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The Christian Family
America's Favorite Book on the FamilyOver 1.2 million copies of The Christian Family have been sold in the United States alone since the first edition was published in 1970. And it has been translated into nine other languages!
Winner of the Gold Book Award (500,000 copies sold),
Winner of the Gold Medallion Award (ECPA), which recognizes excellence in evangelical Christian literature
Winner of the Gold Book Award (500,000 copies sold),
Winner of the Gold Medallion Award (ECPA), which recognizes excellence in evangelical Christian literature
Paperback
First published January 1, 1970
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
February 2, 2018
I would not recommend this book to anyone who is trying to build a happy and well adjusted family. It may have some tiny pearls of decent advice here and there, but ultimately falls flat with its insistence that children are basically evil, that God has ordained husbands to rule over wives and children, and that husbands have a godly mandate to whip, paddle, or flog their children until they have contrite hearts that want to obey their father and God. It is basically the same old nonsense that has been vomited up and regurgitated by James Dobson, Roy Lessin, Doug and Debi Pearl and other right wing fundamentalist Christians.
You may be wondering what pearls are to be found in the vomit. Basically, Larry Christenson makes the obvious point that children should not be the ones ruling their parents, and that discipline is essential to ensuring that children do not become dictators in the home. He also makes a strong case for teaching children, and training children to help perform jobs around the home, because such training will prepare them for success when the children become independent and provide them with the needed work ethic to secure a job. Where these pearls become covered in vomit is the author’s insistence that hitting children is the way a father is required by God to teach and correct children. The author then continues with oddly nostalgic stories about experiences of being beaten with razor straps, comments recounting how his father’s belt was used more on his backside than to hold up his father’s pants, and concluding with the idea that spanking a child is supposed to be an event.
When the author states that spanking is meant to be an event, he negates those who defend their use of spanking as being confined to a single swat to fully clothed bottom to shock the child and gain their attention. This author states that spanking should be an event, because it should last long enough, and should be hard and painful so that it evokes terror in the child. He then makes the argument that our relationship to God is based on such terrror, and that this terrorizing can be useful to change a child’s heart and bring them to a state where they accept God’s salvation.
The book also fails is its archaic view that women are not allowed to be leaders in the church or in the Home. It even seems to find fault with women who are in abusive relationships, and extorts them to be more submissive to their husbands in order to change their husband’s hearts. If my mom had let my father do most of the teaching and leading in our family, I would be doomed today. The author fails to account for the fact that many times women must lead the Home, because the husbands have abandoned the family, or are completely incompetent to lead effectively. My brother and I have no relationship with our father. Our father always relied on hitting us to teach us, and whenever he had the opportunity to teach us valuable tasks, like fixing parts of a car, he would become frustrated and scream and yell when he thought we were getting in his way. What valuable lessons I learned in life were learned through the close relationships I had with my mother, my maternal grandparents, and other loving authority figures I looked up to who never hit me.
You may be wondering what pearls are to be found in the vomit. Basically, Larry Christenson makes the obvious point that children should not be the ones ruling their parents, and that discipline is essential to ensuring that children do not become dictators in the home. He also makes a strong case for teaching children, and training children to help perform jobs around the home, because such training will prepare them for success when the children become independent and provide them with the needed work ethic to secure a job. Where these pearls become covered in vomit is the author’s insistence that hitting children is the way a father is required by God to teach and correct children. The author then continues with oddly nostalgic stories about experiences of being beaten with razor straps, comments recounting how his father’s belt was used more on his backside than to hold up his father’s pants, and concluding with the idea that spanking a child is supposed to be an event.
When the author states that spanking is meant to be an event, he negates those who defend their use of spanking as being confined to a single swat to fully clothed bottom to shock the child and gain their attention. This author states that spanking should be an event, because it should last long enough, and should be hard and painful so that it evokes terror in the child. He then makes the argument that our relationship to God is based on such terrror, and that this terrorizing can be useful to change a child’s heart and bring them to a state where they accept God’s salvation.
The book also fails is its archaic view that women are not allowed to be leaders in the church or in the Home. It even seems to find fault with women who are in abusive relationships, and extorts them to be more submissive to their husbands in order to change their husband’s hearts. If my mom had let my father do most of the teaching and leading in our family, I would be doomed today. The author fails to account for the fact that many times women must lead the Home, because the husbands have abandoned the family, or are completely incompetent to lead effectively. My brother and I have no relationship with our father. Our father always relied on hitting us to teach us, and whenever he had the opportunity to teach us valuable tasks, like fixing parts of a car, he would become frustrated and scream and yell when he thought we were getting in his way. What valuable lessons I learned in life were learned through the close relationships I had with my mother, my maternal grandparents, and other loving authority figures I looked up to who never hit me.
April 2, 2024
Some gems of wisdom here and there, but overall too outdated to be recommended.
October 15, 2024
This was a really good book. At least Part 1. I didn't read Part 2 as the author is Lutheran, and I didn't suppose I would agree with much he had to say about sanctification and salvation which is what Part 2 was about. His chapter to husbands was especially pertinent to me and helped me tweak my perspective of my wife even better. It was very biblical and practical.
October 20, 2017
Parts of this were excellent; parts of this were terrible; and parts of it were just plain weird. I assume that last is the result of it being written by a Lutheran in the 70s...
February 22, 2022
Used this in preparation for sermon series on Family. Oldie, but a goodie. Good Biblical insight.
September 27, 2015
An excellent read for the Christian family, and for anyone who loves God and desires to please Him. In the chapter entitled "God's Order for Husbands," below is an example of the strong exhortations found throughout the book. Husbands would do well to read this chapter often, or recall it's Biblically based instruction.
"And let not the husband despise the unpretending activity of his wife. It is with great injustice that he fancies that what she has to do are mere trifles. Let him remember that he is bound to cherish her, and to treat her feelings with delicacy. If he depreciates her work and responsibility, he causes her great hurt, which is not easily mended.
"Husband, consider your wife a treasure given to you by a bountiful God. Love her. Honor her. Recognize her talents. Appreciate her efforts. Be considerate of her feelings. With tenderness and sincerity express your love for her in some way every day.
"Husbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh with them" (Colossians 3:19). In these words, St. Paul mentions one fault in husbands which outweighs all others -harshness. Harshness undermines the finest marriage, which seemed to stand firmly as a rock. The husband comes to trust too much to the fidelity which lies at the bottom of his heart. He does not watch over his manner of expression in the little things. He allows himself to be careless where he ought to show the greatest tenderness and respect. It would be better to injure any other person in the world than this one person who has altogether given herself to him."
Very good admonitions for husbands. Take heed, and do today and forever. Again, a very good book. I recommend it highly.
"And let not the husband despise the unpretending activity of his wife. It is with great injustice that he fancies that what she has to do are mere trifles. Let him remember that he is bound to cherish her, and to treat her feelings with delicacy. If he depreciates her work and responsibility, he causes her great hurt, which is not easily mended.
"Husband, consider your wife a treasure given to you by a bountiful God. Love her. Honor her. Recognize her talents. Appreciate her efforts. Be considerate of her feelings. With tenderness and sincerity express your love for her in some way every day.
"Husbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh with them" (Colossians 3:19). In these words, St. Paul mentions one fault in husbands which outweighs all others -harshness. Harshness undermines the finest marriage, which seemed to stand firmly as a rock. The husband comes to trust too much to the fidelity which lies at the bottom of his heart. He does not watch over his manner of expression in the little things. He allows himself to be careless where he ought to show the greatest tenderness and respect. It would be better to injure any other person in the world than this one person who has altogether given herself to him."
Very good admonitions for husbands. Take heed, and do today and forever. Again, a very good book. I recommend it highly.
October 3, 2012
Over all liked it. I didn't agree with everything(especially his section on prayer) but I loved his divine order and other ideas. The writing isn't great but it isn't boring.
June 10, 2014
This book is generally good and easy to read. It is written from an Evangelical Protestant perspective.
August 5, 2016
May be offensive to some for its emphasis on traditional roles, but I found a lot of helpful, biblical information in this book.
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April 2, 2016I like this one
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews