OCR Short Course Religious Studies | Religion and Human Relationships

Roles Of Men And Women In A Christian Family

-The law states that all men and women should be equal, however in some cases this is not so.

-Some Christians would use the Genesis story to argue that women have a lesser role to men. " Then God said ' Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.' So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him, male and female he created them" Genesis 1:26-27.

- The Imago Dei, says that man was either created to look physically like God, or is the same as God spiritually or that they have a conscience.

-The second account wrote in Genesis 2 and 3 is different and some scholars beleive that it may have been wrote before Genesis 1: Genesis 2:15 18-24 says that God made women to be a helper to man and that she was made from the rib of Adam. "For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh".

-It was Eve who caused the downfall of mankind by eating from the tree of knowledge, which suggests that women are weaker and more likely to give into temptation, however this is not how they are shown in the New Testament e.g Queen of Sheba. Jesus was also shown treating women as his equals in the bible e.g The woman who bled for twelve days and showing concern for his mother when on the cross.

-The bible tells woman to be submissive to their husbands, however the men should be considerate of their wives (Peter 3:1-7). Some Christians still beleive that the role of the women is to stay at hoem and to care for the family.

Roles Of Men And Women In The Church Family

-The New testament states that all of Jesus' disciples were men only, although some accounts do suggest that women were amongst the, particularly the New Testament Apocrypha which suggests that Jesus did have female disciples and tha Mary Magdalene was one of them.

-In the New Testament there are examples of women such as Priscilla and Lydia who appear to be in a position of authority in the church, something not allowed now. Women cannot become priests or be ordaines etc. " The churches in the provinence of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Priscilla greet you warmly in the Lord, and so does the church that meets at their house" 1 Corinthians 16:19.

Marriage

-The family is the centre of marriage and this is shown in the Bible in Mark 10: 6-9 "Man shall leave his father and mother...etc"

-The marriage service of the Christian Church of England as it appeared in the Book of Common Parye…