old should girls be when they meet these men they may marry? How much of a waiting period should there be after they meet? How much older should the men be?

What are the ideal ages for marriage for the full enjoyment of life's sexual, relational, and economic potential for men and women?

Should parents seek to influence their unmarried children to consider mates with an ideal age difference?