Interdenominational relationships

[.Mikha'el.]

I suppose I should have ensured that I meant the relationship would be romantic, but I appear to accidentally neglected to do that.

 

[Diane_Windsor]

Should two Christians who have very different opinions of theology pursue a relationship.

If God wills it for the couple's lives

Galatians 3:28 (NIV)

28There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. (Emphasis mine.)

In general, I really don't think it matters in the long run because all Christians are one in Christ Jesus. If Mary Matalin (R) and James Carville (D) can make a marriage work then surely two Christians with different theology can! Take it a step further and you have Cokie and Steven Roberts. He is Jewish while she is Roman Catholic-they have been married 30+ years and have some adult children together. The reason of their success they say is that they strongly support one another in their faith journey. I really admire both of them for that.

Having said that though I would not marry a strict Eastern Orthodox or a strict Roman Catholic. All other religions are pretty much okay with me.

Raising of children. There are many solutions to this issue, and I agree that a couple should agree upon this before marriage.

1. Raise the girls in mom's faith and raise the boys in dad's faith, or vice versa.

2. Alternate. First child is raised in mom's faith while second child in dad's faith and so on and so forth. This is the solution that Malcom Forbes' parents used, which is why he and some of his siblings were raised as Roman Catholics, and other siblings were not.

3. Let the children decide later on, or raise them as nothing.

4. Raise the children solely in mom's faith, or vice versa.

5. Raise the children in both faiths, and go to each other's church services as a family.

There are some other solutions that I may be forgetting.

Bottom line: A couple should always follow God's will for their lives. If it is God's will that they marry then they should marry. If it is God's will for them to stay apart then they should stay apart. In everything we do may God's will be done.

Diane

 

[DailyBlessings]

Well, I'm sure it would cause some problems, but every relationship is going to have problems. As long as you don't go into it naively, I think it's perfectly fine for two people of different denominations to be together. Not to mention good for the Church, whose petty arguments with herself I find tiring. Minor points of doctrine certainly shouldn't stand between the God-given love of two people for one another.

 

[Yitzchak]

I think that any couple, even if they are in the same denomination , needs to form a common destiny. This is a big issue to reconcile but really it is no bigger than reconciling differing family traditions. Holidays, how to discipline and raise children, how to handle money. My feeling is that if the couple handles all these other issues well then they can handle the issue of different denominations.

 

[techjedi]

Being that I am in this situation I think I can speak to it with some confidence...

My wife is Catholic, I am not and don't really associate myself with a particular group (Christian, non-denominational, whatever). We dated for 5 years before we got engaged, and were married 2 years later. We had many discussions about children and church before we made our decision. As far as church went, I told her what my firm beliefs were (which essentially eliminated any chance of me becoming Catholic) and we both promised not to try and convert each other. For children, I agreed that the children would be raised in the Catholic church but that if later in life they opted to change churches they would be allowed to make their own decision. We still talk from time to time about theological topics, and for the most part we are on the same page... we just try to recognize and respect each other's faith and comfort levels.

I wouldn't even say that I endorse "inter-denominational" relationships, because I don't like the term. We are all Christians, and Christianity comes in many different shapes, sizes, flavors and colors. We don't have to agree that all shapes are equal or that some are better, but we do have to realize that we are ultimately all there for the same purpose.

 

[T.J. Blessing]

I recently posted a thread about relationships between cousins. I just thought of a second hypothetical dilemma. Should two Christians who have very different opinions of theology pursue a relationship. to keep it simple, let's just suppose such a hypothetical relationship existed between a Catholic, and a non-denominational Protestant. Assume that children could be involved.

As long as both are born again there should not be a problem. Of course other problems may occur like in any other relationship.

We have come to agree about this in our marriage with my wife who was originally a presbyterian and I myself a pentecostal. If those two people are willing to make it work, it will work. If the foundation and the rock on which they stand is Jesus Christ our Lord, God will make a way for them.

God bless,

T.J.

 

[Sam Gamgee]

I wouldn't even say that I endorse "inter-denominational" relationships, because I don't like the term. We are all Christians, and Christianity comes in many different shapes, sizes, flavors and colors. We don't have to agree that all shapes are equal or that some are better, but we do have to realize that we are ultimately all there for the same purpose.

Well said!!!