By Gary Collins
Hodder & Stoughton. 351 pages. £9.99
ISBN 0 340 665149
This is the second in a new I believe series, which aims to stimulate thinking on current issues and to encourage Christian living. It is written in an informal, personal style with many examples from family counselling and the author's own life. This makes for a lively and at times moving read.
Collins deals with family and marriage in a fast-changing world, and against the background of consumerism and lifestyle choice which is sometimes called post-modern. However, the emphasis throughout is on the family rather than the social background. He asks how Christians, and particularly the local church, should respond to families in pain, and rejects retreat into a nostalgic fantasy of a Golden Age when family life was trouble-free. Rather, he advocates practical action based on understanding change in the world around us, and calls on the church to give 'direction, healing, hope and security'. There are sections looking at specific topics such as divorce, single parents, abuse, homosexuality and abortion. The book is addressed principally to parents; there is little for children or young adults.
