When a man and a woman get married they commit themselves to spending their lives in a new relationship. In any marriage ceremony the bride and groom must confirm that they want to marry each other, and after the opportunity has been given publicly for anyone present to prevent the marriage if there is a legal reason, the couple join hands and make promises. They exchange rings, which are worn as a reminder of these promises for the duration of their married life.
If the marriage begins with a wedding service in a Christian church, the minister conducting the wedding reminds all present that marriage forms part of a pattern of life established by God. The first marriage that the Bible tells of is between Adam and his wife, Eve. God declared, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.’
In a church service there are readings from the Bible which explain the nature and significance of marriage. The couple make promises to stay together ‘for better, for worse; for richer, for poorer; in sickness and in health; to love and to cherish until death us do part’. It is a commitment for life, and not just for the times which are easy. Prayers are said for the newlyweds, which recognise both the joys and difficulties ahead, and ask God’s blessing on the couple.
Some Christians believe that marriage vows are unbreakable, so that even in the distressing circumstances in which a couple separates, they are still married from God’s point of view. This is so in the Roman Catholic church, although occasionally a marriage is declared to be null (in other words, it never really was a marriage). Other Christians have accepted divorce and remarriage in some circumstances - for example, to relieve one partner of intolerable hardship, unfaithfulness or desertion.
Source : www.christianity.org.uk/index.php/a-christian-view-of-marriage.php
If the marriage begins with a wedding service in a Christian church, the minister conducting the wedding reminds all present that marriage forms part of a pattern of life established by God. The first marriage that the Bible tells of is between Adam and his wife, Eve. God declared, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.’
In a church service there are readings from the Bible which explain the nature and significance of marriage. The couple make promises to stay together ‘for better, for worse; for richer, for poorer; in sickness and in health; to love and to cherish until death us do part’. It is a commitment for life, and not just for the times which are easy. Prayers are said for the newlyweds, which recognise both the joys and difficulties ahead, and ask God’s blessing on the couple.
Some Christians believe that marriage vows are unbreakable, so that even in the distressing circumstances in which a couple separates, they are still married from God’s point of view. This is so in the Roman Catholic church, although occasionally a marriage is declared to be null (in other words, it never really was a marriage). Other Christians have accepted divorce and remarriage in some circumstances - for example, to relieve one partner of intolerable hardship, unfaithfulness or desertion.
Source : www.christianity.org.uk/index.php/a-christian-view-of-marriage.php
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