Difference between revisions of "Marriage"

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'''Marriage''' is a form of [[interpersonal relationship]]; a kind of social contract. The word "marriage" by itself encompasses a broad range of meanings,<ref>The American Heritage dictionary includes legal marriage between a man and a woman, common-law marriage, and same-sex marriage[http://www.bartleby.com/61/2/M0120200.html]</ref> but it is often short for ''Christian marriage'' or ''holy matrimony,'' which is ordained by God and considered a [[sacrament]] by Roman Catholics[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09707a.htm] (but not most Protestant denominations).  In a few times and places, other forms existed, such as [[polygamy]] (multiple wives/husbands) and [[homosexuality#Homosexuality and Marriage|homosexual]] marriage (two people of the same sex).
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[[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> 
  
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In most cultures, marriage is regarded as a life-long commitment to another person, under any circumstances. Frequently this involves a public commitment ceremony (called a wedding) to each other and, if the participants are Christian, before God.<ref>[http://www.cofe.anglican.org/worship/liturgy/commonworship/texts/marriage/marriage.html The Marriage Service], ''The Church of England'', Retrieved 20 March 2007</ref> Unfortunately, sometimes people do not or cannot maintain that commitment, and the marriage ends in [[divorce]].
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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]]
  
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In most countries, married couples are treated as a single economic entity, and when one partner dies, the other may inherit all of their property in a simpler system than would be required without the marriage.
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Marriage has been practiced as such in most cultures across geography and time.<ref>"Because there is a natural complementarity between men and women - sexual, emotional, temperamental, spiritual - marriage allows for a wholeness and a completeness that cannot be won in any other way. ([[Bill Bennett]], ''The Broken Hearth'', Page 197)</ref>
 +
Marriage is a lifelong commitment, and typically this involves a public ceremony (a [[wedding]]) in which vows are exchanged by the parties and before God. Approximately half of all traditional marriages in America end in [[divorce]],<ref>Divorce is within the permissive will of God, Deut. 22:13; divorce however, is due to sin entering the world, which God is willing to redeem. God himself in fact is divorced from Israel ([http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Jeremiah%203:8-14&version=KJV Jer. 3:8-14]; see also [http://www.biblestudytools.com/kjv/isaiah/passage.aspx?q=isaiah+54:5-15 Is. 54:5]), or for that matter, all unredeemed sinners.</ref>  many due to [[Facebook]] and other [[liberal]] activities.
  
−
African-Americans were not allowed to marry in all areas of the US until after the civil war, and mixed race couples were only allowed to marry in all areas of the US after a 1967 decision in the US Supreme Court.
+
[[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>
  
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Same-sex couples are not allowed to marry in many areas of the world, although this restriction was lifted in April 2001 by Holland and January 2003 by Belgium. By the end of 2004, same-sex marriage was legal in most Canadian provinces and in the Yukon and is now enshrined in Canadian federal law C-38. <ref>[http://www.religioustolerance.org/hom_marr.htm]</ref>
+
[[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>
  
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== Bible ==
+
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>
  
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The Old Testament clearly allows polygyny.  (Gen. 4:19, Gen. 16:1-4, Gen. 26:34, Gen. 32:32, Exodus 21:10, Dt. 21:15, Judges 8:30, I Sam 1:1-2, II Sam 12:7-8, I Kings 11:2-3, I Chron. 4:5, II Chron. 11:21, II Chron. 13:21, II Chron 24:3.)  This is less common, but never outlawed, in the New Testament.
+
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...
  
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The Old Testament allows for the purchase of wives (Gen. 29:18, I Sam. 18:25-27).
+
...'''Marriage not only historically is the very first form of human society, it is logically the most beautiful, perfect, simple, and potentially productive human institution possible.'''
  
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The clearest description of marriage comes from I Corinthians 7:1-16:
+
==Biblical marriage advice==
 +
1 Corinthians 7:1-16:
 +
{{cquote|Now concerning the things about which you wrote, it is good for a man not to touch a woman. But because of immoralities, each man is to have his own wife, and each woman is to have her own husband. The husband must fulfill his duty to his wife, and likewise also the wife to her husband. The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does; and likewise also the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. Stop depriving one another, except by agreement for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer, and come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. But this I say by way of concession, not of command. Yet I wish that all men were even as I myself am However, each man has his own gift from God, one in this manner, and another in that. But I say to the unmarried and to widows that it is good for them if they remain even as I. But if they do not have self-control, let them marry; for it is better to marry than to burn with passion. But to the married I give instructions, not I, but the Lord, that the wife should not leave her husband (but if she does leave, she must remain unmarried, or else be reconciled to her husband), and that the husband should not divorce his wife. But to the rest I say, not the Lord, that if any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she consents to live with him, he must not divorce her. And a woman who has an unbelieving husband, and he consents to live with her, she must not send her husband away. For the unbelieving husband is sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified through her believing husband; for otherwise your children are unclean, but now they are holy. Yet if the unbelieving one leaves, let him leave; the brother or the sister is not under bondage in such cases, but God has called us to peace. For how do you know, O wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, O husband, whether you will save your wife?}}
  
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Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote unto me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman. Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband.
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==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>
  
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Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence: and likewise also the wife unto the husband. The wife hath not power of her own body, but the husband: and likewise also the husband hath not power of his own body, but the wife. Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency.
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==Definition of marriage==
  
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But I speak this by permission, and not of commandment. For I would that all men were even as I myself. But every man hath his proper gift of God, one after this manner, and another after that.
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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]].
  
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I say therefore to the unmarried and widows, It is good for them if they abide even as I. But if they cannot contain, let them marry: for it is better to marry than to burn.
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==Modern history of marriage law==
  
−
And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, Let not the wife depart from her husband: But and if she depart, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband: and let not the husband put away his wife.
+
*1724 — blacks, with permission of their slave owner, given the right to marry (formerly, under [[British]] law, only whites could legally marry)
 +
*1769 — women no longer considered property of their husbands
 +
*1899 — polygamy outlawed in the US
 +
*1967 — interracial marriage legalized in all states
 +
*1981 — rise of community property laws as men no longer seen as the sole owner of all marital assets
 +
*2015 — same-sex "marriage" legalized
  
−
But to the rest speak I, not the Lord: If any brother hath a wife that believeth not, and she be pleased to dwell with him, let him not put her away. And the woman which hath an husband that believeth not, and if he be pleased to dwell with her, let her not leave him. For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband: else were your children unclean; but now are they holy. But if the unbelieving depart, let him depart. A brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases: but God hath called us to peace. For what knowest thou, O wife, whether thou shalt save thy husband? or how knowest thou, O man, whether thou shalt save thy wife?
+
==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>
  
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==Christianity==
+
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.
  
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In most branches of Christianity, marriage is a life-long religious union between a man and a woman.
+
Since the middle of the 20th century, [[Liberalism]] has sought to dismantle the societal pressures that dissuade people from engaging in extramarital and [[premarital sex]]. Removing the stigma from these behaviors, creating no-fault [[divorce]] laws, exalting adultery as liberating, rejuvenating, and "stimulating", and especially the de-stigmatizing of [[homosexuality]] all weaken the institution of marriage.
  
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==Mormonism==
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A recent ''Newsweek'' article complained that [[Biblical figures]] have not provided good historical examples of marriage, noting that [[Abraham]] begat [[Ishmael]] by a maidservant and [[Jacob]] had [[polygamy|two wives]] and had sons with both of their [[concubine|servants]]. The article also criticizes [[Jesus]] and [[St. Paul]] for remaining single.<ref>http://www.newsweek.com/id/172653/page/1</ref>
  
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Historically, [[Mormonism]] has practiced polygyny (more than one wife). It stopped being a part of mainstream Mormonism in 1890, but some fringe groups still practice it.
+
== Atheism and marriage ==
 +
[[File:Vox Day.jpg|thumbnail|right|180px|[[Vox Day|Theodore Beale]] declared that according to the 2001 American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS) "more than half of all atheists and [[agnosticism|agnostics]] don’t get married."<ref>https://creation.com/atheism</ref>]]
 +
''See also:'' [[Atheism and marriage]] and [[Atheist marriages]] and [[Atheism and divorce]]
  
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==Islam==
+
Christian apologist Michael Caputo wrote:
 +
{{cquote|Recently the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life has published its mammoth study on Religion in America based on 35,000 interviews... According to the Pew Forum a whopping 37% of atheists never marry as opposed to 19% of the American population, 17% of Protestants and 17% of Catholics.<ref>https://creation.com/atheism</ref>}}
  
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Islam allows [[Muslim]] men to have up to four wives. The Qu'ran says(4:3): "Marry women of your choice, two, or three, or four; but if you fear that you shall not be able to deal justly (with them), then only one." <ref>http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/ISLAM/QURAN.HTM</ref>
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[[Vox Day|Theodore Beale]] declared that according to the 2001 [[American Religious Identification Survey]] (ARIS) "more than half of all atheists and [[agnosticism|agnostics]] don’t get married."<ref>https://creation.com/atheism</ref>
  
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Before Islam, it was common for a man to have many wives. The limit of four imposed by Islam was a way of controlling the situation. A Muslim may marry up to four women only on condition he deals justly with all of them. For example, he must provide each with separate living accommodation. Since this is difficult, most Muslim men in practice do not have more than one wife.
+
The fertility rate is significantly lower in the atheist population (see: [[Atheism and fertility rates]]).
  
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The reason for allowing multiple wives was for the welfare of widows and orphans. Muslim men are required to be financially responsible for the members of their family, and this was a way of ensuring that there was somebody to take responsibility for widows' and orphans' welfare.
+
Furthermore, the [[Christian apologetics|Christian apologist]] Ken Ammi wrote in his atheism article at [[Creation Ministries International]]:
 +
{{cquote|“According to Barna, ‘Forty-two percent of adults who associate with a faith other than Christianity had co-habited, while atheists were the most likely to do so (51%).
  
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It also allowed for a man who wished to father children to take another wife if his first wife was barren, and allowing the first wife to choose whether to continue in the marriage. A Muslim man is not allowed to marry another woman without the knowledge and consent of his wife, and the wife has the right to ask for divorce if she does not agree.<ref>http://www.islamonline.com/cgi-bin/news_service/spot_full_story.asp?service_id=795</ref>
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“It is critical to stress that it is a well known fact that cohabiters experience a very high number of ‘breakups’ before getting married. ‘Millions of people … believe that cohabitation is a prelude to marriage. And for many, it is. However, Smock reports that 45% of cohabitations break up with no marriage. Another 10% continue cohabiting.’
  
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==Civil marriage==
+
“Barna did not include this enlightening fact in his research. Thus, if 21% of atheists divorce after marriage, and 45 % break up once or more before marriage, what we have is the astounding rate of about 66% of atheist couples experiencing ‘at least’ one break up. If, however, the number is 37%, then we have a shocking figure of 82% …
  
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Civil marriage is a legal [[contract]]. In the state constitutions of almost all states, this contract must be between one man and one woman.  It gives each member certain rights and obligations.  Most commonly, these include [[power of attorney]], [[inheritance]] rights, sharing finances, and rights in relation to any children they may have. With the advent of no-fault divorce, most of these rights and obligations can be terminated by either party at any time for any reason.
+
“What needs mentioning is the fact that many atheists do not cohabit as a prelude to marriage. They in fact see cohabitation as ‘equivalent’ to any marriage relationship … These break ups were not included in the Barna research …
  
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The Scandinavian nations and the UK allow same-sex couples to gain benefits by registering a legal commitment, although they acquire fewer advantages than opposite-gender couples receive automatically upon marriage.
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“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>}}
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In the U.S. there are over a thousand federal benefits to marriage but none to same-sex civil partnerships. Couples registering same-sex relationships receive some state benefits in California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Vermont. Rights accruing from same-sex marriages contracted in other states are respected in Rhode Island, and some restricted benefits are available to same-sex partners in Hawaii and Maine.<ref>[http://www.religioustolerance.org/hom_marr.htm]</ref>
+
  
 
==References==
 
==References==
−
<references />
+
{{reflist|2}}
 +
 
 +
==See also==
 +
* [[Form of Solemnization of Matrimony]]
 +
* [[Fidelity]]
 +
* [[Gedankenexperiment#Marriage vs. Homosexual Life-style|Marriage vs. Homosexual Life-style]]
 +
* [[Civil marriage]]
 +
* [[Arranged marriage]]
 +
* [[Marriage in the Unification Church]]
 +
* [[Agamist]]
 +
* [[Oath Keepers]]
 +
* [[Ten Commandments]]
 +
* [[Sacrament]]
 +
* [[Atheism and marriage]]
 +
 
 +
== References ==
 +
{{reflist|2}}
 +
 
 +
==External links==
 +
*[http://www.aim.org/wls/category/marriage/ What Liberals Say - Category: Marriage], [[Accuracy In Media]]
 +
* [http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1722155 What Is Marriage?; 2010 paper by Girgis, George, & Anderson]
 +
 
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[[Category:Marriage|*]]
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[[Category:Catholic Church Sacraments]]
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[[Category:Christian Rites]]
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[[Category:Oaths]]
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[[Category:Culture]]
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[[Category:Sociology]]
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[[Category:Sexual Morality]]
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[[Category:Religion]]

Revision as of 17:13, April 9, 2019

Bride and groom signing the book.jpg

Marriage is the divinely ordained covenant[1] between one man and one woman, and is intended to be for life. (Genesis 2:24)[2] This is recognized by the majority of churches.[3][4][5][6][7]

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

Marriage has been practiced as such in most cultures across geography and time.[8] Marriage is a lifelong commitment, and typically this involves a public ceremony (a wedding) in which vows are exchanged by the parties and before God. Approximately half of all traditional marriages in America end in divorce,[9] many due to Facebook and other liberal activities.

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.[10]

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 ...[11]

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.[12]

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...

...Marriage not only historically is the very first form of human society, it is logically the most beautiful, perfect, simple, and potentially productive human institution possible.

Biblical marriage advice

1 Corinthians 7:1-16:

“ Now concerning the things about which you wrote, it is good for a man not to touch a woman. But because of immoralities, each man is to have his own wife, and each woman is to have her own husband. The husband must fulfill his duty to his wife, and likewise also the wife to her husband. The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does; and likewise also the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. Stop depriving one another, except by agreement for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer, and come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. But this I say by way of concession, not of command. Yet I wish that all men were even as I myself am However, each man has his own gift from God, one in this manner, and another in that. But I say to the unmarried and to widows that it is good for them if they remain even as I. But if they do not have self-control, let them marry; for it is better to marry than to burn with passion. But to the married I give instructions, not I, but the Lord, that the wife should not leave her husband (but if she does leave, she must remain unmarried, or else be reconciled to her husband), and that the husband should not divorce his wife. But to the rest I say, not the Lord, that if any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she consents to live with him, he must not divorce her. And a woman who has an unbelieving husband, and he consents to live with her, she must not send her husband away. For the unbelieving husband is sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified through her believing husband; for otherwise your children are unclean, but now they are holy. Yet if the unbelieving one leaves, let him leave; the brother or the sister is not under bondage in such cases, but God has called us to peace. For how do you know, O wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, O husband, whether you will save your wife? ”

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.[13]

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."[14] 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

  • 1724 — blacks, with permission of their slave owner, given the right to marry (formerly, under British law, only whites could legally marry)
  • 1769 — women no longer considered property of their husbands
  • 1899 — polygamy outlawed in the US
  • 1967 — interracial marriage legalized in all states
  • 1981 — rise of community property laws as men no longer seen as the sole owner of all marital assets
  • 2015 — same-sex "marriage" legalized

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.[15]

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.

Since the middle of the 20th century, Liberalism has sought to dismantle the societal pressures that dissuade people from engaging in extramarital and premarital sex. Removing the stigma from these behaviors, creating no-fault divorce laws, exalting adultery as liberating, rejuvenating, and "stimulating", and especially the de-stigmatizing of homosexuality all weaken the institution of marriage.

A recent Newsweek article complained that Biblical figures have not provided good historical examples of marriage, noting that Abraham begat Ishmael by a maidservant and Jacob had two wives and had sons with both of their servants. The article also criticizes Jesus and St. Paul for remaining single.[16]

Atheism and marriage

Theodore Beale declared that according to the 2001 American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS) "more than half of all atheists and agnostics don’t get married."[17]

See also: Atheism and marriage and Atheist marriages and Atheism and divorce

Christian apologist Michael Caputo wrote:

“ Recently the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life has published its mammoth study on Religion in America based on 35,000 interviews... According to the Pew Forum a whopping 37% of atheists never marry as opposed to 19% of the American population, 17% of Protestants and 17% of Catholics.[18] ”

Theodore Beale declared that according to the 2001 American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS) "more than half of all atheists and agnostics don’t get married."[19]

The fertility rate is significantly lower in the atheist population (see: Atheism and fertility rates).

Furthermore, the Christian apologist Ken Ammi wrote in his atheism article at Creation Ministries International:

“ “According to Barna, ‘Forty-two percent of adults who associate with a faith other than Christianity had co-habited, while atheists were the most likely to do so (51%).

“It is critical to stress that it is a well known fact that cohabiters experience a very high number of ‘breakups’ before getting married. ‘Millions of people … believe that cohabitation is a prelude to marriage. And for many, it is. However, Smock reports that 45% of cohabitations break up with no marriage. Another 10% continue cohabiting.’

“Barna did not include this enlightening fact in his research. Thus, if 21% of atheists divorce after marriage, and 45 % break up once or more before marriage, what we have is the astounding rate of about 66% of atheist couples experiencing ‘at least’ one break up. If, however, the number is 37%, then we have a shocking figure of 82% …

“What needs mentioning is the fact that many atheists do not cohabit as a prelude to marriage. They in fact see cohabitation as ‘equivalent’ to any marriage relationship … These break ups were not included in the Barna research …

“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." … [20]

”

References

  1. ↑ 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.
  2. ↑ See also Perfect will of God vs Permissive will of God.
  3. ↑ Article 7, "The sacrament of matrimony"
  4. ↑ "Basic Beliefs," Southern Baptist Convention
  5. ↑ "Marriage"
  6. ↑ Albert Barnes, Matthew 19
  7. ↑ Matthew Henry, Matthew 19
  8. ↑ "Because there is a natural complementarity between men and women - sexual, emotional, temperamental, spiritual - marriage allows for a wholeness and a completeness that cannot be won in any other way. (Bill Bennett, The Broken Hearth, Page 197)
  9. ↑ Divorce is within the permissive will of God, Deut. 22:13; divorce however, is due to sin entering the world, which God is willing to redeem. God himself in fact is divorced from Israel (Jer. 3:8-14; see also Is. 54:5), or for that matter, all unredeemed sinners.
  10. ↑ Gay Rights vs. Democracy
  11. ↑ The Broken Hearth, Page 197)
  12. ↑ Scale-invariance as a unifying psychological principle; 1999
  13. ↑ Information on marriage licenses from Mercy Seat Christian Church
  14. ↑ Gay Marriage, Democracy, and the Courts
  15. ↑ Is there anyone left to defend traditional marriage?
  16. ↑ http://www.newsweek.com/id/172653/page/1
  17. ↑ https://creation.com/atheism
  18. ↑ https://creation.com/atheism
  19. ↑ https://creation.com/atheism
  20. ↑ Atheism = Mario Grinbank - Creation Ministries International

See also

References

External links

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