Question:
What is the purpose of marriage?
Answer:
I hate to pee in people's Corn Flakes, but I don't think that it's what it's cracked up to be. I see its primary (and the only really consequential) purpose as raising a family. Sure, you can point to it as a parallel of Christ's relationship with His church, but I really don't think that it's necessary to go to such lengths to illustrate a point. I tend to think that its only function is to raise a family in a stable, Godly setting. All the lovebirds are going to tell me that I'm trivialising a supremely great thing, that I'm being overly cynical, but after having heard the speakers, gone to the seminars, read the books, I weighed what I saw and drew my conclusions accordingly.
Answer:
what about those who can't have kids... still a family?
Answer:
Originally Posted by Grasshopper359 I hate to pee in people's Corn Flakes, but I don't think that it's what it's cracked up to be. I see its primary (and the only really consequential) purpose as raising a family. Sure, you can point to it as a parallel of Christ's relationship with His church, but I really don't think that it's necessary to go to such lengths to illustrate a point. I tend to think that its only function is to raise a family in a stable, Godly setting. All the lovebirds are going to tell me that I'm trivialising a supremely great thing, that I'm being overly cynical, but after having heard the speakers, gone to the seminars, read the books, I weighed what I saw and drew my conclusions accordingly. Just a quick off-topic question....are you married or ever been married?
Answer:
What is the purpose of marriage?
The ultimate purposes of mariage are found in the Genesius Chapters 1&2 on marriage--it is not good for man to ber alone-God made man a fit help meet. The 2 become one flesh to serve and glorify God. Reproduction is a command inorder to produce more Godly folk to live aqnd serve the Lord. Th8at is about the whole purpose of marriage.
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Originally Posted by nix what about those who can't have kids... still a family?
I guess they could always adopt.
Just a quick off-topic question....are you married or ever been married?
Am I, or have I ever been, a member of the Communist Party?
-I could answer exactly the way you want, Mrs. Harbison, but I think that is a...
-It is not a question of our wanting you to answer that. It is a very simple question. Any real man would be proud to answer the question.
- It depends on the circumstances. I could answer it, but if I did I would hate myself in the morning.
What is this, matrimonial McCarthyism?
Answer:
Genesis 1:28a
Then God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it."
Genesis 2:18
And the LORD God said, "It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him."
Song Of Solomon 2:3-6 (love DOES get mushy, even in the Bible!)
(The Shulamite)
Like an apple tree among the trees of the woods,
So is my beloved among the sons.
I sat down in his shade with great delight,
And his fruit was sweet to my taste.
He brought me to the banqueting house,
And his banner over me was love.
Sustain me with cakes of raisins,
Refresh me with apples,
For I am lovesick.
His left hand is under my head,
And his right hand embraces me.
1 Corinthians 7:1-3
Now concerning the things of which you wrote to me:
It is good for a man not to touch a woman. Nevertheless, because of sexual immorality, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband. Let the husband render to his wife the affection due her, and likewise also the wife to her husband.
Answer:
Originally Posted by Grasshopper359 Adam was a weakling. I mean, it only took him one more chapter to give in to temptation. Um... last time I checked my Bible, that's not why it said God made women.
I think that this is a perfect example of the fleshly feelings that have to be subdued. I mean, how are you supposed to make a clear descision with that crap floating about in your head? All it does is convolute your decision-making process, much like alcohol. I mean, they drank wine in the Bible too, but when it's abused, it causes problems. It's a concession to the weak and fleshly nature of humanity. I see no condemnation for these feelings anywhere in the Bible.
In this case, marriage is the alternative to sexual immorality. Which it often is in "real life" as well.
Answer:
The purpose of marriage, I believe, is to bind people together.
Marriage is a legal partnership with rights and responsibilities.
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Interesting question, I must say...lemme take a crack at it.
First off, we've already proven that it is not good for man to be alone. I don't think that this means what Grasshopper thinks it does; it doesn't necessarily mean that man is "too weak to hack it" (after all, it never actually says that. Also, do you realize how much the Bible understates? It probably took Adam a lot longer than it seems to give in to temptation), it just means that man shouldn't be alone. Think about yourself or any other human being (especially males)...is it good for them to be all alone with no one else around? Not to my knowledge, it isn't.
As to the verses Grasshopper quoted, the first one specifically states that this is not meant to restrain anyone, but to try and keep them on the right path. This seems to mean that, if one is married, one should attempt to keep one's main attention on God and His wishes, and not just that you shouldn't get married period.
I think the second two verse are out of context, but I'll have to go check and make sure...and, of course, I seem to have misplaced my Bible...
God says in Genesis to "be fruitful and multiply". One of Grasshopper's first points was "what about people that don't have children?". Now, whether they're right or wrong mainly depends on the reason for their not having children. If they simply cannot have children for whatever reason, it's no fault of theirs (and for those of you who think they should be repentant or whatnot, I think their regret for not being able to bring a child into the world would be repentance enough). However, if they choose not to have children, there's a problem. After all, God directly ordered them to be fruitful. This is part of the problem with homosexuality; if the world was gay, humanity would be erased. Slowly, yes, but it would still be erased. But I digress; if people conciously choose not to have children, I think this is a problem.
Before I wrap this up, I've got one thing to say about marriage that sort of bugs me. It's not the actual marriage, mind you, but the legal part; in this day and age, the marriage ceremony has almost become more important than the actual marriage itself. To my mind, it doesn't matter if you're legally married or not-you are still "married" to someone out there (unless you're one of those people God doesn't intend to have marry). That is just about the only thing that bothers me. Some people are meant to be together. Whether they've met or not, they are still meant for each other, and should therefore save themselves until such a time as their devotion to one another under their Lord can be recognized by all; family, friends, and country.
That's about all I have to say...please post any other comments or question and I'll do my best to try and be around to answer them. God bless.
-Sazzy
Answer:
I just got back from the Family life marriage conference with my husband and the main things they focused on was God's idea for marriage, it is summed up in one word: Oneness.
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Originally Posted by Grasshopper359 This bugs me too. And I imagine it's why a lot of people who aren't Christians don't bother with weddings, they just move in with one another. actually, to my knowledge, the reason nonChristians don't bother with weddings so much and just "shack up" is because that way it's tons easier when you decide to throw in the towel... none of that legal crap to deal with...
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Originally Posted by danalyn actually, to my knowledge, the reason nonChristians don't bother with weddings so much and just "shack up" is because that way it's tons easier when you decide to throw in the towel... none of that legal crap to deal with...
which is somewhat misguided, if you live in a state with common-law. Here in washington, if you're shacked up for three years, you're legally married, and are required to obtain a legal divorce to eliminate all sorts of legal obligations.
There's no real benefit to not getting married, if you're just going to shack up.
Answer:
Really? Here, the legal definition of marriage (in Canada) is a couple living for only one year or more in a conjugal relationship. Now, most people who are simply living together don't bother pursuing the same route after separation as those who divorce, but that's mostly I think because they don't know that they can. This accounts for the divorce rate being so low - there are more people moving in together, and fewer actually marrying.
Why people don't bother with an actual wedding, I guess could have a number of reasons. Dana certainly brought up a good one. Although they have the same legal status as a married couple, it's still a lot easier to walk away, and there's no divorce proceeding to deal with. Stastically speaking (which aren't always accurate, since so many common-law relationships end as informally as they start), few couples who end common-law relationships pursue the legal route; they simply take their belongings and move out.
Other times, it's because planning a wedding is just too much trouble, and our society has no more reservations about living together; it's not a dirty little secret anymore that so-and-so are living together and not married. That brings me to my third point, that society accepts common-law relationships as being on par with marriage, so weddings don't serve much purpose anymore. Increasingly, Christians, Muslims, Jews and Hindus are becoming the only ones to go through the trouble of weddings to recognise a husband and wife (although, the Bible doesn't specifically say that there has to be a wedding for a couple to be married, but I'm not going to get into that because it's a stupid, and completely self-defeating argument).
My second order of business here today is to apologise for being so aggressive in the pursuit of my point. This morning, God gave me an attitude adjustment, and showed me that I was doing the very thing that had irritated me so much about some others in the past in assaulting and trying to destroy other people's perspectives because I had an axe to grind. It's alright to have a conviction on something, but to attack other people's convictions the way I did is arrogant and disruptive. Again, I apologise for this.