What is marriage?

Grace2022

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Saw an interesting programme on TBN UK today. About what the Bible says and guides us about the meaning of marriage.
One point that i found food for thought was that one in two relationships end in divorce these days! I don't know if that is accurate, i hope not. That's depressing.
The reason was being discussed. Apparently this dismal statistic could be because people expect to find 'THE ONE' upon whom they then pin all their hopes and expectations that all their problems will be solved. That this amazing person will change their lives and give them happiness forever. Soul mates.
That of course we know as christians is impossible. No one human being can fulfill all our needs. We are all imperfect after all and only one person is perfect - Jesus Christ.
So, a marriage or relationship based on assuming our chosen spouse will totally fulfill us is not built on a firm foundation. Whereas if we choose to have Jesus in that life together we surely head for success as He will never fail us.
What do you think?
 

eleos1954

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What Jesus says about divorce.

Matthew 19

3And Pharisees came up to him and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful to divorce one’s wife for any cause?” 4He answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, 5and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? 6So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” 7They said to him, “Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce and to send her away?” 8He said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. 9And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery.”a
 
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Truth7t7

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are you asking "What is marriage" in the modern sense or "What is marriage" in the Bible? They're two very different things. :wave:
tulc(there were a lot of different forms of marriage in the Bible) :)
I think the OP is pretty clear, christian biblical marriage.
 
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Truth7t7

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I think people don't see marriage as a covenant, but as a contract.
They get the idea that if they don't like it they can just get a divorce.
Not taking the vow of "Till death do us part" very seriously.
I agree!

Marriage applies to all humans God creates.
Genesis 2:24

As long as the spouse lives the marriage is in effect. Romans 7:1-3

A Married Man/Woman cannot divorce and get remarried. Mark 10:11-12
 
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Dave-W

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One point that i found food for thought was that one in two relationships end in divorce these days! I don't know if that is accurate, i hope not. That's depressing.
That is an old statistic. Like 1980s-90s old.

The fact is that less couples get married any more. (even in the church)

Here is Barna's stats (from 2008)

upload_2018-1-16_10-45-58.png


https://www.barna.com/research/new-marriage-and-divorce-statistics-released/
 
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Mountainmanbob

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Each day I make a decision to love my wife.

When people tell themselves that they think they are falling out of love -- in short time they will be out of love.

I learned in premarital Christian counseling that it is a decision made.

M-Bob
 
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ViaCrucis

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Marriage has been many things for many cultures throughout history, but generally it has been a form of social bond through which procreation and familial, tribal, and/or cultural cohesion has been rooted. In many societies, both past and present, marriage has functioned as a means of uniting families, extending tribes or clans, or forming alliances between tribes or clans. This is also true of ancient Israel and the biblical Old Testament record--marriage was a social contract which brought together families and tribes and helped solidify the integrity of the nation as a whole; especially since generally speaking Israelites were expected to marry other Israelites and marrying those from other nations was considered at the very least problematic.

Jesus asserts that divorce was never really supposed to be some casual institution, and providing His input in a rabbinical debate (one which largely existed between the House of Hillel and the House of Shammai) Jesus uses Adam and Eve to illustrate the unity of two persons together in marriage--and that, therefore, divorce should be reserved for only serious issues, such as infidelity; this largely agrees with the House of Shammai as the House of Hillel argued that it was permissible for a man to give his wife a certificate of divorce for nearly any reason (including burning a meal).

In Christianity marriage and celibacy have co-existed side-by-side as equal expressions of Christian life. And marriage, among Christians, largely followed the predominant cultural precedent, as such Christians in the Roman Empire followed Roman custom and laws as pertaining to marriage; much of which forms a basis for early medieval civil law.

For much of Christian history the Church played little to no role in marriage, as even where marriage was understood in a sacramental sense it was understood that the husband and wife were the officiants of the sacrament of marriage; when clergy began presiding over Christian marriages the primary function was as a witness of the marriage. Marriage was, essentially, an agreement between husband and wife (or between the parents/families of the husband and wife).

It is incredibly difficult to assert some universal idea of "marriage" because it has changed throughout history and with culture; but that it functions as a kind of social contract which exists to provide an environment for procreation within the larger society is probably the closest we can get to a universal definition of marriage.

-CryptoLutheran
 
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Truth7t7

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Marriage has been many things for many cultures throughout history, but generally it has been a form of social bond through which procreation and familial, tribal, and/or cultural cohesion has been rooted. In many societies, both past and present, marriage has functioned as a means of uniting families, extending tribes or clans, or forming alliances between tribes or clans. This is also true of ancient Israel and the biblical Old Testament record--marriage was a social contract which brought together families and tribes and helped solidify the integrity of the nation as a whole; especially since generally speaking Israelites were expected to marry other Israelites and marrying those from other nations was considered at the very least problematic.

Jesus asserts that divorce was never really supposed to be some casual institution, and providing His input in a rabbinical debate (one which largely existed between the House of Hillel and the House of Shammai) Jesus uses Adam and Eve to illustrate the unity of two persons together in marriage--and that, therefore, divorce should be reserved for only serious issues, such as infidelity; this largely agrees with the House of Shammai as the House of Hillel argued that it was permissible for a man to give his wife a certificate of divorce for nearly any reason (including burning a meal).

In Christianity marriage and celibacy have co-existed side-by-side as equal expressions of Christian life. And marriage, among Christians, largely followed the predominant cultural precedent, as such Christians in the Roman Empire followed Roman custom and laws as pertaining to marriage; much of which forms a basis for early medieval civil law.

For much of Christian history the Church played little to no role in marriage, as even where marriage was understood in a sacramental sense it was understood that the husband and wife were the officiants of the sacrament of marriage; when clergy began presiding over Christian marriages the primary function was as a witness of the marriage. Marriage was, essentially, an agreement between husband and wife (or between the parents/families of the husband and wife).

It is incredibly difficult to assert some universal idea of "marriage" because it has changed throughout history and with culture; but that it functions as a kind of social contract which exists to provide an environment for procreation within the larger society is probably the closest we can get to a universal definition of marriage.

-CryptoLutheran
History and culture play no part in God's words, or church.

There is no universal idea, it's God's words.

Marriage was instituted in the beginning, this applies to the human race, Genesis 2:24, Matthew 19:5

A man shall leave his father and mother and cleave unto his wife, and the two shall be one flesh.

Man + Woman = One Flesh = Marriage

World cuture believes same sexes can marry?

Not in God's eyes are they married.
 
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