Short Spots                                                                                     

                                                                                                                   Vol. XV, No. 7, August 2002

Bible in More Languages: The 2001 edition of the Scripture Language Report indicates that during 2001 the Bible became available in 24 more languages. One or more books of the Bible are now printed in 2,287 languages. The complete Bible is available in 392 languages, with eight languages reported complete for the first time last year. [RNS]

Study: Divorcees less happy: The study, the first of its kind, found no evidence that unhappily married adults who divorced were typically any happier than unhappily married people who stayed married. Researchers, led by University of Chicago sociologist Linda Waite, also determined that two-thirds of unhappily married spouses who stayed married reported that their marriages were happy five years later. Divorce did not typically reduce symptoms of depression or raise self-esteem, the study found. The authors of the study said that divorce, while eliminating some stresses and sources of potential harm, may create other problems -- such as adverse reactions of children; issues in custody, child support and visitation orders; new financial or health stresses for one or both parents; and the uncertainty of new relationships or marriages. Three broad headings may be used to identify ways that marriages that were once unhappy got happier, according to the study. (1) The marital endurance ethic: over time, couples endured their problems and saw a resolution of such issues as financial problems, job reversals, depression, child problems and even infidelity. (2) The marital work ethic: spouses actively worked to solve problems, change behavior or improve communication within their marriages through arranging more time together, enlisting help of relatives or close friends or consulting counselors. (3) The personal happiness ethic: marriage problems don't seem to change dramatically, but individuals do. Spouses reported finding alternative ways to improve their own happiness and build a happy life despite a disappointing marriage. Couples who stayed together and became happier invested themselves in overcoming problems, minimized the importance of difficulties they could not resolve, and actively worked to reduce the attractiveness of

alternatives. The study debunks the popularly held notion that divorce is the answer

to marital unhappiness. [BP]

BWA committee sees CBF membership if CBF separates itself from SBC: A recommendation to accept the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship into the Baptist World Alliance in 2003 has been made by the BWA membership committee, contingent upon the CBF declaring itself a distinct organization from the Southern Baptist Convention. The 120-member General Council, during its July 8-13 annual meeting in Seville, Spain, heard the report from the council's membership committee July 12. The BWA membership committee made its recommendation against what it acknowledged as its "usual practice" to delay acceptance of an applicant organization that is "in public disagreement with an existing member body of the BWA ... until everything has been done to deal with ongoing disagreement, public conflict and hurt." Morris H. Chapman, president of the SBC Executive Committee, expressed concerns about the membership committee action. "The process is now flawed, as the entire General Council has been engaged in matters ordinarily assigned to the membership committee. I believe the committee's willingness to set aside its usual process can only be explained by what appears to be the determined intention of some members to promote and facilitate the membership request of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship a year in advance." The Southern Baptist Convention, with 16 million members in 42,000 churches, is the largest member body of the Baptist World Alliance and provides about one-fourth of the BWA budget funds. Chapman told Baptist Press the statements of the committee "appear to be extremely contradictory: on one hand saying that the CBF has made a clean break with the Southern Baptist Convention, while on the other hand, stating they want affirmation that the CBF has done so." Chapman also told Baptist Press, "To say I am aggrieved [over the membership committee report] is an understatement. I have personally worked diligently, along with other SBC leaders, for 12 years to establish a strong tie with the BWA and to communicate to world Baptist leaders

that Southern Baptists wanted to walk beside them in efforts to reach the world for Christ. In one swift and needless action by the membership committee, the valued relationship I thought we had built may have been damaged beyond repair. Frankly, all this leaves me puzzled and concerned as to the future relationship of Southern Baptists to the Baptist World Alliance." [BP]