Research Paper

Preliminary Research on Christian couples marriage

Secularization of societies throughout the 20th century has threatened the formation of spiritual contemporary family life (Sharkat , D.E& Ellison C. G, 1999).This development has prompted me to conduct research to determine the quality of Christian couple marriages. Christian couple marriage is a beautiful thing if the concept of togetherness exists between the couples (William R., 1999). Christian marriage is the union of two Christians of opposite sex. The marriage is governed by Christian values taught in the bible. The institution adheres to the standards of marriage reveled in the holy book. Christian marriage has to undergo process of courting, counseling, wedding and conduct within the marriage. I chose the topic in order to analyses the kind of preparations Christian couples should undergo and what they should know before getting married.

The couple should know that Christian couple marriage is important to God because it a fulfillment of the intended plan to provide the real picture of His love for women and men. (Rose E.M., 2001)Says church has responsibility to prepare couples for marriage by conducting premarital counseling, guidance and equipping them with necessary knowledge and skills in order to build up a strong relationship. Marriage preparation should be a primary tool to prepare couples to be able to face major family disruptions that might occur and painful relationship dysfunctions can be prevented to a large extent. Couples should know marriage is a way of serving and glorifying God (Pt Ennis & Lisa Tatlock, 2003) . They need counsel to maintain a Godly prospective of the marriage purpose which provides a strong foundation for the couples’ successful marriage relationships. This study will have implications for enrichment programs for Christian couples as well as helping them in understanding the developmental process of marriage from a Christian spirituality perspective.

References

Pt Ennis & Lisa Tatlock. (2003). Embracing God's Purposes for Marriage.

Rose E.M. (2001). Spiritual issues in counseling. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 48, 61-71.

Sharkat , D & Ellison G. (1999). Recent developments and current controversies in the sociology of religion. Annual review of sociology, 25, 363-394.

William R. (1999). The Christian Marriage. Retrieved from www.pursuingthetruth.org