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Discussion Page on Marriage

JohnHurst

contribution to discussion day, 25 Oct 2014

Background

• Statement of UCA Theology about Marriage
• Acknowledge Disagreements
• Informed and Faithful discussion
• Marriage Service liturgy is starting point
  1. The Gathering
  2. Declaration of Purpose
  3. The Word
  4. The Marriage
  5. Prayers
  6. The Blessing

Here tackle just the first two.

1. The Gathering

• Marriage service is a service of worship
• Also a witness to promises and commitment

Doctrine

• Creation - marriage is the Christian context for procreation
• Fall - marriages do fail
  • levels of failure: human joy, human sin, human brokenness
• Redemption - marriages can be repaired
  • if not, people can be repaired
  • divorce and remarriage?

Practical Considerations

• divorce is a remedy, not an intrinsic good
• to lose sight of the theology of marriage is to lose sight of the Xian view of marriage
• NOT Xian!:
  • hostility towards sex
  • assumption of perfect innocence
  • pessimism about or rejection of marriage

Same Sex Marriage

2. The Declaration of Purpose

Biblical Foundation

• Draws heavily upon Genesis
• A profound document - how do we interpret it? Stumbling block, or Milestone, for the human journey?
• Adam and Eve
• Women as property, cultural issues

Sexual Faithfulness

• Xian view: Marriage or Celibacy (celibacy better!) Are these the only two?
• Does marriage as "full expression of physical love" (i.e., "good sex") mean that other forms of sex are bad?

De-facto hetereo- and homo- partnerships

• Is faithfulness possible? Are these fruitful relationships? Is it about "what's in a name?"

Children and the Purpose of Marriage

Child rearing has been decoupled from marriage through the (birth control) pill.

3. The Word

4. The Marriage

5. Prayers

6. The Blessing

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