Integration Model

First and foremost, Christian PREP is a program reflecting a clear commitment to traditional Christianity and Christian truth. The model of integration employed here gives first place to the revelation of scripture and second place to sound research. If revelation and research are in conflict, revelation wins out. The fact is, however, that revelation and sound research are consistently and amazingly consistent in those areas where they speak to the same phenomena. This has been one of the most exciting aspects of bringing this project together.

There are many areas in which Christian teaching and secular research overlap, and while one source or the other may vary in detail or depth, the overall emphases are remarkably similar. For example, both scripture and Christian traditions strongly emphasize communication, commitment, and relational harmony. The research in these areas not only offers important and insightful findings that seem to hold great promise in helping couples, this research does not lead to conclusions that are contrary to Christian principles. Rather, the research seems to us to add to the foundation of Christian principles by suggesting specific strategies or insights that help couples achieve the kind of relationships reflected in scripture and traditional Christian teaching. Basically, while this integration has taken a great deal of hard work, the integration is natural and does not require force. This should not be a surprise.

Thomas Aquinas was one of the greatest Christian philosophers and thinkers of all time. Living in medieval times, he grappled with the integration of Christian revelation and truths reflected in the teaching of great philosophers before him, such as Aristotle and Plato. His teaching led to a principle that has been often repeated in Christianity over the hundreds of years since he lived: All truth is God's truth.

"Thomas' thought embodied the conviction that Christian revelation and human knowledge are facets of a single truth and cannot be in conflict with one another." (Academic American Encyclopedia, 1992)

Thomas held that we can, in fact, learn truth by means in addition to revelation, particularly through certain types of reasoning and empiricism. This does not mean that humans are infallible in their reasoning; we have plenty of evidence to contradict that. Aquinas believed that truth was potentially learnable and that if arrived at, it would not be in contradiction to revelation. This is the model we espouse in developing this program. Christian PREP is based on widely accepted Christian truth and sound research, converging on core principles and strategies for helping couples have strong, joyful, lasting marriages that reflect Christ's character in love. This is the goal of this program.

Christian PREP is not meant to be many things that it could have tried to be. It is not a discipleship program for individual growth. It may be considered a form of a discipleship program for couple growth that should certainly lead to individual growth. After all, what better crucible for spiritual growth than marriage? But we recognize that this program has a certain place in the church, and it cannot be all things to all people. For example, some may rightly say that the ideal Christian marriage is one in which two individuals are mature in Christ, and are therefore able to move toward and love each other from a wellspring of spiritual maturity. Undoubtedly this is true, but spiritual maturity is a lifelong process, and this program has a very specific relational agenda to fulfill in six sessions. Hence, there may not be as much emphasis on individual spiritual growth as some may wish. Nevertheless, if one really examines what is taught, this program seeks to lead couples to a model of marriage characterized by respect, sacrifice, commitment, love, and peace; the very things Christ emphasized.

Christian PREP also avoids less central teachings in Christianity that are controversial within the body of Christ. It will be apparent that we do not intend to skirt key issues and truth, but it will also be apparent that we are not out to alienate groups of believers for the sake of tangential and/or controversial teachings. Furthermore, there is ample room in the implementation of this program for specific denominations to add emphasis to teachings favored by those groups.