‘A man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife and the two will become one flesh so they are no longer two but one.’ (Matthew 19 4-6.) This teaching in the bible shows that it is expected for couples to have sex and reproduce and is important, for that is God’s will. ‘It is given that they may have children and be blessed in caring for them and bringing them up in accordance with God’s will, to his praise and glory’ (Alternative Service Book.) This states that having children is what many Christians are encouraged to do. Most Christian denominations accept adoption and fertility treatment for couples that are unable to conceive to have a larger family.
It is believed that to have a church wedding God and the church is blessing the ceremony. Christians believe that marriage is a vow taken before God and therefore it is very special. If the ceremony is in church they are taking a vow for life and to go against this promise is going against God, and should not break this by having a divorce.
Husband and wives exchange rings to symbolise the never ending love between them as a ring has no breaks and goes on forever like their vows and love for each other.
Marriage has many important ideas that have originated from the Old Testament. This shows that married life was one of God’s purposes for the creation of humans this is shown in Genesis. ‘It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him’ God believed that man needed to be with someone to love. ‘Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.’ (Genesis2.) God made a companion for Adam and believed that for him to be completely happy this was needed. It is therefore shown that men now need wives as Adam needed Eve. ‘The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called woman for she was taken out of man.” For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.’ (Geneses 2.)
b) Choose two different Christian denominations and explain how they apply this teaching to the issue of divorce and remarriage today. (21)
The Roman Catholic Church’s view on divorce and remarriage is that of no acceptance. The Roman Catholic Church does not accept a divorce as the conclusion to a marriage and therefore believes to remarry would be polygamous and committing adultery. ‘Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her. And if she divorces her husband and marries another man, she commits adultery.’ (Mark 10 11)
They believe that at the marriage ceremony the vows made, in front of God, were life long promises and are applicable until one partner dies. Making this promise before God is like making a promise to God and by breaking the marriage vow it is breaking the promise made to God. If a Catholic couple are legally divorced they will not be allowed to remarry in church and will not receive a church blessing for their new marriage, as they believe that they are still married to their previous husband/wife.
Jesus was once asked if divorce was acceptable first he asked them what was written in the bible: ‘Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of dismissal and to divorce her.’ But Jesus said to them ‘Because of your hardness of heart he wrote this commandment for you. But from the beginning of creation God made them male and female. Therefore what God has joined together let man not separate.’ (Mark10)
The Roman Catholic Church puts into practise the teaching that the main value of marriage is that of love. They believe that if, when the couple were getting married, they were willing to make the promise to stay together for the rest of their lives they must have had great love for each other. To throw this love away in a hasty divorce is not right. People considering divorces are taught that it is worth working to save the love for each other and not give up on the relationship and the love that they still have.
This belief helps to keep families together and by talking through problems is a lot easier on the family, especially children, than to have a divorce that will end up by splitting the family.
The Church has a system of annulment. This is not a divorce but a cancellation of the marriage. It is a declaration that the marriage has not taken place properly. The grounds under which an annulment may be considered are that no sexual intercourse took place between the couple or they were not in the right state to make the vows. This, for Catholics is accepted as it is not a divorce but a cancellation or a declaration that shows the marriage has not taken place properly.
The Church of England’s view on divorce and re-marriage is not as strict as that of the Roman Catholic’s. However in principle divorce and remarriage is not accepted or in any way promoted, as they believe that marriage is a promise that should not be broken. Their teachings are that marriage is for life but they have a much more modern view on remarriage. The acceptance of divorce and remarriage is increasing, as is the belief of the Church that there may be certain circumstances where it is completely essential for divorce to take place.
Like Roman Catholics re-marriage does not generally take place in the church. However unlike Roman Catholics this decision is completely the choice of the individual Church and Vicar. Increasingly vicars are blessing the civil marriages of couples after the wedding has taken place.
Some people believe that when they are taking their marriage vows saying ‘till death do us part’ is not referring to the physical death of one partner but the symbolic death of the love between the couple. Therefore to remarry after divorce is not committing adultery as the love between the couple has come to an end.
Although remarriage is increasing, the church will only accept this if all other options have been attempted. As with Roman Catholics, counselling is offered to couples on the verge of divorce to try and save the love and marriage, especially if children are involved. The main belief is that love is the most important part of marriage and everything is done to try and save the love between the couple.
c) “Divorce and remarriage can never be justified.” Give reasons to agree and disagree with this statement, using evidence form Christian teachings and practice. What is your opinion? Give reasons when you explain it. (15)
There are many reasons why people including Christians choose to have a divorce. ‘Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of dismissal and to divorce her.’ (Mark 10) In the Old Testament divorce was accepted, however Jesus taught to people who asked about divorce that ‘Because of your hardness of heart he wrote this commandment for you. But from the beginning of creation God made them male and female. Therefore what God has joined together let man not separate.’ (Mark 10) There are also many reasons why people including Christians, decide that divorce is wrong.
Christians are taught that love is the most important aspect of marriage and therefore if there is no love in the relationship there is no point in carrying on as husband and wife. One of the partners may have fallen in love with someone else and even committed adultery and therefore broken the vows of marriage.
Constant arguing may be taking place over everything and this may be upsetting to both the couple and any children they may have. This arguing may have lead to physical abuse and it not being safe for one partner in the relationship. Many people believe that there is no point being in an unhappy marriage when they could be out having fun. Alternatively they may decide that they are not ready for the commitment of marriage and prefer single life.
Many Christians feel very strongly on the subject of divorce and remarriage. They believe that the vows made in church have been made as life long commitments to their partners and that these promises were taken in front of God. Jesus said that divorce was wrong as it is breaking a promise made to God.
There are many problems to do with divorce. Finance problems, due to mortgage commitments and splitting possessions equally may lead to more trouble. Families are split in two by divorce. If remarriage occurs more people are involved in the splitting up process. Ex-wives/husbands may have feelings of resentment towards their ex-partner. These feelings may spread to their children making problems with which person has custody over them.
I think that divorce should be accepted, this is because people can change their minds about certain things and may decide they have made the wrong decision. However people that make decisions
