Married, Without Children

I am a Christian and my husband is Muslim. We’ve both always wanted children, but have been avoiding it for the obvious reasons of how they will be raised morally and religiously. Neither of us want to budge either way. What does the Bible say about marriage issues such as this?

Q. I am a Christian and my husband is Muslim. We’ve been married almost 6 years now. We’ve both always wanted children, but have been avoiding it for the obvious reasons of how they will be raised morally and religiously. Neither of us want to budge either way. What does the Bible say about marriage issues such as this?

A. 1 Corinthians 7:14 says the the children of a couple with only one believer are saved. And Matt. 18:10 says that the guardian angels of our children are in constant communication with the Lord. But, as it is with everyone, that only applies until they reach the age where they can determine right from wrong. And that’s where you’ll have problems.

If you’re both serious about your beliefs, then you each believe that the other’s religion is false. That means that you each believe the other will perish upon death. That’s bad enough. But neither of you wants to yield to the other in how you would raise your children, because neither of you wants to bear children believing they’ll perish if they follow the other parent’s religion.

You’re smart to have delayed beginning a family until this is resolved. The more dedicated you both are to your own religion, the bigger this problem will be. You may eventually decide to remain childless.