Ruth Institute Blog

One of the most common things I see in regards to the marriage debate has to do with love. Here are a couple common misconceptions I have seen across the internet.

“When a gay couple marries, it is exactly the same as when a heterosexual couple marries. In other words, they are in love and want to spend the rest of their lives together.”

The relationship between the two couples is not the same. Since sexual activity is a huge component of marriage, the two types of marriages are not identical. Read more…

by Catherine Palmer

John Blake’s recent CCN article, “Why Young Christians Aren’t Waiting Anymore,” sparked a flurry of thousands of responses. Released in September 2011, the piece cited an article in Relevant magazine entitled “(Almost) Everyone’s Doing It,” exploring the sexual activity of Christian singles. But one finding, in particular, stood out from the miscellany: According to a December 2009 study by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, 80% of evangelical young adults (18 to 29) reported having had sex—just under the 88% statistic of unmarried adults overall. “Relevant theorizes about why it’s so hard for so many young Christians to wait, including the saturation of sex in popular culture, the prevalence of pornography and a popular ‘do what feels good philosophy,’” Blake writes. But are these listed sociocultural factors solely to blame? Or is there a concomitant reality at play here? Read more…

Here’s a good article filled with advice for older women to meet a husband.

Seeing as how I’m quickly approaching forty, and I can see fifty coming over the horizon, I evaluated the advice given in this article with one question in mind: would this work on me if I were single and approached by the woman who posed the question?

My conclusion:  it’s the best advice that can be offered for the question that was asked.

by Jennifer Roback Morse

Part 1 of 2

Dr. Morse gave this speech April 23, 2011, at Hong Kong Baptist University, at a conference of Western and Chinese scholars, entitled “The Family and Sexual Ethics: Christian Foundations and Public Values.” China is experiencing numerous problems due to family breakdown, including the one child policy, high divorce rates, and an imbalanced sex ratio. This conference was convened because many in China, even in the Academy of Science and in government,  are interested in what Christianity has to say about marriage, family, sexuality and society.  The conference papers will be translated into Chinese and published in book form.

Read more…

http://www.youtube.com/user/RuthInstitute#p/c/C2F189BD13941521/4/3GB7KMzqJb8

By Pat Hagan

It’s a bit of a cliche that women settle down for love, and men for regular sex.

But scientists are claiming it’s true. A study shows that women agree to cohabit because they view it as a stepping stone to marriage.

Yet men move in hoping for more sex and to ‘test drive’ the relationship to see if it is worth sticking around. Read more…

[This one was my personal favorite.]

http://www.youtube.com/user/RuthInstitute?tr=y&auid=7985290#p/c/5/7Ee2mIfJ-XI

The New York Times description of their contest:

Three years ago we invited college students to tell us the truth about what love was like for them in this age of 24/7 communication, blurred gender roles and new attitudes about sex and dating. The response, from students at more than 365 colleges and universities nationwide, was overwhelming and eye opening.

So we’re asking again. If you have a personal story that illustrates the current state of love and relationships, e-mail it to us at essaycontest@nytimes.com. The winning author will receive $1,000 and his or her essay will be published in a special “Modern Love” column on May 1, 2011, and on nytimes.com.

The deadline is March 31st. We encourage young adults to:

a.       Enter the contest with a good, pro-marriage, pro-authentic love story. Send your entry to us as well. We cannot promise you coverage like the NY Times! But, we will happily consider publishing worthy entries on the Ruth Institute site, even if the Times doesn’t give you a prize.

b.      Write a blog post, critiquing the past winners, who can be found here.  Again, we will be glad to consider these posts for our site. I am frankly suspicious that out of all the entries they received, they couldn’t find anything remotely pro-marriage. As one of my colleagues put it to me, “I read two of the essays from last time and they are just…tragic.”  The Love and Fidelity Network is already all over this contest! And I do hope you all will get involved with this.

Send your entries and your critiques of past winners to Ruthinfo@ruthinstitute.org.

Go get your badges here. Cut and paste the code to insert a badge on your own website, blog, facebook page, etc. Get the word out about this conference regarding the four threats to marriage: contraception, divorce, cohabitation and same sex unions.

Read more…

‘Love and Life in the Divine Plan’ scheduled for Feb. 25-26, 2011

Contact: Mary Beth Hutchins, CRC Public Relations, 703-683-5004 ext 105, mhutchins@crcpublicrelations.com; Twitter: @MBwithCRC

NASHVILLE, Feb. 8, 2011 /Christian Newswire/ — In an age when traditional marriage is under assault from all sides, Aquinas College is preparing to equip area youth and young adults with the knowledge to defend what they know to be true. Read more…

from The Heritage Foundation

Marriage in popular culture has experienced its share of ups and downs, mostly the latter, in recent years. The decline of marriage has even spread to middle America, once the bedrock of healthy relationships and stable families. Men and women now increasingly forego the benefits of marriage for unstable cohabiting relationships and increasing numbers of children are born outside marriage. Despite these daunting challenges to rekindling positive popular attitudes toward marriage, the fight to restore the honor and stability of lifelong, married love is far from over. Read more…

by Carolyn Moynihan

A good, lasting marriage makes the spouses happier and healthier and increases their lifespan, compared with cohabitation. On average. That’s the net finding of a review of 148 studies in seven European countries, according to an editorial in the British Medical Journal.

So don’t let anyone kid you otherwise. A recent report from a New Zealand cohort study said that cohabiting relationships made the partners just as happy as marriage if they lasted. But they do not usually last as long as marriages, and that’s a fact. Read more…

The Ruth Institute’s Video Contest Promotes Positive Messages About Marriage

Contact: Mary Beth Hutchins, 703-683-5004 ext 105 (DC); Jennifer Thieme, 760-295-9278 (CA)

SAN MARCOS, Calif., Jan. 14, 2011 /Christian Newswire/ — The Ruth Institute, a project of the National Organization for Marriage Education Fund, announces Amy Flammanio as the winner of the Early Bird Contest of its first annual Reel Love Challenge, a video contest for young adults around the country inviting them to share what lasting love in marriage looks like to them. Read more…

By Stephanie Samuel|Christian Post Reporter

The National Organization for Marriage is encouraging youths to consider lifelong marriage with a video making contest called Reel Love Challenge.

The Ruth Institute, an offspring of the National Organization for Marriage, is hosting a video contest it hopes will open up dialogue about marriage. The Reel Love Challenge encourages millennials to send in video entries answering one or both of these questions: What makes lifelong love possible? And, why is it worth the effort? Read more…

by John-Henry Westen

SAN MARCOS, CA, January 4, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Ruth Institute, a project of the National Organization for Marriage Education Fund, has announced its first annual Reel Love Challenge, a video contest for young adults, aged 18-30. The contest is open to all young adults, married or single, male or female, in college, out of college, or never been anywhere near a college. “This contest is for everyone in the next generation to give their ideas about what sustains love over the course of a lifetime,” says Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse, founder and president of The Ruth Institute. Read more…

by Jennifer LeClaire

There’s plenty of talk about the attack on marriages and family. Now, the Ruth Institute, a project of the National Organization for Marriage Education Fund, is encouraging creative young adults to become part of the solution with a video contest.

The Ruth Institute just launched its first annual Reel Love Challenge, a video contest for young adults aged 18 to 30. The contest is open to all young adults, married or single, male or female, in college, out of college, or never been anywhere near a college. This contest offers a platform for a generation to offer ideas about what sustains love over a lifetime.

“Marriage will be what your generation makes it,” says Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse, founder and president of The Ruth Institute. “Divorce, adultery, even incest are all over the news. I urge all emerging adults to take matters into their own hands and begin to create a culture of fidelity and love.”

Roback says the Reel Love Challenge gives young adults a forum to start asking and answering, the right questions, such as “What makes lifelong love possible?” and “Why is it worth the effort?” She says the videos can be professional looking, or just done with a cell phone camera. The Ruth Institute is more interested in content, thoughts, and ideas, than Hollywood production quality.

Here’s the skinny on entering the contest: Read more…

We’re excited! The Reel Love Challenge is getting some coverage! Check out these sites that have picked up the story:

CharismaMag.com talks about RLC

LifeSiteNews.com talks about RLC

Do you know people who can spread the word about the Reel Love Challenge? Please share this link with them:

Reel Love Challenge

Thank you!