Introduction
The first commandment given to mankind recorded in the Bible is to 'Go forth and multipy'. Christians see marriage playing a vital role in society. One of the Ten Commandments forbids adultery, and Jesus taught against divorce, showing how important He thought marriage was.
Views on marriage have changed over time, with fewer people getting married and couples commonly deciding to live together without getting married. Some people say it is because of the cost of getting married - on average it's a year's salart, around £20,000 in 2010. Others are happy to live together without being married, but decide to get married when they want to start a family.
In this unit, we look at what marriage means. Why do people choose to get married, and is it important whether or not you get married in a church? What happens in a marriage ceremony, and what are the couple actually promising one another?
We look at what the Bible says about marriage, and different church positions on marriage. As always, there are links, resources and ideas for DVDs, as well as quizzes and exam practice.
