After the wedding there is usually a party called a reception party were any people not invited to the actual wedding ceremony can come along to congratulate the couple on their marriage. The Clergy like the bride and groom has an important role in the marriage ceremony as they are the people who direct the service and are legally allowed to marry the couple as long as there is are witnesses present.
Explain the reasons why many Christian couples do not “live together” before marriage?
Many Christian couples do not live together as the Bible and many Churches are against sex before marriage, this is called chastity. Christians believe that all unmarried people should be chaste by avoiding sexual relations, the Church and the Bible says “That is why man leaves his father and is united with his wife, and they become one.” This idea is of two becoming one, is of a couple uniting in an intimate sexual way. St Paul said “If the unmarried cannot control themselves they should marry, better be married than burn with vain desire”. He believes that a man and a woman who love each other would like to engage in intimacy should get married before they do. So as not to sin and please God as well as themselves. Christians believe that sex is a sacred act given to them by God. It is special because it is the recreation of life; it demands true love, responsibility and commitment. Sex is wrong when not welcomed by one person or when it is a selfish act. St Paul says “An unmarried man concerns himself with the Lord’s work because he is trying to please the Lord. A married man concerns himself with worldly pleasure, because he wants to please his wife and so he is pulled in two directions”. This means that a man who is looking to get married is distracted from their Godly duties by having a family of their own. Some religions ask their members to take a vow of celibacy. They choose not to have sexual relations of any kind in order to devote their lives to God as Christ did. They think of the church as their family and feel that it is a lot more important and they don’t want to be distracted by love and having a family to look after.
Churches believe that marriage is a sacred, permanent and exclusive act and when couples are living together unmarried this completely undermines the belief of the church and so not many Christian couples break these beliefs.
“Christian teachings emphasize the importance of the traditional family unit” to what extent has the break down of family life contributed to the rise of ‘yob’ culture?
Yob culture is on the increase due to divorce and people living together before marriage. In recent years marriage has gradually become less sacred. It has become acceptable for people to divorce their partner and remarry as many times as they want. The breakdown of family life has contributed to this, as parents do not teach their child about marriage and its sacred meaning. As families are less committed to each other and do not communicate as much as they used to. If a family breaks down, there are not many consequences, as the father is still made to pay for their child’s education. This means that the mother would have no reason to stay with the father because of financial reasons. But one consequence is that this affects the children and it makes them see marriage in a less sacred way, therefore making divorce seem more acceptable to them, these factors contribute to yob culture.
