1. Secular & Christian Divorce

8/6/2019 1. Secular & Christian Divorce

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DivorceAims:.

To consider secular attitudes to divorce

To know and understand some of theChristian attitudes to divorce

Key terms:

Divorce

Annulment

Irretrievablebreakdown


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Key termsKey terms

Divorce Annulment

The legaldissolving of a

marriage so thatpartners are

free to marrysomeone else.

A declarationthat a valid

marriageneverexisted.

Irretrievable

Breakdown

to be

brokendownbeyondrepair


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Todays Focus

Todays Focus

1. To identify and list some key factson divorce.

2. To identify and explain some of theChristian attitudes to divorce.

3. To reflect on why people getdivorced and consider your ownopinion on the subject.


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Unfortunately, life isnt perfect and things dontalways work out the way we had planned.

It is very commonfor people whowere once in love

to go fromthis.............


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To

This..........


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Tothis...


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And

eventuallyto this.....


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What is your opiniononWhat is your opinionondivorce?divorce?

Starter Question

Give reasons for

your view.


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Whenpeople seek a

divorce they give manyReasons

List some reasons why people seek adivorce

(5 minutes)

Reasons for divorce?Reasons for divorce?


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Reasons for divorce?Reasons for divorce?

W

henpeople seek adivorce they give manyreasons. Some of themare: We arent really suited

to each other. Theres no spark left, we

dont get excited by beingtogether.

Shes had an affair withher boss. Weve fallen out of love. He hits me. Shes unreasonable.

Tasks

a) Do you think all thesereasons are valid?Choose one and explainwhy you think its invalid

b) What do you thinkunreasonable behaviouris?

c) People can get divorcedif their marriage hasirretrievably brokendown. What do you thinkcould lead toirretrievable breakdown


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Before a court cangrant a divorce, ithas to be shown

that the marriagehas broken down.

In 1974there were

113,000

divorces.

DivorceDivorce

some facts!some facts!

In 2002 there

were 160,000divorces.

A marriage is broken down if one

of the following can be proved:

Adultery (having

an affair).

Unreasonable

behaviour.

Two years desertion

The couple have

lived apart for two

years and the other

spouse consents to

divorce.

The couple have lived

apart for five years (no

consent is needed).

The UK has

one of the

highest

divorce rates

in the world.

In 2007 there

were 141,750

divorces, thelowest rate

since 2000.


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Divorce in Christianity

In Christian law, marriage is a sacred institution.

However, a variety of denominations have differentapproaches to divorce (the legal separation of a married

couple).But before looking at the Church

teachings on divorce it is

important to note what Jesus said

about divorce.

What God has joined

together, no man can

separate Mark ch10


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Divorce in the Church of England

Whilst the Church of England does not encourage divorce, it has the structure to help and

sympathise with those who find themselves in such a situation.

Divorce and the Reformation

Until the 16th century CE, the Church in England

recognised the Catholic Church and the Pope's

authority. However, when Catherine of Aragon failed toproduce a male heir for Henry VIII, and was considered too

old to give birth to any more children, Henry wanted to

divorce her. The Pope refused permission and so the only

way for Henry to get what he wanted was to break away

from the Vatican and make divorce legal. The Archbishop

of Canterbury granted Henry a divorce in 1533 (underpressure) and Henry made himself head of the Church of

England.

But just because remarriage is legally allowed, that

doesn't mean couples have an automatic right to remarry

in church.

A little History.........


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Religious Views on DivorceReligious Views on Divorce

1. Read the Christianviews of divorcesheetand complete the tasks.

Extension: Pick one of theChristian views and write asermon (talk given in aservice) on thatdenominations view ofdivorce and remarriage in

church.

Ex: Do yousympathisewith any of these views?Ifyeswhy,if nowhy

not?

Refer toChristian teachingssuch as forgiveness.

Start In the name of the

Father, Son and Holyspirit,Amen. Today I am going totalk toyou about divorce

RomanCatholic =priest

CofE = vicar/priest

FreeChurch =

Minister


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Divorce in the Catholic ChurchThe Catholic Church has strict guidelines on divorce and do not accept divorce.

The Church considers the bond of marriage to be a sacred bond that cannot

be broken.It reflects the words of Jesus what God has joined together, noman can separate. Marriage is both a legal bond on earth and spiritual bond

which God has witnessed. The promises made before God cannot be broken.

What is permitted in the Catholic church is an Annullment.

An annulment, is a declaration that the marriage was never valid in thefirst place.

An annulment will be considered if there is reasonable proof that the bond

between the two parties was invalid from the first day of marriage. An

annullment can be granted if it is proven:

The person was psychologically unstable at the time of marriage

The marriage was never consummated

One of the partners has hidden information such as a previous marriage,

impotence or infertility.


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Protestant approach to Re-marriage

The Protestant Church like the Church of England

teaches that marriage is for life. It also recognizes thatsome marriages sadly do fail.

The Church does not generally approve of divorce

The Churchaccepts that,in exceptionalcircumstances,a divorced person may marry againinchurch.

Ifit is the lesser of two evils


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In the Protestant Church the decisionof whethera divorced personis allowed to re-marry in church

is down to the priest carrying out the wedding.

Such people would also be expected to showremorse for the break down of their marriageand be willing to learn from their mistakes intheir next.

An increasing number of vicars are offering ablessing after the remarriage of divorcedpeople in a civil (registry office) ceremony, forexample, Prince Charles and Camilla.

They may try to find out about the intentions of thecouple and ifit will cause harm toanybodybefore agreeing toa re-marriage inChurch.


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Charles and Camilla

This last question was very

important when Prince Charles

married the divorce Camilla

Parker Bowles in 2005. Had

their adultery contributed to thefailure of Camilla's first

marriage? The Church thought

so.

The royal couple could not

marry in church. They had

to marry in a civil ceremony,

although church rules

allowed their marriage to beblessed in church afterwards.

6. Was their relationship a direct cause of the breakdown of aprevious marriage?


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Free Churches (Baptist, Methodists)

Many Free Churches (Baptist, Methodists) accept divorce andallow remarriage in a church ceremony.

These denominations believe that it is not the physical death ofone of the partner which ends the marriage. Rather, themarriage ends with the death of the love between the couple.

These dominations believe that it is better for the couple to begintheir new relationship with the blessing of the church.

This is based on the Christian principle of forgiveness. Everyonemakes mistakes but is also entitled to a second chance. It is veryimportant to learn from your mistakes though!


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Two views on divorceTwo views on divorce

Jesus replied, "Moses

permitted you to divorce

your wives because your

hearts were hard. But it

was not this way from thebeginning. I tell you that

anyone who divorces his

wife, except for marital

unfaithfulness, and

marries another womancommits adultery.

Matthew 19:8- 9

When they were in the

house again, the

disciples askedJesus

about this. He answered,

"Anyone who divorceshis wife and marries

another woman commits

adultery against her. And

if she divorces her

husband and marriesanother man, she

commits adultery."

Mark 10:10-12


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Re-Marriage in the

Catholic Church

Catholics believe promises to God

cannot be broken therefore

divorce and re-marriage is not

allowed.

Catholics that do re-marry areNOT allowed to take Holy

Communion and this is central to

their faith.

However, re-marriage is allowed

if a marriage has been annulled bythe church. This is because an

annullment recognises that the

marriage never took place legally

in the first place. Therefore no

vows have been broken.

Britney Spears got married in Las Vegas over the

weekend, but the bashful bride was single again less than

12 hours later.

The pop star tied the knot early Saturday with JasonAllen

Alexander at The Little White Wedding Chapel. Alexander

was a childhood friend from Spears' hometown of

Kentwood.

But 12 hours later the pair put the hook up on hold as they

arranged an annulment witnessed by several people,

including a lawyer. The couple apparently took a joke too

far by getting married afterdrinking heavily all day.

Ms. Spears and Mr.Alexander have filed for an annulment

which will become official on Monday.


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A promise is a promise

people should not getdivorced

Give two reasons why believers wouldagree or disagree ( 4 marks)


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PlenaryPlenary

What has this lessonmade you think about?

Documents

1. Secular & Christian Divorce