Dr. Clyde M. Narramore, iduate of Columbia Uni versity, New York City, is chologist and Consultant in Research and Guidance ith one of the largest school systems in America.
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Your Answers Recently we printed the following letter from a woman seeking advice from other readers of T h e K i n g ’ s B u s i n e s s : 1 have one daughter who is 17. She is going steady with a very fine Catholic lad of 21. I have talked to her about the unhappiness of a mixed- association and eventually marriage. M y heart is very heavy as she has asked me to sign for her to get married and for her to become a Catholic. 1 feel if I sign for her I’m not only signing away my fu ture grandchildren but my only child. W e need your prayers and advice. M any readers wrote offering a word o f advice and promising to pray for this situation. W e have se lected a few of the representative replies. From a business man As a father that with God’s help has reared two fine Christian chil dren, I offer this advice: never yield to your children in matters where God’s W ord clearly indicates what your stand is to be. Do not sign for her to marry this man regardless of what she does because o f your re fusal. Our heavenly Father will bless you for your faithfulness if it is done for His honor and glory. From a former Catholic I’m not one to write in answers or suggestions to other people, hut I feel I must to this woman. I would say do not sign for her to marry. In the first place the girl is too young, a few months or even weeks might be just the time needed to change her m ind or find someone else. Our daughter is 17 now, but at
15 she wanted to marry an older boy, shortly after we first allowed her to date. I talked to the boy’s mother and the boy and stopped it, as they were going to elope to an other state. Today she has a very nice boy friend nearer her age who is going to college, and she is more ready to make decisions and isn’t nearly so anxious to jump into mar riage. One of our sons married a Cath olic girl. I had a talk with him after his first date with her, but he laughed at the idea it might lead to marriage. I begged him not to take her out again, as we are funda mental Protestants. He finally mar ried her and promised to raise the children as Catholics. Th ey have three children. I love m y daughter- in-law, she is lovely and a good w ife and mother but m y son never speaks of religion or enters a church door. It hurts to see m y grandchildren praying to all those saints and wear ing medals, etc. I lived for a long time in a convent and was con firmed a Catholic as a child. From Oregon If the mother c o n s e n t e d she would be committing a grave sin. I married a Roman Catholic with the intention of joining his church, but the Lord intervened and showed me that the Roman Catholic Church has added to and taken away much of the W ord o f God, against which there are solemn warnings in the Scriptures. A fter 20 years o f marriage, we are still poles apart on religion, which has caused me no end of grief, plus many awkward situa tions and embarrassment to the chil dren. It would take too much space to list the heartaches, and even trag edy I have experienced because o f being “ unequally yoked.” God has
a plan for us and that plan includes the life partner. If she marries this Roman Catholic, she would ignore God’s plan and I can, from bitter experience, predict that she will be in for real trouble. She m ay think it w ill break her heart now, but a heart broken in doing right will soon be healed b y the mercy of a loving heavenly Father. If she goes headlong against the direct com mand of God in this matter her heart w ill be broken a thousand times. From Maryland I know from m y own recent per sonal experience just what this mother is passing through. M y son was to marry a Catholic girl. He had a talk with the parents and priest and was led to believe he could marry her even though he re mained true to his Protestant belief. But the priest finally persuaded the girl to break the engagement as he felt sure that m y Christian son would never change his faith and that would lead to an unhappy mar riage. I was extremely worried as I live in a different city and didn’t know the girl and both were old enough to do what they wanted. So I just put the burden on the great Burden Bearer— our Lord and Saviour. And that is how m y prayers were an swered— by the priest himself for- biding the marriage. From Kansas As a minister I would advise: 1) refuse to sign and explain that it would be disobedient to God; 2) pray as you have never prayed be fore; 3) talk to your pastor and get him (along with other consecrated Christian friends who w ill keep things in confidence) to pray dili gently with you.
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