Mr Bigg's RPE blog

Below is the work of one student who recently completed the Human Relationships revision question. Let’s look at it:

Part D: Explain what Christians believe about the purpose of marriage

Christians believe that the purpose of marriage is to bond a man and a woman together in the eyes of the church forever. They believe that it is a holy union that should not be taken upon lightly and is only for people who are in love and are truly committed to each other for the rest of their lives. This is shown in the marriage ceremony because they promise to stay together forever in their vows.

Note that she makes a good point about the purpose of marriage (directly related to the question) and then expands on it to clarify what she means.

They also believe that marriage is to create families. Roman Catholics especially believe that sex should not happen outside a marriage and so when a couple is married they are able to create children. This is shown in the Bible when in Luke when it says that “when a man leaves his family and is joined to a woman they shall become one flesh”.

Another clear point, with some explanation. She could perhaps have made explicit what might be meant by “one flesh”. Note the use of a quote to back up her argument though.

Christians also believe that marriage is a way to show their love and gratitude to God. It is a way to spread God’s love and to demonstrate the way in which his perfect design has caused two people to find each other and want to dedicate their lives to each other.

Textbook. Well-developed. See, you don’t have to write masses!

Part E: “Women should always obey their husbands”. Discuss

Britain is a traditionally Christian country but as time has gone on there has been more opposition about the views on a man and woman’s role in marriage within Christian dominions.

Christians such as Roman Catholics normally take a more traditional view on marriage saying that a man should be the head of the household and a woman should stay at home and be helpful towards their husband’s career. This view comes from reading the bible quite literally. They use the verse “It is not good for man to be alone, I shall make a helper for him” (Genesis). This quote is fairly self-explanatory but shows that God felt that the woman was made to help her husband to provide for the family by being there for him and his career. For instance if he needed to move to another place for his job she should be willing to go with him.

Roman Catholics also reference Genesis according to the story of Adam and Eve. Because God told Adam and Eve not to eat from the tree of knowledge but they did anyway they were banished from the Garden of Eden. Catholics feel that because Eve was the first to disobey God and convince Adam to do the same she isn’t as wise as he was. They think that if a woman is left in charge she may make the wrong decisions so man should be in charge of the household.

A well-explained view of what “traditional Christians” believe, backed up with references to the Bible.

Other more modern Christians take a very different view on how the roles of men and women differ. A lot of modern Christians say that because the Bible was written a long time ago a lot of it is no longer valid. They say that because women now have better and more equal rights they should be allowed to do whatever they want. Quotes such as in Genesis that say that man needs a helper should be interpreted differently and mean more that women should be helpful to their husbands but it should work the other way around as well.

They also argue against the point of Eve disobeying God first because the point out that Adam was also unwise in being so easily convinced to disobey God. He was also weak minded which means that even though Eve was the first to eat from the tree he may not have chosen any different had it of been him in her situation.

Looking at the issue from another angle… Nice work. Note that she also offers an alternative interpretation of the Genesis story – good analysis!

Both Roman Catholics and more modern Christians like C of E Christians say that men and women should respect one another and treat each other like equals. This is because the Bible says that “there is no man nor women for you are all one in Jesus Christ” (Galatians). This shows that whether you take a more traditional view or a modern take on Christianity and the Bible God wants us all to be treated equally by each other.

Acknowledging similarities. She could develop this by discussing the nature of equality. What does the concept actually mean?

I think that modern Christians have a better view on how women should be to their husbands. I think that a long time ago when women did not have rights the quote from the Bible about women being subject to their husband may have been true. However now that we live in a modern time the Bible has to be interpreted differently. I think that it is very important for both the man and the woman in a marriage to respect each other and to treat each other as equals because we are all God’s children and should be able to have the same opportunities. If a woman wants to work and a man wants to stay at home with the children who is to say that because of some very old words that they cannot do that.

A decent summary and conclusion. She brings in some new ideas and explains them. Again, just for fun she could have gone into the concept of equality in a bit more detail, but this is good as it is…

Hope this helps! Feel free to leave a comment if you think you could develop this further…