Protestant Marriage Research Paper

The Anglican Church was founded in the year 1534 having the direct cause being after a disagreement between the pope and the King of England. The church today has approximately 85 million members (Office, 2017) and is the second largest church in Australia behind the Roman Catholic Church. (En.wikipedia.org, 2017)

The majority of marriages consisted of a couple who married for love and were open about it. There were rarely any divorces that happened due to the involvement of the church and not wanting the reputation of having a broken family to go around where they lived or

THE PREACHER’S WIFE The Preacher’s Wife Laquista Satterwhite Aiken Technical College Author Note This paper was prepared for Public Speaking 209-067 taught by Professor Zilliox

Everyone in the world believes in some kind of religion. Whether it’s Christianity, Buddhism, Muslim, Atheism, etc. Each one of those religions is so unique and so diverse in the fact that they all have different values, beliefs, morals, dialogue, actions, and more. That being said, I have chosen to observe and write about the discourse community of the modern day Christian church.

As new generations form and new traditions are being exposed many are questioning if gay marriage, divorce, or even remarriage is what is making people question about being catholic. In an article called “What is a Catholic Family” written by Peter Manseau states:

When speaking of Christian behavior as it relates to marriage, Dr. Lewis says he hesitates mainly for two reasons: (1) due to the extreme unpopularity of the Christian doctrine on the subject, and (2) he is not married. Because of its importance in Christian living, however, he feels the need to discuss the subject.

The general church is the branch of government in the Church of the Nazarene that effectively and efficiently connects the members and resources of our denomination to preserve our core values and beliefs and advance our mission to preach holiness, make Christ-like disciples in all the nations, and bring relief to the needy. Recognizing the strength and equality of all partners, the general church combines and apportions time and resources for global mobilization. Simply stated, we can accomplish more united as a global denomination than we ever could at the local church or district level.

Ritual and Vows of Christian Marrage and Their Influence on the Differing Ways that Couples Approach Marraige and Marital Breakdown

Religion and the Bible encourage, and perhaps demand marriage from two individuals to create them as one. The Lord God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him (Genesis 2:18)".  "That at the beginning the Creator 'made them male and female,' and said, 'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh'? So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate (Mathew: 19:4-6)". Why does religion place such an importance on a union of marriage? An answer is suggestively related as to why automobile and health insurance companies provide a discount on their policies when filing married. According to State Farm Auto Insurance, two married individuals are much more likely to accept upon themselves responsibility, maturity, and a longer healthier and more satisfying life. Insurance agencies believe your life will be more structured and meaningful, to provide you with a policy. Living alone or entering and departing unstable casual

Unfortunately divorce has become a prevalent problem in the western world and Catholic Christians have not been immune to the issue. A survey conducted by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate, notes that, “Twenty-three percent of adult Catholics have gone through a divorce”, and of that percentage approximately, “Eleven percent of adult Catholics have divorced and are currently either remarried, living with a partner, or widowed” (Catholic Culture). Thus, almost one out of every four Catholics has been divorced and of that number ten percent have remarried or live “in sin”. This is problematic for those Catholics because they are no longer allowed to participate sacramentally in the Church. More to the point, participating in the activities that truly identify themselves as Catholic, partaking in the Sacrament of Reconciliation and the Sacrament of the Eucharist, are no longer available to divorced Catholics who are living with another and remarried Catholics who did not avail themselves of an annulment. Is there a solution, that is scripturally and theologically grounded, that may offer divorced and remarried Catholics an opportunity to return to the fold of the Catholic Church? The Orthodox Church

Many Christians refer to marriage as “Holy Matrimony.” This term is still used today but the truth of the meaning is not. There are three persons who make up the term, “Holy Matrimony;” God, Man, and Woman. Many Christians believe that marriage is a spiritual relationship that begins and ends with God. Therefore, it is a form of communion. (Martin, G. 2006, p. 97). Three or more people make up communion and without it, you can have no community. I believe communion is the breaking of the bread, symbolizing the body of Jesus Christ and the wine symbolizes the blood of Jesus Christ. Every Christian know this as “The Last Supper.” God is taken away from the institution of marriage, as well as all life, during the philosophical movement of the 18th Century. Once God is completely cut out of the foundation of marriage, then the only thing that is left is a binding contract between two individuals. What meaning does it have without the foundation of God? Christians view it as there is no meaning without God. It is a part of life to a non-believer, meaning one grows up, gets married, has children and then dies. Without God’s sovereignty providing the necessary community, the only

Screams fill the room to a point of no return, as the walls hold back the fierce fighting between the two. A young boy sits shaking in the corner not knowing what to do, or where to go as he watches the battle continue to fire, hoping this battle does not reach the point of no return. As the little boy watches on only imaging his memories of the last and hoping for the end, suddenly a loud bang fills the house and the little boy notices his father is gone once again. This same tragedy happens in many Christian homes across the world as many parents argue until the point of violence. However, should a couple stay truthful to their commitment to their partner, community, and their religion or should they sin in there yearn for happiness?

Often cited by Catholics is an interpretation of marriage as being “a promise made to God” and “a holy sacrament” that is only to be shared between one man and one woman. Other biblical interpretations suggest that a capital sin is committed by those in homosexual relationships and therefore must be strictly forbidden to all. However, marriage in itself is a secular institution, meaning that it is not subject to the ideals of any religion. Furthermore, any man and woman can get married at this time regardless of their religion. While same-sex marriages may not be welcome inside the Catholic Church, denying them outside of the Catholic Church is a discriminatory practice, allowed to occur in the name of religious preservation.

Marriage has evolved over time. Once, far back in history, when states were run in close cooperation with religious leaders, a marriage was strictly the dominion of the church, and the only definition was much like the one above (though they were more lax in avoiding incest than I would suspect Schulman’s proposed structure would be). In the eyes, there had to be a system where sex would be legitimized, while women and children were protected from it and its consequences. This made sense when repeated sex acts would almost definitely cause pregnancy, and possibly spread disease. As religion and government split into different organizations, each retained a definition of marriage that was a bit different from the other. Since religion held sway over what was considered pure and good, it took it upon itself to retain the parts of the old structure that dealt with the morality and social responsibility of marriage, and this is generally considered to be a social structure of marriage. And now, the social form of marriage is migrating into being controlled by the couple who are being married instead of their church. The government, on the other hand, became able to define who would be able to marry and place official benefits and restrictions on a married couple, creating a legal structure of marriage that was not the same as the social one. While

I was born and raised in a conservative catholic family. If I say today that I am more liberal as far as the Catholic doctrine is concerned my mother will probably have a heart attack. My parents have always strongly believed in the Catholic laws and traditions. Indissolubility of marriage was one of the principles I was raised to respect and obey. The Catholic canon law (Can. 1056) stipulates that, “the essential properties of marriage are unity and indissolubility, which in Christian marriage obtain a special firmness by reason of the sacrament”. This means that, one’s a man and a woman get married, there is no possibility to get divorced and worst of all, and they are banned from taking the communion at the mass. I was raised to believe in this solely. Growing up, I met incredible people and I learned so much about life. My strong believe in the indissolubility of marriage started dwindling. With time, I started questioning myself. Is it right for the Catholic Church to keep the remarried or divorced couples from taking the communion? Maintaining this law on the indissolubility of marriage, the Catholic Church does not only force couples to switch to other religions, but it also does not respect and honor its creed which forgiveness and love.