Theology

Theology

– The Myth v. Marriage

1.    Passion as found in the myth of Tristan and Iseult is profaned and distorted today (it is now raw adultery). The institution of marriage, which was bound by the feudal code, is demoralized today because of the absence of three compulsions that used to be in place.  Briefly list and describe the three compulsions?

2.    Do you think we should (re)stress any of these compulsions today?  Which and why?  If not, why?

3.    What’s wrong with marriage based solely on individual choice? Do you agree that

this is wrong?

4.    Do you agree that fidelity in marriage today is slightly ridiculous and conventional?

5.    If happiness today is all about acquiring (as in a market economy), do you think that we either must be resigned to eventual boredom (when happiness wears off) or seek passion elsewhere, even though it threatens to ruin marriage?

6.    Do you think Americans have the strength to pass up passion as a kind of drug to seek self-mastery as true gratification?

7.    Describe active love according to De R.  What does being faithful mean in active love?  Is this type of love possible today?

8.    Do you agree that marriage is an institution that is meant to be lasting and without it be lasting it is meaningless? What if lastingness means that it is not romance fed on obstructions, but on habitual way of doing things (wont), nearness in place and time (propinquity), and growing accustomed to one another?

– Passion and Mysticism

1.    The Incarnation (“The Word became flesh and lived among us” John 1:14) is important because Christ made Himself one of us, showed us how to love our neighbor and commands that we do the same. This type of love is captured in his marriage to the church.  In so doing, Christ restores human love to its proper status.  (Chpt 3)

a.    Why do you think that Christ became man?

b.    How would you describe Christ’s love for us?

c.    Why do you think that Christ’s marriage to the church is important to couples?

– Active Love, or Keeping Faith

1.    By taking on our humanity with all of its imperfections Christ showed us how to love each other with all of our own perfections.  As such, De Rougemont suggests that marriage is a wild attempt to live perfectly in imperfection.  Is this type of love common? (Chpt. 2)

2.    In Chapter 3, De Rougemont speaks about choices vs. decisions and about guarantees.

a.    What is the difference between making a choice to marry vs. making a decision?

b.    While there is no guarantee a choice is well made, what is the guarantee when one decides to marry?

c.    Do you think this guarantee is real?  Why or Why not?

3.    Is there anything in our society that helps prepare us for what de Rougemont calls a decision to commit ourselves ‘for better, for worse’ to the spouse, as he or she is or will become, for the good of the other (neighborly love)? (He describes it as fidelity in the next chapter).

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