tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18628978.post2142375785359766951..comments2024-02-18T10:19:46.501-08:00Comments on Matt Mikalatos: Guest Post from Author Renee Fisher: DEAL BREAKERS!Matt Mikalatoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13279070118483678882noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18628978.post-54739231888170450162012-02-21T11:27:03.639-08:002012-02-21T11:27:03.639-08:00That actually sounds like a very good response: be...That actually sounds like a very good response: be as sympathetic as you can manage; and offer what help, hope, and encouragement you can.<br /><br />I just thought of a third example - it skipped my mind earlier, I think because I'm know the husband (online) but not the wife.<br /><br />In all three cases, it was the husband who lost his faith first. Whether that's typical, or significant of anything, I don't really know. I suspect it relates to gender roles and gender expectations, but that's too small a sample size to say for sure. In all three cases, the husband wound up agnostic or atheist. (I'm acquainted with some mixed-faith marriages, but all the ones I can think of were different faiths before they got married: Christian and Jewish, Christian and Muslim.)<br /><br />In all three cases, the marriage survived - not unchanged, but intact.<br /><br />In one case, the wife also lost her faith; it took a couple of years, but at this point she's what I'd call "functionally atheist". (I think she self-defines as agnostic, but I'd have to double-check that.)<br /><br />In the second case, the wife remained (and remains) a devout and active Christian.<br /><br />The third case is the one that I'd forgotten earlier, and I'm not sure exactly where she ended up in relation to her Christianity. As I understand it, she doesn't consider herself a Christian anymore, but whether she would consider herself atheist, agnostic, or something more like Deist I really don't know.Michael Mockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06233321050691782148noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18628978.post-15434086591359446862012-02-21T09:22:39.134-08:002012-02-21T09:22:39.134-08:00@Michael - Wow. I've been thinking about this ...@Michael - Wow. I've been thinking about this all morning. The only verse I can think of is the Parable of the Seeds. Was her (or his) salvation one that fell among thorns? Was the evidence of the fruits of the spirit? Are they broken? Grieved by their circumstances? Were they hurt by members of the church? A death in the family? I just have so many questions and obviously can't judge a person's heart. At the very least I would hope to encourage someone and cry with them.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18628978.post-81356555785128997702012-02-21T06:47:18.486-08:002012-02-21T06:47:18.486-08:00Interesting. What would you say to someone whose l...Interesting. What would you say to someone whose life partner <em>became</em> a non-Christian after years of marriage (and after years of devout belief)?<br /><br />For the record, I know two such couples; so the question isn't just hypothetical.Michael Mockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06233321050691782148noreply@blogger.com