The Plan of God: Family or Church?

1432 Words3 Pages

God and His plan are often brought up in terms of faith, to believe in His plan means you trust Him and His guidance. His primary pan though of whether family or church is first is often more of an issue. As examined in ‘Taking Sides,’ an excerpt of Michael Gold (1999) and Stanley Hauerwas (1996) are presented to look at both sides of the argument. Gold (1999) believes that family is and needs to be the primary plan while Hauerwas (1996) says that the church is primary. While church is important and is largely a part of God’s plan, family is the start and end of it all. A child cannot be taught to be a good person. Rules are taught; character and behaviour are developed through modeling. Rules or morals are not significant if a child does not agree with them. The behaviour of someone is a result of what they’re exposed to. A person chooses to behave in a certain way depending on what they value. Gold (1999) states that the culture is desperate and dependent upon the return of traditional families where morals are both taught and modeled. Gold (1999) understands that to if someone is surrounded by people who do good things for other’s and are models for them, they too will display good characteristics. In Genesis 1:28 God says, “Be fruitful, and multiply and replenish the earth,” exemplifying that He wants people to procreate and form families. In 2:24 of Genesis, “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife; and they shall be one flesh,” He depicts that man will leave his parents and family to start his own. Gold’s (1999) spiritual ideology of family that, “includes a man and a woman committed to one another through the covenant of marriage, raising the children they sire or adopt, hon... ... middle of paper ... ...uerwas who examines character and the idea that it is learnt at church. There is a large difference in knowing something is bad or wrong and not participating in it. People know of plenty laws which they then choose to break. Churches teach you morals but family is where you are disciplined and learn correct behaviour through parents, siblings, or extended family. Works Cited Gold, M. (1999). Family: A spiritual guide, World Congress of Families and Rabbi Michael Gold (140-147). Switzerland: Rabbi Michael Gold. Hauerwas, S. (1996). The family as a school for character. In Gabriel Palmer-Fernandez., Comp., Moral Issues: Philosophical and religious perspectives (148-157). Prentice Hall. Judd, D. (2003). Taking Sides: Clashing views on controversial issues in religion, Is the Family Primary in God’s Plan? (138-139). Guilford, Connecticut: McGraw-Hill/ Dushkin.

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