Marriage and family life : the view of marriage, divorce and remarriage among the Christian Dagaaba in the Upper West Region of Ghana - an ethical theological corrective

Abstract

Through a critical review of biblical evidence and theological literature, marriage has been established as the first institution of God which was created for man and woman, through which a biological family would be established. Marriage is not an end in itself, but a means towards the end of glorifying God in Christ. Like marriage, divorce and remarriage have a biblical root, as has been well established in theological literature. As a major problem, the subject of divorce has become highly controversial and there seems to be little consensus on its understanding, particularly when remarriage after divorce is introduced into the discussions. The Dagaaba are mostly Christians, but face serious challenges when it comes to adherence to a biblical position on marriage, divorce and remarriage. Adopting a qualitative, historical and theoretical review approach, the study presents the analysis of biblical statements on marriage, divorce and remarriage and various theological perspectives on marriage, divorce and remarriage. Through comparative analysis of the information obtained, the study finds that there are differences and similarities between the biblical positions and Dagaaba customary practices of marriage, divorce and remarriage. It is revealed that most Dagaaba follow the customary practices rather than the biblical teachings. Because of these significant differences, the study recommends that the Anglican Church should consider establishing a Bible school system with a well-defined curriculum on pre-marital and post-marital teaching from the Bible in order to help Christians get a better understanding of the Bible’s teachings and of the need to follow such teachings instead of following certain customary practices which are against the word of God.