<p>or The Case for Early Marriage or not.
[The</a> Case for Early Marriage | Christianity Today | A Magazine of Evangelical Conviction](<a href=“http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2009/august/16.22.html?start=2]The”>http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2009/august/16.22.html?start=2)</p>
<p>Interesting. Not sure the author has all the answers, but he raises some interesting questions about conflicting teachings in society (not just Christian society, either) today…</p>
<p>I still find it weird that at nearly 26 I was at the median bridal age… I felt barely ready for marriage and I’d dated my husband for nearly eight years by that point.</p>
<p>“Most young Americans no longer think of marriage as a formative institution, but rather as the institution they enter once they think they are fully formed.”</p>
<p>This is a good insight. </p>
<p>I would add that Americans might have once thought they were fully formed at age 20, but no longer do.</p>
<p>“The abstinence industry perpetuates a blissful myth; too much is made of the explosively rewarding marital sex life awaiting abstainers.”</p>
<p>I think this is a good point - although I don’t think it’s just the abstinence industry (whatever that is!) that promotes this image. The entire wedding industry promotes the idea that if you don’t have the perfect (read: expensive) wedding, your marriage is off to a poor start.</p>
<p>Interesting that the father of the article’s author, a pastor, would rather preside over a funeral than a wedding…</p>
<p>Thanks for posting that link - very interesting.</p>
<p>My dad said he and his peers felt that society approved when they married. I doubt that a majority of young people feel that today.</p>