On the Other Hand: Christianity and Dual-Master Bedrooms

Last updated on: June 7, 2011 at 1:43 pm by Ben Bartlett

On the Other Hand: Christianity and Dual-Master Bedrooms 2011-06-07T13:43:46-06:00 Ben Bartlett

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

I was struck by several articles (here, here, and here) discussing a surprising phenomenon… the rise of the “dual-master” bedroom.

Apparently, large numbers of new homes, especially custom homes, are being built with separate bedrooms for husband and wife. I encourage you to read the articles, because they draw out the many complexities of this issue.

On one hand, I can imagine Christians condemning this architectural trend without reflection. After all, it seems right in line with the increasing individualism and isolation of our culture, things we tend to view with dismay. It can seem like a threat to the “one flesh” ideal of marriage. And when we hear about a couple sleeping in different rooms, we immediately assume there’s either a short-term fight or a long-term problem going on.

Pastorally, I do have some of these concerns. Being together at night brings a level of accountability that many (most often men) tend to need. And abandoning classic structures and rituals can have the dangerous impact of allowing people to drift away from interest in their relationships more easily than they might have.

But on the other hand, it is our responsibility as Christians to take challenges like these carefully and seriously, and to respond with Scripture rather than with stigma. And try as I might, I cannot immediately see a reason to say, “no,” to couples sleeping in different rooms if they hold to all the Scriptural directives on marriage. This is especially true for those who find that it brings more zest and less stress in marriage. In fact, at other points in history this was quite a common practice, and it is interesting that we will often look to those periods for guidance in other areas but not in this one.

I suppose my greatest hope, while watching trends like these in our culture, is that church leaders would be forced to think carefully about how they care for, counsel, and encourage the marriages in their congregations. New times and changing mores present dozens of unique challenges to assumptions we never thought would be assailed, and it is important that we practice careful thoughtfulness about each issue. If we don’t, we’ll be forced to make blanket ethical statements without strong Scriptural backing… an approach that tends to alienate people from the church rather than drawing them in.

Asides

On the Other Hand

Previous Post

June 6, 2011

Citizenship Confusion: Should We “Vote with Our Dollars”?

Next Post

June 8, 2011 Making Sense of "Culture Making", Part 1

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Asides Elsewhere Featured Film Games General Culture Headline Literature Music Of the Moment Podcast Politics RetroPost Sports Technology Television Uncategorized Viral

Select a Month February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz