The Purpose of the Family in Theological Perspective

The Purpose of the Family in Theological Perspective

Lindsay ROBERTSON

This paper describes a theological rather than a merely practical perspective on the function of the family. Many Christian books on the family tend to be practically oriented, assuming certain things about the importance and priority of the family without serious theological work. Such work requires the use of biblical, eschatological and christological tools. A biblical theological approach is first used to highlight important aspects of the family. This investigation points to both a central place of the family as well as a de-centring of the family in terms of a greater divine purpose. This duality needs theological accounting. The greater purpose is first seen in terms of the church, though church itself is seen in eschatological terms. The family is then seen as an eschatological concept pointing to and contributing to the final purposes of God for his people.

These ideas are given theological form using various resources: Barth and Bonhoeffer especially, and Pannenberg and Hauerwas among others. Barth's view of covenant partner is useful as a basis for theological reflection but his discussion falls short of its promise in his work on the parent- child relation. Barth, though, recognizes that the church and not the family is the focus of God's work in the world. Bonhoeffer's work on the divine mandates (work, family, government, church) helps develop some of Barth's ideas. Christ is the goal of the mandates and as such the family is important but not ultimate and serves the wider purposes of God. The mandate of the church is central and is served by the family, though even church is not ultimate. Thus the family is for the sake of the divine task and goal. Various conclusions and implications are drawn out in terms of the relation of family and church and family and the state.