Relationships and Families - Role and purpose of families, marriage Flashcards
Define fidelity and its importance.
Staying faithful to your partner without committing adultery.
It is important as it protects the stability of the family unit.
What are the purposes of families?
- God provides them to develop living and respectful relationships
- Place for nurturing and disciplining children
- Children can be brought up with Christian values and an understanding of faith shown by infant baptism and confirmation
What should the relationship between parents and children be like?
Parents should respect their children and children should honour their parents.
What does the Bible show in relation to families?
- Family unit comprises of a mother, father and children .
What do the different denominations say about families and marriage?
- Church of England says each diocese should have marriage courses
- Catholic Church says family is the cell of social life.
What does marriage do for a Christian couple?
- Evidence of spiritual unity
- The vows are between man, woman and God
- The promises made at the service should not be broken
- God’s presence in the marriage makes it stronger
What are the 3 blessings offered by marriage?
- Procreation and nourishment of children
- Correct place for sexual relations
- Help and comfort during all aspects of life
What should a Christian marriage reflect?
- Christ’s love, as Christ is forever committed to the people in the church just as the married are committed to one another
- Also Christ showed his love for his people by sacrificing his life on the cross, in the same way a married couple should be prepared to love one another by being selfless.
What are the Catholic and Orthodox marriage services like and what do they represent?
- Marriage is a sacrament
- Marriage creates a unique and unbreakable bond - indissoluble
- The couple must be baptised and one must be Catholic for it to be a Catholic wedding
- Brings God’s grace to help each be faithful to the other and to be good parents to their children.
- Catholics: nuptial mass where the couple bring the bread and wine to the altar, active role allows them to direct thoughts to God.
What is the Anglican marriage service like and what does it represent?
- Wedding at church adds spiritual dimension to marriage as God is included
- Any heterosexual couple, baptised or Christian, even mixed faith marriages are allowed
- Reading of the banns, allowing people to object the marriage.
- Vows and prayers bring blessings to the marriage.
What are the Non-conformist churches marriage services like and what they represent?
- More free, bride and groom plan the marriage
- They write their own vows, allows couple to focus and say things to God
- Quaker weddings have no minister, couple sit in silent congregation until the right time to say their vows
- Friend/relative reads out the certificate
- Congregation remains silent until someone feels they need to speak as God has ordered them to.
- Everyone present signs the certificate to stress the belief union is being made between the couple and God.
