Uploaded July 2021 | Updated September 2026, 8 hours ago
Peter Helland locates what he thinks are the primary destructive forces undermining the husband/wife relationship and thus causing the American family to disintegrate. And as the American family goes down many families in the world are falling apart for some of the same reasons. First, as professor Gordon S. Wood taught, the Americans prior to 1776 shifted from having the family relationships being governed primarily by fear to love. Instead of following the scriptural command for children to fear and obey their parents and wives to fear and obey their husbands the Americans shifted the emphasis to love without the fear. Wood argues that this created confusion for the husbands trying to govern their homes. Wives still addressed their husbands as Master but the fear for her husband was dissipating.
Then with the Civil War finished in 1865 even the word master was becoming a bad word because of the demonization of the Master/Slave relationship. Women quickly quit calling their husbands master more and more. Marriage was being coerced by the victors of the war of 1861 into a equal partnership. Husbands started losing much more control than ever before.
Next there was now after the war a big theological vacuum created by the defeat of the Bible Belt. John Nelson Darby came from England and planted his heretical doctrines into America. Fundamentally he introduced the notion that we are in the age of Grace after leaving the dispensation of law. Darby's notion of grace started entering into more and more Christian homes. His radical doctrine fit perfectly into the political notion of marriage being an equal partnership and authority comes from the consent of the governed. Grace would not command and love would not command is what was being subtly taught. Love would first get the wife's consent and now eventually the children's consent.
Finally the home was invaded by the TV and when husbands allowed their wife and children to watch the jesting, silly talk, filthiness, sexual immorality and impurity that TV consistently throws out they came directly under God's wrath which scripture says comes upon all who participate in such like sins.
Peter Helland locates what he thinks are the primary destructive forces undermining the husband/wife relationship and thus causing the American family to disintegrate. And as the American family goes down many families in the world are falling apart for some of the same reasons. First, as professor Gordon S. Wood taught, the Americans prior to 1776 shifted from having the family relationships being governed primarily by fear to love. Instead of following the scriptural command for children to fear and obey their parents and wives to fear and obey their husbands the Americans shifted the emphasis to love without the fear. Wood argues that this created confusion for the husbands trying to govern their homes. Wives still addressed their husbands as Master but the fear for her husband was dissipating.
Then with the Civil War finished in 1865 even the word master was becoming a bad word because of the demonization of the Master/Slave relationship. Women quickly quit calling their husbands master more and more. Marriage was being coerced by the victors of the war of 1861 into a equal partnership. Husbands started losing much more control than ever before.
Next there was now after the war a big theological vacuum created by the defeat of the Bible Belt. John Nelson Darby came from England and planted his heretical doctrines into America. Fundamentally he introduced the notion that we are in the age of Grace after leaving the dispensation of law. Darby's notion of grace started entering into more and more Christian homes. His radical doctrine fit perfectly into the political notion of marriage being an equal partnership and authority comes from the consent of the governed. Grace would not command and love would not command is what was being subtly taught. Love would first get the wife's consent and now eventually the children's consent.
Finally the home was invaded by the TV and when husbands allowed their wife and children to watch the jesting, silly talk, filthiness, sexual immorality and impurity that TV consistently throws out they came directly under God's wrath which scripture says comes upon all who participate in such like sins.
