Is Fatherlessness a Leading Cause of Dysfunction in Our Society?
By Movieguide® Contributor
Where have all the fathers gone? This is a heartbreaking question, with 18 million children in the United States who live in fatherless homes.
Filmmaker Eric Swithin recently shared his thoughts on this problem on the Crossmap Podcast with Chris Carpenter. When asked what has caused so much fatherlessness in our nation, Eric Swithin gave a compelling response.
“The enemy’s most probable cause of action is to kill two birds with one stone, and that is to get inside the family, to take out dad, and to breed brokenness for generations to come that only gets worst with each generation.”
Today’s statistics would support Swithin’s statement, and show the negative impacts on children without a father: 85% of imprisoned minors come from a home without a father. A third of pregnancies that come from a fatherless home end in abortion. 63% of children who die by suicide come from a fatherless home.
These facts are devastating, and there needs to be a solution.
Swithin believes that the answer is simple and has been around for a long time. The Church.
In the interview, he shared, “Where did orphanages come from? Where did hospitals come from? The Church started all this stuff. And so when people say the churches don’t do much of anything, no, we do most of the foster care, and most of the adoption. And if we would just go back to doing what we used to do, which is leading the pack and leading the country, I think we would see this problem lessen greatly.”
Other Christians in leadership hold this same perspective. Michael W. Smith, renowned Christian artist, has made similar statements. In an interview with the Christian post, Smith stated “It’s a crisis that we need to wake up to, realize that we’ve got to be a part of the solution, and we have the tools to be a solution and help. Let the Church rise up, and I’m pointing the finger right at me too.”
What is the solution to this issue where the Church seems to fall short. Both Swithin and Smith have proposed the same solution: mentorship.
“We need a lot of surrogate dads. We have thousands of young men who need mentors, and I don’t think that’s the government’s job. I think it’s the Church’s job to mentor.” Michael W. Smith told the Christian Post.
Swithin began an organization to help end the fatherless epidemic called “The Alliance.” According to their website fatherlessepidemic.org, THE ALLIANCE is a network of Christ-centered ministries across the United States who are committed to ending the fatherless epidemic through mentorship.” On the website, people can become members, get involved, and offer donations to help foster mentorship within churches and raise up Christian fathers who are committed to their families.
