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[[Image:Bride and groom signing the book.jpg|right|275px]]

[[Image:Bride and groom signing the book.jpg|right|275px]]

'''Marriage''' is the divinely ordained [[covenant]]<ref>Marriage between the sexes is a covenant, not a [[contract]]. Since time immemorial, some men disposed of a wife (woman) after her childbearing years to pursue a younger female consort. God, being a defender of women, ordained marriage by his perfect will to protect women's rights and not allow a man (male) to abandon them to homelessness and poverty with no marketable job skills other than homemaking or child rearing. This, however, is not the only reason the covenant of marriage evolved between the sexes.</ref>  between one man and one woman, and is intended to be for life. (Genesis 2:24)<ref>See also [[Perfect will of God]] vs [[Permissive will of God]].</ref> This is recognized by the majority of churches.<ref>[http://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p2s2c3a7.htm Article 7, "The sacrament of matrimony"]</ref><ref>[http://www.sbc.net/aboutus/basicbeliefs.asp "Basic Beliefs," Southern Baptist Convention]</ref><ref>[http://ag.org/top/Beliefs/topics/relations_04_marriage.cfm "Marriage"]</ref><ref>[http://www.studylight.org/com/bnb/view.cgi?bk=39&ch=19 [[Albert Barnes]], Matthew 19]</ref><ref>[http://live.e-sword.net/app/ [[Matthew Henry]], Matthew 19]</ref>   

'''Marriage''' is the divinely ordained [[covenant]]<ref>Marriage between the sexes is a covenant, not a [[contract]]. Since time immemorial, some men disposed of a wife (woman) after her childbearing years to pursue a younger female consort. God, being a defender of women, ordained marriage by his perfect will to protect women's rights and not allow a man (male) to abandon them to homelessness and poverty with no marketable job skills other than homemaking or child rearing. This, however, is not the only reason the covenant of marriage evolved between the sexes.</ref>  between one man and one woman, and is intended to be for life. (Genesis 2:24)<ref>See also [[Perfect will of God]] vs [[Permissive will of God]].</ref> This is recognized by the majority of churches.<ref>[http://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p2s2c3a7.htm Article 7, "The sacrament of matrimony"]</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sbc.net/aboutus/basicbeliefs.asp|title="Basic Beliefs," Southern Baptist Convention|accessdate=March 11, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://ag.org/top/Beliefs/topics/relations_04_marriage.cfm|title="Marriage"}}</ref><ref>http://www.studylight.org/com/bnb/view.cgi?bk=39&ch=19 [[Albert Barnes]], Matthew 19]</ref><ref>[http://live.e-sword.net/app/ [[Matthew Henry]], Matthew 19]</ref>   

The unity between a man and a woman in marriage is an expression of the spiritual relationship that God desires His creation to realize with Him. The first marriage occurred nearly 6,000 years ago in the [[Garden of Eden]], in the area of the world that we now know as the Middle East. The first couple was Adam and Eve, and the Lord Jesus specified that it was male and female that God joined together in marriage for life. (Matthew 19:4-6)  See also: [[Christian marriage]]

The unity between a man and a woman in marriage is an expression of the spiritual relationship that God desires His creation to realize with Him. The first marriage occurred nearly 6,000 years ago in the [[Garden of Eden]], in the area of the world that we now know as the Middle East. The first couple was Adam and Eve, and the Lord Jesus specified that it was male and female that God joined together in marriage for life. (Matthew 19:4-6)  See also: [[Christian marriage]]

[[Dinesh D'Souza]] wrote:

[[Dinesh D'Souza]] wrote:

:Marriage requires a) two people who are b) of legal age and c) not closely related to each other who are d) one male and one female. Note that this definition excludes people who want to marry children, or guys who want to marry their sisters, or Muslims who want to take four wives, or that strange guy who wants to marry his dog.<ref>[https://townhall.com/columnists/DineshDSouza/2008/05/19/gay_rights_vs_democracy Gay Rights vs. Democracy]</ref>

:Marriage requires a) two people who are b) of legal age and c) not closely related to each other who are d) one male and one female. Note that this definition excludes people who want to marry children, or guys who want to marry their sisters, or Muslims who want to take four wives, or that strange guy who wants to marry his dog.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://townhall.com/columnists/DineshDSouza/2008/05/19/gay_rights_vs_democracy|title=Gay Rights vs. Democracy|accessdate=March 11, 2020}}</ref>

[[Bill Bennett]] wrote:

[[Bill Bennett]] wrote:

:Based as it is on the principle of [[complementarity]], marriage is also about a great deal more than love. That "great deal" encompasses, above all, [[procreation]]. The timeless function of marriage is childbearing and child-rearing, and the best arrangement ever developed to that end is the marital union between one man and one woman ...<ref>''The Broken Hearth'', Page 197)</ref>

:Based as it is on the principle of [[complementarity]], marriage is also about a great deal more than love. That "great deal" encompasses, above all, [[procreation]]. The timeless function of marriage is childbearing and child-rearing, and the best arrangement ever developed to that end is the marital union between one man and one woman ...<ref>''The Broken Hearth'', Page 197)</ref>

What Bennett's words ultimately imply is that, in terms of the value of marriage to anything which stands outside of it, marriage is most principally for the production of additional marriages, and, thus, is a progressive type of [[scale-invariance]] such as the Mandelbrot fractal.<ref>[http://www.dectech.org/publications/LinksNick/FoundationsTheoryAndMethodology/Scale-invariance%20as%20a%20unifying%20psychological%20principle.pdf Scale-invariance as a unifying psychological principle; 1999]</ref>

What Bennett's words ultimately imply is that, in terms of the value of marriage to anything which stands outside of it, marriage is most principally for the production of additional marriages, and, thus, is a progressive type of [[scale-invariance]] such as the Mandelbrot fractal.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dectech.org/publications/LinksNick/FoundationsTheoryAndMethodology/Scale-invariance%20as%20a%20unifying%20psychological%20principle.pdf|title=Scale-invariance as a unifying psychological principle; 1999|accessdate=March 11, 2020}}</ref>

So, marriage is the most glorious kind of relation between human individuals because it alone is what most essentially defines humanity. The ''good'' of humanity is defined as an integration of all naturally enduring mutual benefits between all free individuals. But, all those benefits are created-and-sustained by the existence of marriage as that one relation for the preservation of which is invoked the most special legal recognition, because...

So, marriage is the most glorious kind of relation between human individuals because it alone is what most essentially defines humanity. The ''good'' of humanity is defined as an integration of all naturally enduring mutual benefits between all free individuals. But, all those benefits are created-and-sustained by the existence of marriage as that one relation for the preservation of which is invoked the most special legal recognition, because...

==Modern marriage licenses==

==Modern marriage licenses==

In the present-day [[United States]], "getting married" typically involves a marriage license issued by the [[state]] [[government]] or a subdivision thereof (e.g., a county). However, marriage licenses are nowhere mentioned in Scripture; in fact, they are a relatively recent innovation and originally applied only to marriages that were otherwise forbidden.<ref>[http://www.mercyseat.net/BROCHURES/marriagelicense.htm Information on marriage licenses from Mercy Seat Christian Church]</ref>

In the present-day [[United States]], "getting married" typically involves a marriage license issued by the [[state]] [[government]] or a subdivision thereof (e.g., a county). However, marriage licenses are nowhere mentioned in Scripture; in fact, they are a relatively recent innovation and originally applied only to marriages that were otherwise forbidden.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mercyseat.net/BROCHURES/marriagelicense.htm|title=Information on marriage licenses from Mercy Seat Christian Church|accessdate=March 11, 2020}}</ref>

==Definition of marriage==

==Definition of marriage==

For Christians, marriage has traditionally been seen as "a union that takes its distinctive character from being founded, unlike other friendships, on bodily unity of the kind that sometimes generates new life."<ref>[http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/marriage/mf0123.htm Gay Marriage, Democracy, and the Courts]</ref> As such, marriage is the one and only form of companionship from which all other forms spring: it is the single irreducible core of [[society]].

For Christians, marriage has traditionally been seen as "a union that takes its distinctive character from being founded, unlike other friendships, on bodily unity of the kind that sometimes generates new life."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/marriage/mf0123.htm|title=Gay Marriage, Democracy, and the Courts|accessdate=March 11, 2020}}</ref> As such, marriage is the one and only form of companionship from which all other forms spring: it is the single irreducible core of [[society]].

==Modern history of marriage law==

==Modern history of marriage law==

==Attacks on the institution of marriage==

==Attacks on the institution of marriage==

Any society which has lessened the sanctity of marriage has perished, whereas those that have upheld the sanctity of marriage have endured. It has been argued that Ancient Rome's decline and its eventual fall in A.D. 476 were due in no small part to a growing tolerance of extramarital sex, particularly of [[homosexual acts]], beginning in the Late Republic period ending in 27 B.C.<ref>[http://english.pravda.ru/opinion/columnists/11-02-2011/116875-homosexuality-0/ Is there anyone left to defend traditional marriage?]</ref>

Any society which has lessened the sanctity of marriage has perished, whereas those that have upheld the sanctity of marriage have endured. It has been argued that Ancient Rome's decline and its eventual fall in A.D. 476 were due in no small part to a growing tolerance of extramarital sex, particularly of [[homosexual acts]], beginning in the Late Republic period ending in 27 B.C.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://english.pravda.ru/opinion/columnists/11-02-2011/116875-homosexuality-0/|title=Is there anyone left to defend traditional marriage?|accessdate=March 11, 2020}}</ref>

In the Judeo-Christian tradition, there is no approval of [[sexual intercourse]] other than between man and wife. Anything which tolerates or permits [[promiscuity]] weakens society.

In the Judeo-Christian tradition, there is no approval of [[sexual intercourse]] other than between man and wife. Anything which tolerates or permits [[promiscuity]] weakens society.

“The appellation ‘Christian’ a Christian does not make. There are great numbers of people in this world who call themselves ‘Christians’ but have never internalized the teachings of Jesus Christ." …

“The appellation ‘Christian’ a Christian does not make. There are great numbers of people in this world who call themselves ‘Christians’ but have never internalized the teachings of Jesus Christ." …

<ref>[https://creation.com/atheism Atheism = Mario Grinbank - Creation Ministries International]</ref>}}

<ref>{{cite web|url=https://creation.com/atheism|title=Atheism = Mario Grinbank - Creation Ministries International|accessdate=March 11, 2020|publisher=[[Creation Ministries International]]}}</ref>}}

==References==

==References==

* [[Atheism and marriage]]

* [[Atheism and marriage]]

*[[Ben Shapiro]]

*[[Ben Shapiro]]

==External links==

==External links==