Marriage differs in different denominations of Christianity. In a Roman Catholic service it begins with the Groom, best man and the guests. Shortly after the Bride arrives with her attendants and is walked down the isle by her father or a male from her family or close friends. The priest then prays for the couple. Then they exchange rings and vows.
“A man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife,
And they will become one flesh (Genesis 2:24) “
This is a quote from the Bible, this teaches Christians to be at one with their partners, and always stay together. There are many quotes like this from the Bible, they all mean different things, but all have relevance to Marriage.
“Man must not separate what God has joined together (Jesus, in Mark 10:9) “
This teaches Christians that marriage cannot be separated by man, only by God. Jesus taught that divorce was a sin so most Christians will try to keep their marriage going to stay and follow Jesus’ teachings and go to Heaven. So couples will go to marriage counselling. The Catholic Marriage Advisory Council (CMAC) and RELATE is just two of the many Christian marriage councils that are available. There is also Annulment if the marriage is not consummated, for example sleep with each other after the marriage. Also they can divorce legally but this will not be recognised by the Roman Catholic Church or the Church of England. Jesus once taught that you can get divorced if one of the partners had been unfaithful, like committing adultery, but this was said by Jesus that this was not the way in the beginning.
Christian teachings show that divorce is only allowed in certain circumstances, for example, rape. Other examples include incest, unfaithfulness and if the marriage was arranged. Roman Catholics do not allow divorce in any circumstances. Christians teach that divorce is most likely frowned upon and disliked as breaking a Sacrament is breaking the bond with God, Christians also teach that that divorce causes disappointment with God as you broke the love he willingly gave towards the relationship.
“I hate divorce,” says the LORD God of Israel”, (Malachi 2:16)
This teaches Christians that God hates divorce and doing so would disrespect him.
Divorce happens when a couple cannot simply live with each other, maybe due to arguing or in some cases abuse. Divorce is a last resort option to a relationship; couples can go to marriage counselling to try to recover their relationship. In the Roman Catholic Church it if forbidden to divorce under any circumstances. The Church of England allows divorce in these certain circumstances; rape, incest, abuse, adultery. Jesus also taught that divorce was allowed in unfaithfulness, and also said that this was not how it was in the beginning.
“...Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.” (Mark 10 2:12)
This teaches Christians that god has given them the gift of marriage and created them as one, they cannot break what god has created.
My conclusion to this essay is that Marriage should be the happiest day of your lifetime and you should stay with the person you love for a lifetime, and that you should only divorce if your partner had committed adultery or been unfaithful
