'Therefore a man leaves his father and
his mother and clings to his wife, and
they become one flesh.' Genesis 2:24
Unitative
Conjugal
God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and
multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over
the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every
living thing that moves upon the earth.” Genesis 1:28
Procreative
Children are the fruit (outcome)
of the love between the man and
the woman.
'Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man
should be alone; I will make him a helper as his
partner.” ' Genesis 2:18
The purpose of the Christian family is
procreation, education of children and
companioniship.
'The Christian home is the place
where children receive the first
proclamation of the faith. For this
reason the family home is rightly
called "the domestic church," a
community of grace and prayer, a
school of human virtues and of
Christian charity.' CCC 1666
Types of family
Nuclear
Extended
Same-sex parents
Bigamy
Polyagmy
Polyandre
Blended
Forms of Christian support for thr family
Sunday school
Marriage preparation course
Adult 'Christian' education courses, like Alpha
Contraception
Two main views: Catholic -
contraception is a sin and Protestant -
contraception may be used for the
purposes of family planning.
The view of the Catholic Church: 'The
Church, ..., teaches that each and every
marital act must of necessity retain its
intrinsic relationship to the procreation of
human life.' Humanae Vitae 11
The view of the Anglican Church: 'Nevertheless in
those cases where there is such a clearly felt moral
obligation to limit or avoid parenthood, ... the
Conference agrees that other methods [of
contraception] may be used, provided that this is
done in the light of the same Christian principles.'
Lambeth Conference, 1930, Article 15
'I, N., take you, N., to be my
husband/wife ... till death us do part.'
The Church of England marriage vows
Life long
Divorce
Two main views: Catholic - divorce is
not possible (so one cannot re-marry)
and Protestant - divorce is possible (so
re-marriage in Church is)
'The Church of England teaches that marriage is for life. It
also recognizes that some marriages sadly do fail and, if this
should happen, it seeks to be available for all involved. The
Church accepts that, in exceptional circumstances, a
divorced person may marry again in church during the
lifetime of a former spouse.' Marriage in Church after
divorce, A form and explanatory statement,
Marriage in the Anglican Church is not a
sacrament it is a covenant/contract.
'Divorce is a grave offense against the natural
law. . . . Divorce does injury to the covenant of
salvation, of which sacramental marriage is the
sign. Contracting a new union, even if it is
recognized by civil law, adds to the gravity of
the rupture: the remarried spouse is then in a
situation of public and permanent adultery ...'
CCC. 2382-2384.
Marriage in the Catholic Church is
a sacrament, a sign of Christ's
love for his Church.
'The sacrament improves natural love by giving
spouses a supernatural model for their union. They
should love each other as Christ and the Church love
each other. (Eph 5:22)' Denz. 971
Natural Law is an ethical theory used by the Catholic Church.
It is based on the belief that it is possible for the human mind
to understand the basics of God's will since He created the
world, and, just like an artist, some of His intentions would be
revealed through His creation. One of the key theologians
whose thinking underpin Natural Law theory is Thomas
Aquinas.
Same-sex marriage
There aren't really two views of same-sex marriage within
Christianity. The vast majority of Christistians think it is
not possible (the Catholic and Orthodox Churches, and most
Protestant churches including the Church of England).
They would point to the traditional understanding that
marriage is between one man and one woman. That God
made Adam and Eve and NOT Adam and Steve.
Essentially pointing to Natural Law. Those who do think it
is possible are denominations like the Quakers, the
Mennonites, the Unitarians and the Anglican Church in
the USA, ECUSA. These Christians will essentially be
pointing to Situation Ethics.
Situation ethics is an ehtical theory that is
situation based. There are no rules that must be
obeyed always and everywhere. Each situation is
unique (circumstances and people involved) so the
right thing to do will be different in each situation.
All the must be considered is what is the most
loving (defined as agape by Joseph Fletcher its
proponent) thing to do.
'God is love' 1John 4:8
Agape
The parable of the Good Samaritan is the example.
The Catholic Church says that marriage is between a man
and a woman is a sacrament and therefore blessings
cannot be extended to sin, to same-sex couples. "For this
reason, it is not licit [lawful] to impart a blessing on
relationships, or partnerships, even stable, that involve
sexual activity outside of marriage (i.e., outside the
indissoluble union of a man and a woman open in itself to
the transmission of life), as is the case of the unions
between persons of the same sex," Congregation of the
Doctrine of the Faith (2021)
'I celebrate our church’s decision to name the
sacred, life-long commitment of gay and
lesbian couples for what we experience it to be
– a marriage, not only according to the laws of
the state but also in Christian community.'
Bishop Mariann Budde, Episcopal Bishop of
Washington
Fornication
Cohabitation
'An absolute declaration that every sexual partnership must
conform to the pattern of commitment [marriage] or else have
the nature of sin and nothing else is unreal and silly.' The Most
Rev'd Rowan Williams, former Archbishop of Canterbury
Shun fornication! Every sin
that a person commits is
outside the body; but the
fornicator sins against the
body itself.' 1Corinthians 6:18
Gender equality
Christianity has, essentially, three views: A)
the Catholic view of complementarianism;
B) the liberal Protestant view of
interchangeable equality; and C) the
traditional Protestant view of 'male
headship'.
A) “Woman is given to man so that he can
understand himself, and reciprocally man is given
to woman for the same end. They are to mutually
affirm each other’s humanity, awed by its dual
richness. Pope John Paul II
No women priests. The Catholic Church points to the fact Jesus chose
male apostles, and they chose male successors. The Catholic Church
would say this is not GENDER DISCRIMINATION but gender
complimentarity as women and men have their own roles within the Church.
B) 'There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or
free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are
one in Christ Jesus. ' Galatians 3:28
The Church of England thinks men and women can play interchangeable
roles. It allowed women priests in 19 92 and women bishops in 2014.
C) 'For the husband is the head of the wife just as Christ
is the head of the church, the body of which he is the
Savior.' Ephesians 5:23
This is generally seen in evangelical and some pentecostal churches.