The family is under attack in America, and as American culture spreads globally, this assault on family values extends worldwide. The traditional family structure, once a source of pride and central to the American dream, is now in decline across every sector of society, including schools, churches, government, and media. Various forces deliberately undermine the family, such as the push for alternative lifestyles and partnerships that challenge the conventional model of a man, his wife, and their children. These efforts, though representing a small percentage of the population, wield disproportionate influence to disrupt traditional family norms, marriage, and childrearing practices. Beyond intentional attacks, family life suffers from broader cultural shifts over recent decades, including a focus on individual desires over responsibility, stemming from movements that prioritize personal freedom and sexual license. Such attitudes erode trust and stability within marriages, often bringing additional complications like disease. Furthermore, societal changes have moved women out of the home and into competitive roles with their husbands, disrupting the cooperative effort needed to raise a family. Emphasis on individual rights over community and responsibility further weakens the family, which has long stood as a symbol of these values. Historically, family problems are evident from the very beginning of humanity. The first family faced serious issues, with discord and poor decision-making leading to dire consequences, including the emergence of violence among siblings and a corrupt society. In contrast, a later family, led by a righteous man and his supportive wife, provided a better foundation, setting a positive standard for society despite eventual decline. These early examples highlight the foundational role of family, showing both the potential for failure and the possibility of success when guided by proper principles. Throughout history, family dynamics reveal ongoing challenges and lessons. Detailed accounts of patriarchal families illustrate recurring issues and the importance of family in shaping society. God's purpose from the start has been centered on family, aiming to bless all families of the earth through a chosen lineage. This focus underscores the significance of maintaining strong family units as a reflection of a greater divine plan.

Just as societal influences have impacted the church, so too have they affected the family, often leading to conflict and dysfunction. Men and women frequently experience disputes due to unclear roles and expectations, resulting in strained marriages and family units. God, who is not the author of confusion, desires an orderly pattern for families, having established them as a fundamental social and biological unit for humanity. Throughout history, the family has been a conduit for both blessings and struggles, embodying security and protection alongside conflict and disappointment. Individual behaviors within the family can bring either blessing or judgment to the entire unit, highlighting the interconnectedness of family members. God's grace and justice are often channeled through family structures, emphasizing their importance in His plan. Despite separations, God seeks to reunite families, underscoring their paramount role in human life. The family is not merely a physical entity but also a place of reconciliation and harmony, intended to be organized with a clear structure to avoid chaos and maintain order.

Family problems significantly contribute to the risk of delinquency and mental health issues in children. Living in a step- or single-parent household more than doubles the risk of delinquency by age 14. Young males raised without a father are substantially more likely to engage in criminal activity. Boys growing up outside of intact marriages are, on average, more prone to end up in jail. A large proportion of youngsters in the juvenile justice system come from disrupted families, with many having parents who are divorced, separated, or never married. Across America, seventy percent of youth in state reform institutions have grown up in single- or no-parent situations. Swedish adolescents in single-parent households are twice as likely to abuse drugs or alcohol, twice as likely to attempt suicide, and about one and a half times as likely to suffer from psychiatric illness. Children from broken homes face a higher likelihood of experiencing depression, anxiety, phobias, and obsessions over their lifetime, and as children, they are more likely to be aggressive and disobedient. The state of a youngster's family is a primary determinant of their risk of displaying anti-social behavior or suffering mental illnesses as a child and as an adult. Without two parents, married to each other and working as a team, a child is more likely to end up in the criminal justice system at some point in their life. Two parents can better detect and correct a child's behavior problems through task-sharing, such as ensuring scholastic achievement, which often suffers in single-parent families due to the sole parent's time and energy constraints as the breadwinner. Poor school performance can lead to hating school, dropping out, and ultimately entering the justice system. Children in single-parent homes are also more likely to suffer from attachment disorder, failing to form strong human attachments during infancy, especially if the remaining parent is overwhelmed or preoccupied. This lack of attachment can hinder the development of a conscience, leaving the child without a check on hurtful impulses, potentially leading to sociopathic behavior where they do not care about others' opinions and act on selfish impulses. The costs of disrupted families are high to the child, their family, and society. Families bear hidden financial and emotional costs, often seeking help from relatives or placing the child in specialized private schools or therapy. Emotional and financial stress can further strain family life and affect siblings. When behavior becomes severely disruptive, authorities get involved, and public costs rise through expenses for judges, police, probation officers, social workers, prison staff, psychiatrists, and parole officers. These damage-control costs have risen exponentially over recent decades as the percentage of children growing up in intact families has decreased. Funds spent on correctional systems crowd out resources for other government services like road construction, health care, education, sanitation, and the arts. Personal decisions about family structure, such as divorce or raising a child without a father, have significant spillover effects on society at large.

Any given doctrine must be built layer by layer, combining and comparing scriptures rather than allowing a single scripture to determine the doctrine. When we understand that porneia includes all the hideous perverted sexual sins that go beyond ordinary adultery- including bestiality, pedophilia, homosexuality, incest, and every other imaginable sexual perversion, we understand that Jesus gave a greater latitude and flexibility in these divorce decisions than we had earlier assumed (based exclusively upon adulterous 'fraud'). Any violence against the marriage contract (stemming from unconversion) would constitute grounds for divorce, and would permit the converted partner to remarry. Mutual access to the tree of life (God's Holy Spirit) gives marriage the best (actually the only) chance to succeed.