A Synthesis of Christian Ethical Perspectives on Family: Critical and Pastoral Appraisals

Ordinary Christians seek moral guidance for even ordinary dilemmas they confront in their daily lives. The present generation both in Western and Eastern societies witnesses tremendous and wide-ranging changes in family patterns. The growing number of divorces, births out-of-wedlock, extra marital relationship, same-sex marriages and cohabitation of people without a marriage contract are commonly exposed phenomena. Towards this, a synthesis of family life and Christian family ethics encompassing a sturdy dedication to social justice (social obligation) and pastoral commitment and its practical application is explored. Family Ethics, as relatively new emerging trend in theological ethics, tries to integrate the experiential categories of contemporary humans living in various contextual situations. In each situation, intentional practices can function as acts of resistance to a cultural conformity promoting individualization and globalized materialism over family relationships. This article brings a new „familism‟ appreciating the importance of conjugally intact family life with the recognition of the vulnerability of each member (genuine egalitarianism) in the family within each cultural and social context.

Keywords: Christian Ethics, family ethics, egalitarianism, familism, intact family.