How the Doctrine of marriage and divorce Informs My Counseling. You will write a seven page application paper, taking a particular doctrine studied in the course and exploring its application to your counseling. You will need at least five solid secondary theological sources and five application/counseling sources. You will briefly explain/articulate doctrine, show it from the Scriptures, and then apply it to your counseling work, indicating how it may be useful in a variety of situations and also addressing potential misapplications.
The application paper must conform to the American Psychological Association (APA) style. If a student does not have a copy of the APA style manual, one should be purchased, or students may use one of the many APA style websites online.
Please use the following guidelines for formatting: Times New Roman, 12 point font; one inch margins; double-spaced.
Students should include a title page and a formal bibliography.
CHAPTER 24
Of Marriage and Divorce
1. Marriage is to be between one man and one woman: neither is it lawful for any man to have more than one wife, nor for any woman to have more than one husband at the same time.
2. Marriage was ordained for the mutual help of husband and wife; for the increase of mankind with a legitimate issue, and of the church with an holy seed; and for preventing of uncleanness.
3. It is lawful for all sorts of people to marry who are able with judgment to give their consent. Yet it is the duty of Christians to marry only in the Lord. And, therefore, such as profess the true reformed religion should not marry with infidels, papists, or other idolaters: neither should such as are godly be unequally yoked, by marrying with such as are notoriously wicked in their life, or maintain damnable heresies.
4. Marriage ought not to be within the degrees of consanguinity or affinity forbidden in the Word; nor can such incestuous marriages ever be made lawful by any law of man, or consent of parties, so as those persons may live together, as man and wife.
5. Adultery or fornication, committed after a contract, being detected before marriage, giveth just occasion to the innocent party to dissolve that contract. In the case of adultery after marriage, it is lawful for the innocent party to sue out a divorce, and after the divorce to marry another, as if the offending party were dead.
6. Although the corruption of man be such as is apt to study arguments, unduly to put asunder those whom God hath joined together in marriage; yet nothing but adultery, or such willful desertion as can no way be remedied by the church or civil magistrate, is cause sufficient of dissolving the bond of marriage; wherein a public and orderly course of proceeding is to be observed; and the persons concerned in it, not left to their own wills and discretion in their own case.