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REACTION PAPER FOR THEO 3...

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REACTION PAPER Last February 4, 2020, a bill proposing the legalization of divorce in the Philippines was approved by the Committee on Population and Family Relations of the Philippine House of Representatives. Presently, the Philippines and the Vatican are the only two sovereign states in the world that still prohibit divorce. The opposition team argues that when this bill will be approved, it will ruin the institution of marriage and the essence of the family. However, the author of the bill, Rep. Edcel Lagman, defied this argument, stating in his sponsorship speech for the bill that, because the proposed divorce law “cannot undo centuries of dearly held Filipino customs and traditions honoring and celebrating marriage and the family, marriage and the family are and will still be at the heart of the Filipino way of life.” The bill looks upon divorce as a women’s rights issue. The bill’s explanatory note states that “not being able to get out of an eventual loveless, unhappy, even abusive marriage is a human rights concern for women,” while section 3 (4) of the bill provides that the proposed divorce law is “ pro-woman legislation” because it would allow Philippine wives to be liberated from abusive relationships and “regain dignity and self-esteem.” Before we get into my argument, let us first define what the word “divorce” means. Divorce is the legal dissolution of a marriage by a court or other competent body, it is a permanent separation of husbands and wives that involves a legal process. Now, why do I say this House Bill is considered an attack against the family? First, before entering marriage, a man and a woman has the freedom to choose who will be his or her husband or wife is. One does not get married instantly unless it is an arranged marriage. By giving the freedom to choose, you can choose thoroughly and once you both have tied the knot, there is no turning back because as said in the vows that you will be exchanging, both of you shall live together until the rest of your lives and till death part both of you. Getting a divorce does not only disrespect the agreement that you both sworn in front of God but it does a lot of damage not only to the family but especially to the children. Now, relating it to the teachings of the Church, Luke 16:18 says that, “Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery.”. In this passage, it talks about divorce being an act of adultery. We all know that in God’s commandment, he specifically mentioned that people should not commit adultery for it is a sin. Thus, having divorce is committing a grave sin against God and his teachings. However, on First Corinthians 7:10-11, it said that if a wife separates from her husband, she should remain unmarried or else be reconciled with her husband and that the husband should not divorce his wife. This is one main point of this argument which states that divorce is considered as an attack against the family based on the social teachings of the church. Since marriage is known as the foundation of the family, when it begins to crumble, the whole family itself will crumble too. The effects of the divorce cannot be seen on couples but to their children. Being in a broken family (due to divorce), children tend to rebel just to get their parents’ attention. It can make them feel lost, anger, confusion, anxiety, and many others as the transition from being a complete family to being a broken one is really hard. Divorce can leave children feeling overwhelmed and emotionally sensitive. Setting aside the emotional effects, let us talk about the mental stability of children that are products of this act tend to have depression that sometimes may lead to suicide. For God joined these couples together and once they are married, they became one flesh, and partners for life and if they go against the agreement, it would look like they are disrespecting God, his commandment and violating the agreement that they have agreed to in the first place. Not only does it affect the relationship between the parents and their children but most of all it affects the child’s performance and sometimes outlook in life. It will also affect how the present and future society view marriage. A marriage is a sacred sacrament done only when you are ready and sure, it is not something that can be done overnight, it requires multiple hardships, trials and a lot of heartaches before deciding he or she is the one. My advice is that for married couples to make sure that they know who they are marrying, the way how they act when presented a bad situation. Through this, they can get to know what the character of a person is and maybe in the near future they can avoid making mistakes such as falling into divorce....