CHAPTER
ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background
to the Study
Marriage is noted as the oldest institution
on the planet earth. It was divinely established and instituted in the Garden
of Eden (Gen 2:24) by God Himself, and affirmed by Jesus to be a long life
union between a man and a woman in loving companion and for the purpose of
fulfilling an innate need for community and procreation. Marriage, also called
matrimony or wedlock, is a socially or ritually recognized union or legal
contract between spouses that establishes rights and obligations between them,
and their children, and between them and their in-laws. Marriage is the union
of a man and a woman who makes a permanent and exclusive commitment to each
other of the type that is naturally (inherently) fulfilled by bearing and
rearing children together.
Marriage is a covenant by which a man and a
woman establish between themselves life partnership which nature is pioneered
toward the good of the spouses, procreation and education of offspring.
Then, the purpose of marriage is unity,
complimentary and oneness. Nevertheless, looking in depth to what obtains
today; the researcher discovered that some of the Christian homes are presently
in chaos and some at the verge of divorce while some are already experiencing
divorce just because they neglected premarital counseling before entering into
marriage. In addition, the researcher also noticed that 40% out of 100% of
Christian marriages today collapse within three (3) or four (4) months after
the wedding, which was as a result of lack of exposure to premarital
counseling, that is why the majority of them find themselves in this
marital conflicts. However, the remaining 60% are enjoying their marriages
because of the important steps they took about premarital counseling before
they entered into marriage. Onyango stated that most homes or marriages of
today are far from good. Rather, they are bearable, tolerable or endurable. He
observed later, that unmarried men and women are not receiving information as
to what marriage is all about. He continued by saying that they entered
marriage as green people without prior knowledge at all, which has always been
the basis for divorce. Therefore, this study intends to look into the the
effect of pre-marital counseling on Christian marriage using Christ Apostolic
Church Oke-Gboluwaga District Headquarters Ore, Ondo-State as a case study
1.2
Statement of the Problem
Looking at what is happening in the society
and in some of Christian marriages, it was discovered that some marriages have
led to divorce and face numerous marital conflicts because most of the couples
did not seek premarital counseling before entering into marriage. This means
that the issue of premarital counseling is a phenomenon that every couple which
intends to have a lasting home should not undermine because, it is important
and it determines how a marriage will look like either good or bad. The
researcher discovered also, that some church weddings do scatter within three
or two months after wedding, resulting no or inadequate pre-marital counseling.
Thus, this work aims at answering the following questions:
- What is the purpose of pre-marital counseling?
- What are the beliefs and practices of Christians
regarding marriage? - What are the effects of pre-marital counseling on
Christian marriage? - How has pre-marital counseling affected Christian
marriage in Christ Apostolic Church Oke-Gboluwaga District Headquarters
Big Joe Ore, Ondo-State.
1.3 The
Purpose of the Study
The purposes of this study are as follow:
- To explain and discuss the benefits of premarital
counseling - To point out some challenges of marriage
- To help the intended couples in the church to ensure a
strong, healthy, and lasting relationship. - To prepare intended couples in the church for the
marriage and not just the wedding day. - To offer intended couples in the church the insight and
understanding into their own temperament - To help the intended couples in the church in order to
build a solid biblical foundation for marriage. - To incite zeal in ministers and counselors on the task
of pre-marital counseling - To inform couples in the church how to respond when
issues arise - It allows the couples in the church to view the
matrimonial road before entering the course.
1.4 The
Significance of the Study
The research will be useful to the following
people:
- Ministers or Pastors who crave for a better premarital
counseling as parts of their obligatory duties - It will help young men and women who are preparing for
marriage to understand some necessary things they needed to know before
entering into marriage. - Christian counselors in the churches would be able to
put more effort in the area of premarital counseling - It will help Christ Apostolic Church Oke-Gboluwaga
District Headquarters Big Joe Ore, Ondo-State in solving marital problems
and reduce the issues of divorce that are common in some Christian
marriages today.
1.5
Delimitation of the Study
The scope of the study is limited to Christ
Apostolic Church Oke-Gboluwaga District Headquarters, Big Joe Ore, Ondo-State
as a case study. It is based on premarital counseling program and its benefit
to the church and the intended couple.
1.6
Research Procedure
This research is historical, it is based on
library work and field research. A detailed survey of the Bible, commentaries,
Encyclopedia, Journal, books, internet, and dictionaries was carried out in
LIFE Theological Seminary library Ikorodu, Lagos.
1.7
Limitation to the Study
The researcher was challenged by the
inability of respondents to meet up with deadlines and submission of the
questionnaire. The interviewer was not meet up the scheduled appointment which
led to delay in its collation. However, the available data were used to present
a valid work.
1.8
Definition of Terms
For the purpose of this research work, the
following terms will be defined as follows:
Christian:
A Christian is simply
someone who follows Jesus, who calls upon Jesus Christ as his
or her Lord as well as Savior (Rom. 10:9).
Christian Marriage:
A Christian Marriage is when a marriage
union takes place between two Bible believing Christians who truly want to
serve the Lord together.
Christ Apostolic Church:
The church is distinctly an indigenous
African Church by its structure belief and practices; it is an independent
Pentecostal church
Counseling:
It is the advice and support that is given
to people to help them deal with problems, make important decisions,
etc.
Effect:
Is a change that results when something is
done or happens: an event, condition, or state of affairs that is
produced by a cause.
Marriage:
Marriage is the institution whereby men and
women are joined in a special kind of social and legal dependence for the
purpose of finding and maintaining a family.
Premarital:
Something that is occurring before Marriage
Premarital Counseling:
Premarital counseling is best defined as
knowledge and skills-based training procedure, which aims at providing couples
with information on ways to improve their relationship once they are married.
Role:
A role is a set of connected behaviors,
rights, obligations, beliefs, and norms as conceptualized by people in a social
situation