Principles-on-which-our-relationships-are-grounded.pptx

About humanity, religion education. Principles on which our relationships are grounded. Yahweh & Traditional.

1. Principles on which our relationships are grounded

2. The two stories of creation The first is found in Genesis 1:1-2:4a . It belongs to the so-called Priestly Tradition (P) of the Old Testament . It is probably based on a poem from the priestly scholars of the Babylonian captivity in the fifth century BCE .

3. This first creation narrative reveals a God who is transcendent, different from all his creatures, existing before the world which he created. This Priestly account of creation presents the human persons as created sexed , that is, male and female , so that they may be fruitful and may increase in number. Humanity was created male and female for the sake of having offspring . The sexual union of man and woman is for the sake of sharing in the creative act of God with the begetting of children.

4. The second creation account is found in Genesis 2:4b-25. This belongs to the so-called Yahwistic Tradition (J) of the Old Testament. It should be noted that whenever God is referred to, he is called Yahweh. The scholar Theodore Mackin says that even if man was put to live in a garden of delights, his life was still incomplete.

5. Thus, did Yahweh God come to a crucial creative decision: "I shall make him a helper” (Gen 2:18). This helper is, literally speaking, an appropriate partner for the man, someone suited to him.

6. Two Creative Acts Followed Yahweh God’s Decision The first failed to achieve the purpose because of all the animals created, no helper suitable for the man was found for him. It seems that the inherent communication gap between man and the beasts is at the root of such inappropriateness.

7. It was Yahweh God’s S econd creative act that hit the mark, since man found the woman truly delightful. Forming the woman from man’s rib, drawn from his side, signified her status of equal dignity with her partner. The woman was not taken from man's head; otherwise she would be over man . Neither was she taken from the man’s foot; otherwise she would be under man.

8. The theologian, Hugh of Saint-Victor (in 1141 AD.) , pointed out that God gave the first woman to the first man not as his master (for he did not take her from the man’s head) , nor as his servant (for he did not take her from his fee), but as his companion (God took her from his side, midway down his torso).

9. Theodore Mackin says that the welcome given by the man to his partner is particularly meaningful. Flesh and bone make up a word-pair appearing more than once in the Old Testament.

10. Flesh, with its softness, signifies human weakness . Flesh refers to a person's liabilities. For its part, bone, with its hardness, symbolizes human strength. Bone refers to a person’s assets. When combined the two terms (bone-flesh) signify the full range of a person’s character traits, from his weakest to his strongest .

11. The institution of marriage as willed by God takes the form of a covenant. This becomes especially clear in the two verbs used in verse 24 : (1) leaves [Hebrew: asav ] and (2) becomes attached [Hebrew: davaq ].  

12. Human Sexuality Has A Twofold Dimension:   P rocreation [for the sake of the children] U nion [for the sake of the spouses themselves].

13. They are two inseparable elements. If human sexuality is to be considered as a language that communicates the message of genuine love, then procreation and union are its two basic grammatical rules. The absence of one or the other- or of both- would result in a grammatically erroneous piece of literature that fails to convey the message intended.