"Life long marriage is too difficult for man people today. The church should be willing to drop this vow." Would a Christian agree or disagree? Give reasons for your answer showing that you have considered more than one point of view.

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GCSE RE Coursework

Marriage

“Life long marriage is too difficult for man people today. The church should be willing to drop this vow.” Would a Christian agree or disagree? Give reasons for your answer showing that you have considered more than one point of view.

Some Christians believe that marriage should be the ultimate relationship. When two people get married they make a vow to stay in a life long committed relationship. . It is a Christian promise made before God and is significant and of great importance amongst all Christian denominations despite certain differences in opinions.

However, sometimes a variety of different circumstances can affect the longevity of a marriage. For example adultery is considered as a valid reason for a divorce as it is the breaking of one of the Ten Commandments, as Jesus taught “if a man divorces a woman for any other cause than her unfaithfulness, then he is guilty of making her commit adultery if she marries again” (Matthew 5:32). Another reason people may use to claim life long marriage is too difficult is domestic abuse. If a man were to be abusing his wife, then she should not be expected to stay with him in fear of being harmed.

Roman Catholic teachings state that once two people are married they have become “one flesh” (Genesis 2:24) and no one can separate them. If they are then divorced by the state, in God’s eyes they are still married so any other relationships they have are considered to be adulterous. The only accepted reason for remarriage in the Catholic Church is if either husband or wife has died. Despite these strict beliefs, the Church does leave the possibility of the marriage never actually taking place. This is when for specific reasons, the couple’s union was never genuine, for example one of the partners may have still been married or one may have lied when making the marriage vows or may not have understood the vows they were making.

Recently, many Christian denominations, excluding Catholicism have begun to accept divorce and altered their rules accordingly. An example is in the Orthodox Church the Church will grant a divorce and allow remarriage. There used to be a special service where the marriage would be ended, and when a second marriage takes place within the Orthodox Church, it is less joyful than the first. Although the Orthodox Church allows divorce and remarriage, very rarely is a third marriage permitted.  Quakers believe that if there is no spiritual union between husband and wife, then there is no point in having a marriage.    

However some Catholics believe if a marriage is not life long then the sacrament is not as special as it should be. It should be life long because vows for a life long relationship were made before God and “what God has joined together let no man put asunder” (Mark 10:9). Within a marriage people are also given the opportunity to start a family. To some Catholics, this may be reason enough to stay in a marriage. Marriage is also important as it controls sexual behaviour by encouraging abstinence until marriage.

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In my opinion marriage is a very important sacrament and marks a milestone in two people’s lives. I think it should be taken seriously and cherished as it is a declaration of love and commitment to each other as well as to God. I believe it is possible to have life long marriages; however I understand that in some circumstances this may not be easy. If a person has to decide on whether to stay in a marriage that is failing, despite every effort to make it last, for example through marriage counselling, then only as a last resort ...

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