Part 1

Your mission: 

Understand the way the idea and practice of marriage has developed.

Your tasks:

1. Extract from the following resources an understanding of how marriage has developed and what some of the key factors are in different cultural and historical contexts.
2. Answer the question: how have we arrived at our 20th century western understanding of what marriage is, and in what way do other cultural representations of marriage also reflect a Biblical view?
   You will need to draw on understanding you have gained about the Theology of marriage and Bowen’s family systems.
3. Exercise: Write a short paper (max 2 pages A4 – upload at the bottom of this page) summarising your thinking.

Resource material

(choose approximately 3 – 4 hours of material to read or watch):

1. What is marriage today?
   contains 3 videos and a pdf

* Recommended video if you have not seen it already

• The state of marriage as an institution. PDF The Economist 2017

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2. Historical development of marriage

• A history of marriage
  www.psychologytoday.com/us/articles/200505/marriage-history

• Historical and Christian roots of marriage – website article:

The Historical & Christian Roots of Marriage

• A brief history of marriage – Samantha Callen pdf

• A history of marriage – Paul Marsh pdf

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3. Marriage in Jewish society.

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4. How the church has viewed marriage and sexuality.