On Marriage and Family Life

Rating:
Summary: Should be manditory by law to read
Review: I really mean what I said in the title, this should be manditory by law to read for anyone even considering marriage. If people seriously weighed Chrysostom's words on marriage, divorce would probably be cut by half.

St. John, as always, lays forth an eloquent (yet simple & easy to understand) convincing argument for his views on marriage. He doesn't advocate marrying for money or looks or social position (something I'm sure is way more common than most people would want to admit) he advocates marrying for virtue. St. John argues that virtuous and poor is a million times better than excess gaeity & wealth.

He lays out criteria for selecting a wife, as well as traits that husbands and wifes should display. Not only does he discuss the institution of marriage, but he also talks about wedding celebrations themselves. Other topics such as sex are discussed as well (he doesn't hold negative view of it.)

He greatly stresses EQUALITY OF RESPONSIBILITY of both partners to make a marriage work. Children are also discussed in great detail. St. John Chrysostom is not only a great writer, but a holy man whose words we should try to incorporate into our lifestyles.

Highly recommended book.

Rating:
Summary: The Advice Is Great
Review: The Advice given it this short work is great. Please, though, don't think that this is an entire work that Saint John wrote on marriage and family life, rather, it is just a compilation of modern times of a few seperate sermons which Saint John gave on days in which the Scriptural readings were dealing with marriage. Many would consider it chauvanistic, but others, like myself, know it's not so much chauvanistic as realistic. A must read and a must take-to-heart.

Rating:
Summary: Chrysostom doing what he does best
Review: This book gets 4 stars only because I reserve 5 stars for something really extraordinary. Chrysostom is a top-shelf preacher, and even though I may not agree with all of his dogma, his gifts cannot be denied. Let it be said from the outset that any preacher can benefit from reading his work, if only stylistically. Chrysostom has a gift for making his point in a stunning yet simple fashion. He deftly slices through to the heart of issues and sets his arguments in "real world" terms.

These sermons have to deal with, as the title says, marriage and family life. A real knockout is Chrysostom's sermon on how to choose a wife. Although it is set in 4th-century proto-Byzantine culture, the basic principles still stand. If only more preachers would offer such frank counsel on this issue from the pulpit today....

This text is inexpensive, so I would recommend giving a copy to someone who is at the stage in life where they are forming their ideas of marital/romantic relationships. Chrysostom's voice provides a good -- and well-articulated -- counterpoint to the dreck that passes for relational counseling these days. If nothing else, this volume may make them think critically about the cultural assumptions of our modern society, so they do not merely get swept along in the current of trendy mores.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful advice!
Review: This text is easy to read and understand, I recommend it to anyone, whether or not they are considering marriage. The book is most definitely appropriate for High School age and up. However, the lessons that are taught in "On Marriage and Family Life" should be taught to children from birth.