Discuss Christian Views on Contraception, Marriage and Divorce Essay

Explain Christian beliefs about contraception (6) Christians believe that God created humans and that humans should ‘grow in population’ and so therefore they should reproduce naturally and grow in numbers. The Roman Catholic church believes that contraception is immoral and wrong since they regard it as artificial and unnatural since it prevents new life and this is not what God intended humans to do. God wants use to be ‘fruitful and increase in number’ they believe that sex should not carried out with no intention to create new life. Christians believe that God made most humans fertile since God has destined for use to create new life; God has planned our life even before we were born and so some Christians believe we should not interfere with God’s plan by using artificial means. The Catholic Church believes the use of contraception is sinful. Yet in today’s society, some Catholics believe that it is important to believe in our conscience and so contraception may be acceptable. This is particularly the case, were The Church of England are not against the use of contraception as it allows a couple to think about when to actually have a child and so contraception results in the child actually being wanted and loved since we should ‘love thy neighbour’. Both churches agree that contraception is acceptable if it protects the health of the couple, i.e. it stops the prevention of HIV/AIDS and so in these circumstances contraception is acceptable. 1. Explain how a Christian marriage ceremony might guide a couple in their married life (6) Christians believe a Christian marriage has vows in front of God, therefore the fact that God is a part of the ceremony the vows are extremely important since the husband and wife promise to be with one another ‘in sickness and health’ therefore these vows brings the couple closer in relationships and they can support one another since ‘It will make a helper suitable for him’ therefore the ceremony Is an act to express their love for one another and the promises that they are willing to follow. The ceremony may guide the couple in life since once they are married the ‘two will become one flesh this shows that they will equally live amongst each other and they have equal values and they should and care for each other. Prayers are held in the wedding to ask for God’s blessings therefore this leads couples into a moral way of life. The exchanging of rings is symbolic of the commitment that they have for one another and that they will always support one another in their married life. 1. ‘God would never approve of civil partnerships.’ Discuss this statement. (12) Many Christians have different opinions about civil partnerships and whether God would approve it or not. Some Christians would argue that all people should be treated the same no matter who they fall in love with, the Bible teaches that equality is very important ‘neither Jew nor Greek’ and so civil partnerships should not be judged as immoral. The Bible teaches that God loves all people since it is his creation as God made ‘man in the image of God’ and so God will still love those in a civil partnership as the Bible teaches that God treats them equally. Some Christians would also argue that God created love ‘brought her to the man’ and so if God didn’t approve of civil partnerships God would not allow people to express their love. Some Christians believe that same-sex couples should have the same freedom to marry that other couples have since they should be treated equally and God welcomes his people with love and compassion. The Bible clearly shows that God not judge others and in fact, teaches to ‘love thy neighbour’. On the other Hand The Roman Catholic Church and Church of England is against Civil partnerships as they believe it is immoral and goes against God intention to grow in numbers and ‘multiply’ the fact that new life can be created from a male and a female partnership is acceptable however a couple with the same sex cannot create new life and so goes against God ‘man lies with a man†¦detestable’ The Church believes that God gave women and men separate roles in the family- the women should care for the children at home and so therefore a couple with the same sex would result in the child not being cared for in the correct way as intended by God- therefore to some extent God may go not approve civil partnerships. Overall I believe that God would not approve of Civil marriages but may accept that they occur in today’s society, the fact that God loves all his people no matter what race, sex or appearance- this shows God treats everyone equally . God gave humans their own conscience and so to some extent it is humans’ choice as to who they fall in love with and so I believe God may accept civil partnerships. Describe Christian beliefs about Divorce (6) Christians belief a marriage is a life time commitment amongst a couple. However there are different views about divorce. The Roman Catholic Church believes that divorce is immoral since during the couple’s marriage ceremony they have said vows to one another in front of God, the fact that they have promised to God that they will live together ‘in sickness and health’ shows that these promises cannot be broken, and if so, it is immoral ‘A man..be united with his wife.’. These Christians believe divorce is indissoluble. The Church believes the legal agreement is broken between a marriages but the holy agreement is not. But, the church understands that divorce can be painful and so the couple should be supported by community. Yet, the couple should try and work together to restore the marriage. Catholics sometimes annul marriages so they discount the vows made and in these cases it is acceptable. The Church of England does recognise that divorces may occur and so they should be cared for and supported by others, the church believes it has a duty to support the couple in times which are hard. The church believes it is important to try and restore the marriage in order to retain happiness and joy in society since the marriage ‘two will become one flesh’. If a divorcee wants to remarry, it is up to the vicar to agree to the marriage or not. ‘Women should always obey their husbands’ Discuss the statement. (12) To some extent, one would argue this statement is outdated since women’s roles are becoming just as important as men’s and the increase in emancipation of women shows that both men and women are treated equality. This is also shown in the Bible, as God mentions there are ‘neither Jew nor Greek’ therefore God loves and cares for women and mean just as much. And so women should not look up to men and be treated differently according to the Bible. The Bible teaches that both roles of women and men are just as important and they rely on one another to live a stable lifestyle and so this equality shows that women should not obey men. In fact the Bible teaches that all humans, including women, are given a conscience and they can choose right from wrong and so therefore women can choose whether to obey their husband or not as they have a free conscience. However, women should obey men to some extend as the man is regarded as the leader of the household and so needs respect and obedience in order to show man’s role in a household. The Bible teaches that that women should ‘submit to your husbands’