The Sacrament of Marriage in Christianity

The sample essay on Marriage Essays deals with a framework of research-based facts, approaches and arguments concerning this theme. To see the essay’s introduction, body paragraphs and conclusion, read on.

Sacrament of Marriage in the Roman Catholic Church

The Roman Catholic Church has a very specific interpretation of marriage and how it should be accepted. Marriage is one of the sacraments. It is one of the ceremonies that the Roman Catholic Church expects a devoted catholic to go through. It is believed to bring you one step closer to God.

Marriage is also a covenant, a promise to one another. It is an eternal agreement between two people to allocate themselves to each other.The Catholic Church believes that the relationship between two people should be like the creation story. Adam and Eve are model parents and set an example to all couples. God wants all Catholics to have a bond between each other shown in the creation story.Jesus had a different view to the Old Testament which was that “two people become one” once they unite.

Jesus said “No human being must separate what God has joined together”, meaning that it is not our job to choose to separate. Jesus was completely against the idea of divorce.The Pope has a similar opinion to Jesus that “a man and a woman pledge themselves to one another in an unbreakable alliance” meaning that a marriage is unbreakable and that they are choosing to enter an alliance, a life long commitment.

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Hosea emphasised that marriage was a symbol of Gods covenantal love.He said “show your love for a woman who is committing adultery with a lover”. He is trying to say that we should be able to forgive if we have sinned against one another. The love between two people should help their marriage survive through a crisis.The Catholic Church believes it is unacceptable for two people to divorce as this is emphasised in the New Testament although it does conflict with Moses’ teachings who said that divorce was acceptable. Although a marriage can be annulled if it is proven that it was never real or happened for the wrong reasons.One of the main views of the Catholic Church is that marriage is there for two people to become one. There is a special union that a couple shares in a marriage, sexual intercourse is a sign of this union where two become one. If both partners choose to separate they are still joined after becoming one and God lets no one divide. In a marriage sex is seen as a proper expression of the love of a man and a woman only within marriage. They are able to have children with the encouragement of the church. The churches teachings explain that the sex and the possibility of having a child should not be separated. The church teaches that marriage is the only appropriate relationship, within which sexual intercourse should take place.In a marriage ceremony, two people make a commitment which is done by the marital vows. These vows include what their duties are and what they are expected to do as husband/wife. “For richer for poorer” is one of the vows meaning that they must stand by each other if they are experiencing any financial difficulties. “In sickness and in health” meaning that if one partner unfortunately is sick, the other must support them and continue their marriage. There are many other vows which explain their responsibilities.The Catechism is a book on moral issues which explains the Catholic Churches views on society. One of the categories that are highlighted in the catechism is that “adultery, divorce, polygamy and free union” are all offences against the dignity of marriage. “Masturbation … pornography and homosexual practices” are also considered to be sins. The Catholic Church is strongly against any one that does not follow the creation, the uniting of a man and woman.Polygamy is another category that the church does not approve of where some one is married to more than one person. This is explained in 1 kings11: 3 that Solomon had “married 700 princesses and also had 300 concubines.” Solomon had disobeyed Gods laws and was lead astray by these women.The Catholic Church basically believes that when two people are married they have made a promise and are united. They are able to have sexual intercourse and then be able to have a child. People are expected to keep their vows and accept the moral issues mentioned in the catechism.AO2: Explain how in the course of their marriage the couple would apply these beliefs and highlight specific instances where Christian belief makes a real difference to a healthy marriage, you may include a variety of Christian responses to the beliefs andProblems that arise in marriage (598 words)Many marriages are successful and do not experience any serious problems whereas there are many marriages which do experience serious problems. These problems can be related to their vows or other social problems. Many things can be done to help save a marriage during a crisis with help from the church or groups.When a marriage is going through problems they can often reflect on the vows by keeping them. These marital vows can help resolve problems. “For richer for poorer” is one of the vows that we are expected to follow. Marriages can run through financial difficulties which can lead to problems. One partner may feel they are unable to live with the other if they are not being supported financially. Marriages running through these difficulties are expected to love each other even if they are experiencing financial problems.Another vow that is expected to help resolve problems is “in sickness and in health”. This vow means that if either partner is having health problems, the other should support them. Many marriages can break down as one partner may feel they are unable to love and care for them. Using this vow they should be able to continue loving each other and enable them to resolve the problem by making time to care for the person. Two people in a marriage are expected to be together till “death do us apart”. People can reflect on this vow and help them want to continue the marriage and love each other until either partner dies.A marriage can experience many problems and pressures in society. Marriages can break down for many reasons. Some times there could abuse in the marriage leading the victim to feel the only way out it is to separate. A large percentage of marriages fall out due to one partner committing adultery and the other may feel they cannot forgive. In these situations divorce can be inevitable. A couple may have an annulment if they prove that the marriage was either rushed or one was forced or it happened for the wrong reasons. Once a marriage has been annulled it has the advantage of completely being eradicated from the churches records and are able to re-marry in a catholic church.When a couple is experiencing problems they can get help from the church where there are certain groups organised for marriage problems. They can all receive help from counselling groups such as “Marriage” and “Relate”.A couple may feel that they must stay together no matter what due to certain reasons. If children are involved the couple may feel that they have to stay together for them and to prevent the family from breaking up. A couple may stay together for religious reasons. They may be religious and determined to keep the marriage together to obey the Roman Catholic views. After having marital problems it could make a relationship much stronger between two people.In an R.E video, “R.E collection”, I learnt about couples who have truly kept the vow “in sickness and in health”. Anita and Glenn were together for five months and then married for 6 months. Unfortunately Glenn suffered in an accident and became disabled. Anita was enable to care for him and had to look after her child. She did not divorce Glenn and visits him very often feeling that her marriage is still very alive and true even though she is no longer able to have a sexual relationship with him. This is an example of a true Christian who continues to love her husband “in sickness and in health”.AO3: Life long marriage is too much for Christians to live up today. The church should be willing to drop this vow. Do you agree? Give reasons for your answer showing that you have thought about more then one point of view. (462 words)I disagree with this statement and that this vow should not be dropped. I think people need someone they can rely on and be able to share the rest of their life with as this is essential in a fast changing world. They can have a future together that they can look forward to. When getting married a couple speak out their vows. The vow “death do us part” should not be broken as the Roman Catholic Church says. Jesus wanted marriage to be permanent just like his love for the church, which is permanent. He made it clear that he did not like the idea of divorce. A couple should not be parted until one has died.Getting married is necessary to show the couple is ready to make a commitment to each other. A couple needs this security, this commitment to show the eternal unity between two people. Marriage can enable a couple to have stability therefore a couple are able to provide a loving home for children. It gives the couple and children security. If the couple have a strong lasting relationship it can prevent adultery. A couple’s relationship can grow and their love deepens.Jesus made it clear that when two people are joined it is not up to us to decide to separate. Having a divorce is a direct violation to the vows and Jesus’ teachings. He wanted us to work through what ever problems or difficulties we have in relationships which could help make a couple stronger.How ever in many situations it could help if this vow were to be dropped. Couples might be having serious problems such as physical abuse. If there is abuse in the relationship it may be extremely difficult to get through and divorce could be inevitable. Some relationships could be experiencing insoluble money problems. They could be in debt and the relationship is just not progressing. There could be serious sexual problems in the relationship. One partner may desperately want a child whereas the other may not or one partner may be unable to have children. Either way it could cause serious problems leading to divorce.Sometimes relationships have no trust where one partner maybe committing adultery or one partner may not be able to trust the other leaving a very weak relationship as trust is essential in a marriage.Many people feel the love between two people dies out after a while making it impossible for them to be able to make an honest commitment. As people seem to be living longer we are expected to love our partner for a long time – the rest of our lives, which can be difficult, and divorce maybe necessary. If children are involved, divorce can have a big impact on their lives.