I will cover what Marriage is, the purpose of Marriage, and what the Bible has to say about Marriage.
What is Marriage?
Marriage is the covenant between a man a woman to emotional and sexual fidelity for the purpose of creating a family and raising children.
The institution of Marriage has existed in almost every civilization throughout the history of mankind. It is governed by natural law, as it takes a man and a woman to create a child. It is the ideal environment for children to grow in. And Marriage is a sacrament of the church:
"The matrimonial covenant, by which a man and a woman establish between themselves a partnership of the whole of life, is by its nature ordered toward the good of the spouses and the procreation and education of offspring; this covenant between baptized persons has been raised by Christ the Lord to the dignity of a sacrament" ~ CCC 1601
What is the purpose of Marriage?
The purpose of Marriage is twofold:
- to provide an example of the sacrificial love of God to the rest of the world
- to procreate and provide a nourishing environment for children
To be clear, let's point out a few things that Marriage is not:
- Marriage is not about the pleasures of adults (and never has been).
- Marriage is not a sterile institution (and never has been, naturally).
- Marriage is not about happy feelings (and never has been).
- Marriage is not just about sex (and never has been).
What does the Bible say about Marriage?
Sacred Scripture begins with the creation of man and woman in the image and likeness of God and concludes with a vision of "the wedding-feast of the Lamb." Scripture speaks throughout of marriage and its "mystery," its institution and the meaning God has given it, its origin and its end, its various realizations throughout the history of salvation, the difficulties arising from sin and its renewal "in the Lord" in the New Covenant of Christ and the Church ~ CCC 1602
"This one, at last, is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; This one shall be called 'woman,' for out of 'her man' this one has been taken." That is why a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two of them become one body." ~ Genesis 2:24
"Alleluia! The Lord has established his reign, (our) God, the almighty. Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory. For the wedding day of the Lamb has come, his bride has made herself ready." ~ Revelations 19:6-7In his preaching Jesus unequivocally taught the original meaning of the union of man and woman as the Creator willed it from the beginning permission given by Moses to divorce one's wife was a concession to the hardness of hearts. The matrimonial union of man and woman is indissoluble: God himself has determined it "what therefore God has joined together, let no man put asunder." ~ CCC 1614
[Jesus] said in reply, "Have you not read that from the beginning the Creator 'made them male and female' and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, no human being must separate." ~ Matthew 19:4-6
In Summary
Marriage is the covenant between a man a woman to emotional and sexual fidelity for the purpose of creating a family and raising children.
This definition of Marriage has been recognized by civilizations throughout history. Jesus Christ reinforced this definition. He even raised Marriage to level of a sacrament in the Church because of its extreme importance as the building block of society.
Any attempts to "redefine" Marriage only create confusion because Marriage is governed by natural law. It cannot be anything else. This is the true definition of Marriage and it should be protected.
This post is the first of two in a mini-series. The next post here covers the impacts on children when changes to family structure are made.
Appendix
The Bible is filled with verses about Marriage. Below are just a few examples. I will continue to add more.
God created man in his image; in the divine image he created him; male and female he created them. God blessed them, saying: "Be fertile and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and all the living things that move on the earth." ~ Genesis 1:27
"...but none proved to be the suitable partner for the man. So the LORD God cast a deep sleep on the man, and while he was asleep, he took out one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. The LORD God then built up into a woman the rib that he had taken from the man. When he brought her to the man, the man said: "This one, at last, is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; This one shall be called 'woman,' for out of 'her man' this one has been taken." That is why a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two of them become one body." ~ Genesis 2:24
"Then I heard something like the sound of a great multitude or the sound of rushing water or mighty peals of thunder, as they said: "Alleluia! The Lord has established his reign, (our) God, the almighty. Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory. For the wedding day of the Lamb has come, his bride has made herself ready." ~ Revelations 19:6-7
He said in reply, "Have you not read that from the beginning the Creator 'made them male and female' and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, no human being must separate." ~ Matthew 19:4-6
In addition, here are a few excerpts about what the Catholic Church believes about marriage:
"The intimate partnership of married life and love has been established by the Creator and qualified by His laws, and is rooted in the conjugal covenant of irrevocable personal consent. Hence by that human act whereby spouses mutually bestow and accept each other a relationship arises which by divine will and in the eyes of society too is a lasting one. For the good of the spouses and their off-springs as well as of society, the existence of the sacred bond no longer depends on human decisions alone. For, God Himself is the author of matrimony, endowed as it is with various benefits and purposes.(1) All of these have a very decisive bearing on the continuation of the human race, on the personal development and eternal destiny of the individual members of a family, and on the dignity, stability, peace and prosperity of the family itself and of human society as a whole. By their very nature, the institution of matrimony itself and conjugal love are ordained for the procreation and education of children, and find in them their ultimate crown." ~ Gaudium et Spes, 48
"Sacred Scripture begins with the creation of man and woman in the image and likeness of God and concludes with a vision of "the wedding-feast of the Lamb." Scripture speaks throughout of marriage and its "mystery," its institution and the meaning God has given it, its origin and its end, its various realizations throughout the history of salvation, the difficulties arising from sin and its renewal "in the Lord" in the New Covenant of Christ and the Church" ~ CCC 1602
In his preaching Jesus unequivocally taught the original meaning of the union of man and woman as the Creator willed it from the beginning permission given by Moses to divorce one's wife was a concession to the hardness of hearts. The matrimonial union of man and woman is indissoluble: God himself has determined it "what therefore God has joined together, let no man put asunder." ~ CCC 1614Here is a spectacular article on the conflicting definitions of marriage:
http://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2013/01/7495/
Keep Pursuing
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