Читать книгу Living in Love and Faith - Bishops of the Church of England - Страница 11

The purpose of Part One is to set our questions about human identity, sexuality, relationships and marriage in the context of God’s gift of life.

Chapter 1 invites us to wonder at the gift of abundant, eternal life that is offered to us through the redemptive life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Chapter 2 shows us that this gift of life is a gift of relationship. It explores some of the characteristics of our relationships that flow from God’s gift of life, a gift renewed through the reconciling work of Jesus Christ and made known in the community of love formed around him.

Chapter 3 explores one element of this life of love and faith. It explains the biblical and historical roots of the church’s understanding of marriage as a lifelong, faithful relationship between one man and one woman.

Chapter 4 draws Part One to an end with an explanation of how, in the rest of the book, we will go about learning together – being taught together by Christ – about human identity, sexuality, relationships and marriage. It explains the rationale for engaging with the Bible, the church’s tradition, history and the sciences in the search for truth. It explores how and why we also need to be good observers of the world in which God has placed us, and of the lived experiences which call us to understand God’s presence in human experience.