Key Passages: Genesis 2:18, Ecclesiastes 4:7-12, John 8:29
Key Questions:
- Did God create the universe because he was lonely?
- Does every one have a capacity and a need to connect with God? How can this be when society seems so secular, when listening to God is relegated to the edges of life?
- How is the capacity to connect with other human beings and to experience emotional intimacy developed?
- Why are people in United States lonely today? Modern technology has made it easier for people to keep in touch when they are separated from each other: cell phones, E-mail, TV conferencing. Planes and good roads bring us quickly to loved ones. The postal service is dependable.
- Why are Christians lonely? God is always near. The church is a family of brothers and sisters in Christ.
- To bring up the subject of marriage is to open the door to many issues. Can we deal with the ideal marriage relationship as outlined in Genesis 2? Is the wife in Genesis 2 a servant to her husband? Does the creation story suggest she was an afterthought?
- The passage in Gen 2:18 describes the man leaving his parents to cleave to his wife. Yet in much of the Biblical world, the wife left her parents and came to live under her husbandís parentsí supervision. This still is the practice in parts of the world. Are we in the west closer today to the ideal of Genesis in this respect?
- As teachers, we are observers of human behavior on a college campus. What do we learn about the social needs and nature of young adults by just observing them?
- There is a huge gap between current social practice among young adults in much of the West regarding pre-marital sex and the will of God as outlined in the Bible. What should the church be saying and doing on this matter?
- How has the study of human and even animal behavior contributed to our understanding of the institution of marriage and the necessary preparation for it?
