Marriage is a legitimate and officially recognized union and complements two persons as partners in a personal relationship (historically and in most jurisdictions, in particular the union between a man and a woman).
The basic elements of marriage are: (1) the legal capacity of the parties to marry each other, (2) mutual agreement of the parties, and (3) the marriage contract as required by law.
Christian marriage is a union between man and woman, institutionalized and ordained by God, for a lifetime relationship between one man as husband and one woman as wife. The Apostle Paul gave the same direction when he wrote, "Let marriage be held in honor of all".
Although it is assumed that Jesus never married, he taught the importance and sanctity of a lifelong marriage. He quotes from both Genesis 1 and 2 [Matthew 19: 3-5] that Allah has created man as man and woman, [Genesis 1:27] and that in marriage "both become one flesh".
While marriages are respected throughout the Bible and affirmed among Christians, there is no suggestion that is necessary for everyone. Single people, who choose to remain unmarried or who have lost a partner for a reason, are incomplete in Christ or personal failure.
Video Christian views on marriage
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Christians are trying to establish the seriousness of the marriage vow. However, they respond with deep compassion by admitting that divorce, though less than ideal, is sometimes necessary to free one's spouse from unbearable difficulty, disloyalty or desertion. While the voice of God says, "I hate divorce", [Malachi 2:16] some authorities believe the divorce rate in the church is almost comparable to the culture in general.
Christians today have three competing views on what relationship between husband and wife are organized according to the Bible. These views range from Christian egalitarianism that interprets the New Testament as a teaching that complements equality of authority and responsibility between men and women in marriage, all the way to a Patriarch who calls for "return to complete patriarchy" in which relationship is based on male power and authority -the dominant trait in marriage:
1. Christian Egalitari believes in the same partnership of his wife and husband by not being appointed leader in marriage or family. By contrast, wives and husbands alike have an equal partnership both in marriage and in the family. Its proponents taught "the basic biblical principle of the equality of all men before the Lord".
"There is neither Jew nor Gentile, there is neither slave nor free, nor man and woman, for ye are all one in Christ Jesus."
According to this principle, there is no moral or theological justification to grant or deny permanent status, privileges or privileges solely on the basis of one's race, class, or gender.
2. Christian pioneers prescribe the husband-led leadership of the hierarchy. The core belief of this view demands a loving husband's "headship of love" and "wife's intelligent and willingness" to his leadership.Without the need to use the term "obedient," they believe that women have "different but complementary roles and responsibilities in marriage ".
3. Biblical patriarchy, though unpopular among mainline Christians, governs the dominant male hierarchy. This view makes the husband a "ruler" over his "wife" and his "household". The first principle of their organization is that "God reveals Himself to be masculine, not feminine, God is the eternal Father and eternal Son, the Holy Spirit is also called 'Him', and Jesus Christ is a man". They consider husbands to be 'sovereign' over their households - family leaders, providers, and patrons. They asked a wife to obey to her head , (her husband).
Some Christian authorities used to allow polygamy (especially polygamy) in the past, but this practice, in addition to illegal in Western culture, is now considered out of the Christian mainstream and continues to be practiced only by fundamentalist sects.
Maps Christian views on marriage
Many disputes depend on how one interprets the New Testament House Code (Haustafel) which has the primary focus of a hierarchical relationship between three pairs of social classes controlled by Roman law: spouses, parents/children, and master/slave. The code, by variation, appears in four letters (letter) by the Apostle Paul and in 1 Peter. Roman law Manus gives the husband absolute autocratic power almost over his wife, including life and death. The Law of Patria Potestas (Latin for "Rule of the Fathers") gives a husband the same power over his children and his slaves. Theologian Frank Stagg discovers the basic principles of the Code of Ethics in Aristotle's discussion of the households in Book 1 of Political and in Philo Hypothetica 7.14 . The serious study of the New Testament House Code (Haustafel) began with Martin Dilbelius in 1913, with numerous studies since then. In the TÃÆ'übingen dissertation, by James E. Crouch concludes that early Christians found in Hellenistic Judaism a code that they adapt and Christianize.
The Staggs believe that some of the emergence of the New Testament House Code in the Bible was intended to meet the need for order within the churches and in society at that time. They maintain that the New Testament House Code is an attempt by Paul and Peter to Christianize the harsh Code for the Roman citizen who has become a follower of Christ. Stagg writes that there are some suggestions in the scriptures that since Paul had taught that they had just found "freedom" in Christ, wives, children, and slaves took unfair advantage of Haustafel at home and church. "The form of code that emphasizes the social duty of reciprocity is traced to the background of Oriental Judaism itself, with a strong moral/ethical demand but also with a lowly woman's view.... Basically it may seem the eternal tension between freedom and order.... The important thing for Paul is' new creation '[Gal. 6:15] and' in Christ 'there is' no Jew is not Greek, no slave or free , no man and woman '. [Galatians 3:28]
Such a code exists in the Greek tradition. Two of these Christianized codes are found in Ephesians 5: 21-33 (which contains the phrase "husband is the head of the wife" and "wife, subject to your husband") and in Colossians 3: 18-4: 1 , instructing wives to submit themselves to their husbands.
The importance of the meaning of "head" as used by the Apostle Paul is very important in the conflict between the Complementarian position and the Egalitarian view. The word Paul uses for "head", transliterated from Greek, is
- . The English word today "cephalic" ( "English respelling pronunciation"> s? - FAL -ik ) comes from the Greek < i> kephal? and means "From or relating to the head, or located in, at, or near the head." The search for a thorough concordance by Catherine Kroeger shows that the most frequent use of "head" (halhal?) in the New Testament is referring to "head of body anatomy". He found that his second most frequent use in the New Testament was to convey the "source" metaphor. Other Egalitarian writers like Margaret Howe agree with Kroeger, writing that "The word 'head' (in 1Ã, CorinthiansÃ, 11: 3 and other similar parts) should be understood not as' ruler 'but as' source ' ".
- The word translated "help" or "helper" in Genesis 2:18 until recently was generally understood as a wife's subordinate to her husband. The KJV translates it as God says, "I will make help meet him". The first distortion is ekstrabiblika: the noun "help" and the adjective "met" has traditionally been combined into a new noun, "help". Thus, the wife is often referred to as a "friend" of her husband. Furthermore, from the word "aid" is drawn the conclusion of authority/conquest differences between men and women. "Helper" means that the husband is his boss and his wife in the country. It is now realized that of the 21 Hebrew word ezers used in the Old Testament, in eight of these examples the term clearly means "savior" - another word for Jehovah God. For example, Psalm 33:20 says "God... is our help ('ezer) and shield'. Psalm 121: 1-2 reads" I lift my eyes to mountain - where does my help come from? My aide ('ezer) comes from God, the Creator of heaven and earth. "The Hebrew word is not used in the Bible by referring to such subordinates, so the' ezer forms in the Hebrew Bible can mean" to save "or" to be strong " or have an idea of ââpower and strength.
- The "two to one" concept, first mentioned in Gen. 2:24 , quoted by Jesus in his teaching on marriage and recorded almost identical in the Gospels of Matthew and Mark.
[Mat. 19: 4-6] [Mk. 10: 7-9] In the excerpts Jesus reiterated the concept by adding the divine note to Genesis: "So they are no longer two, but one" (NIV). - The apostle Paul also quotes the passage of Genesis 2:24 in Ephesians 5: 1 Describing it as a "deep mystery," he analogizes it to "Christ and the church." [Eph. 5:32] Then Paul declares that every husband should love his wife when he loves himself. [5:33]
- Jesus actually forbids the hierarchy of relationships in Christian relationships. The three synoptic gospels record almost identical teachings about Jesus, adding to his obvious significance: [Matt.Ã, 20: 25-26a] [ Mark 10: 42-45] [Luke 22: 25-27]
- The apostle Paul calls husbands and wives to respect each other out of respect for Christ - bowing to one another. [EP. 5:21]
- As a person, husband and wife have the same value. There is no priority of one partner over another. Actually, they are one. Biblical scholar Frank Stagg and Classicist Evelyn Stagg wrote that marital equality produces the most intimate, healthy and satisfying marriages. They conclude that the Apostle Paul's statement, sometimes called "Magna Carta of Humanity" and recorded in Galatians 3:28, applies to all Christian relationships, including Christian marriage: "There is no Jew or Greek , no bond or free, no man or woman : for you are all one in Christ Jesus. "
- The apostle Peter summoned husbands and wives "joint heirs of the gift of life" and warned a husband who did not care for his wife and did not treat him with respect that his prayer would be hindered. [1 Peter 3: 7]
- Each of the six times Aquila and his wife Priscilla are named in the New Testament, they are listed together. The sequence of their appearances alternated, with Aquila mentioned first in the first, third and fifth, and Priscilla (Prisca) first in the other three. Some revisions of the Bible place the first Priscilla, not Aquila, in Acts 18:26, following the Vulgate and some Greek texts. Some experts argue that Priscilla is the head of the family unit.
- Among couples, it is possible to bow without love, but it is impossible to love without sending each other. [Col. 3: 8-9]
- which pair is more competent for a particular task or function;
- who has better access to her;
- or if they decide they are both competent and have equal access, they may make decisions based on who prefers the function or task, or vice versa, which of them is not likes less than others. The egalitarian view holds that decisions about managing family responsibilities are rational through cooperation and negotiation, not by tradition (for example, "male" or "female") employment, as well as other irrelevant or irrational grounds.
-
- 1 Follow God's example, therefore, as a beloved child 2 and walk the path of love....
- 18 filled with the Spirit....
- 21 Send one another in honor of Christ.
- 22 Wife, [send yourself] to your own husband as you did to God. 23 Because the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, in which he is the Savior. 24 Now when the church submits to Christ, so does the wife should submit to their husbands in everything.
- 25 Husband, love your wife, just as Christ loves the church and submits himself to 26 to make it holy, clean it by washing with water through word, 27 and to offer himself to himself as a shining church, without spot or wrinkle or any other defect, but holy and blameless. 28 In the same way, husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. he who loves his wife, loves himself. 29 After all, no one ever hates their own bodies, but they feed and care for their bodies, just as Christ does the church - 30 because we are members of His body. 31 "For this reason, a man will leave his father and mother and unite with his wife, and both will be one flesh." 32 This is a deep mystery - but I am talking about Christ and the church. 33 However, each of you must also love his wife when he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.
Wayne Grudem criticizes in general rendering kephal? in the same verses which only mean "source", and argue that it shows "authoritative head" in texts like 1 CorinthiansÃ, 11: 3 . They interpret the verse to mean that God the Father is the head of authority over the Son, and in turn Jesus is the chief authority over the church, not just the source. By extension, they then conclude that in marriage and in the church, the man is the chief authority over the woman.
Another potential way of defining the word "head", and therefore the relationship between husband and wife as found in the Bible, is through the example given in the surrounding context in which the word was found. [EP. 5: 20-33] In that context husband and wife are compared to Christ and his church. The context seems to imply a structure of authority based on a man sacrificing himself for his wife, just as Christ did for the church; a love-based authority structure, where submission is not necessary but is provided free of charge based on the care given to the wife.
Some biblical references on this subject are disputed depending on one's theological school. The historical grammatical method is a hermeneutic technique that seeks to reveal the meaning of the text by considering not only grammatical words but also syntactic, cultural and historical aspects, and literary genres. So the reference to a patriarchal bible culture may or may not be relevant to other societies. What is believed to be an eternal truth for one person or a denomination can be regarded as a cultural norm or a small opinion of others.
The egalitarian view
The Egalitarian Christian (from the French word "ÃÆ' à © gal" meaning "equivalent") believes that Christian marriage is meant to be a marriage without hierarchy - full and equal partnership between wife and husband. They emphasize that in the New Testament there is no requirement for a wife to obey her husband. While "obedient" was introduced into the wedding vows for most of the churches during the Middle Ages, the only New Testament support was found in 1 Peter 3: 6 , with it simply because of the implications of Sarah's obedience to Abraham. Scriptures like Galatians 3:28 state that in Christ, the right relationship is restored and in him, "no Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female."
Egalitarian Christians interpreting the scriptures mean that God intends the couple to practice be subdued , each in equality with the other. The phrase "subdued" comes from a verse in Ephesians 5:21 that precedes counsel for three domestic relationships that day, including slavery. It reads, "Hand over each other ('bow to one another') out of respect for Christ", wives for husbands, children to parents, and slaves to their masters. The Christian Egalitarians believe that full partnership in marriage is the most biblical view, resulting in the most intimate, healthy, and complementary marriage.
The Egalitarian Christian view of marriage affirms that gender, in and of itself, has no privilege or limits the giving of believers or calls to any ministry in the church or home. It does not imply that women and men are identical or undifferentiated, but affirm that God designed men and women to complement each other and benefit each other. The basic belief of Egalitarian Christians is that husbands and wives are created equal and ordained by God to "be one," a biblical principle first ordained by God in Genesis 2:24, reaffirmed by Jesus in Matthew 19: 4-6 and Mark 10: 6-8 , and by the Apostle Paul in Ephesians 5: 30-32 . Therefore, they see that "unity" as referring to gender equality in marriage. They believe that the biblical model for Christian marriage is because couples share the same responsibility in the family - not one over another or another under another.
David Dykes, theologian, author and pastor of the 15,000-member Baptist church, says that "when you are in Christ you have full equality with all other believers." In a sermon entitled "The Land is the Level of the Cross," he says that some theologians have summoned a particular Bible verse of the Magna Carta.
The Bible reads: "There is neither Jew nor Gentile, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female, for ye are all one in Christ Jesus." ( Galatians 3:28 ). Recognizing the difference between men and women, Dykes writes that "in Christ, these distinctions do not determine who we are.the only truly important category in the world is whether you are in Christ.In the cross, Jesus destroys all obstacles artificial animosity: "ethnicity, social status, and gender.
The sentence Galatians 3:28 comes after the apostle Paul tells us that he will not be subject to what is "hypocritical" to the Gospel.
[Gal. 2: 1-14] The apostle Peter has affirmed the truth of the Gospel about the Gentiles by his words, but his actions compromise it.
Persons of egalitarian persuasion refer to biblical teaching that all Christians, regardless of gender, must submit to or bow down "to one another in the fear of God" (Ephesians 5: 21 KJV) soup> or "homage to Christ". [NIV] Gilbert Bilezikian writes that in the highly debated part of Ephesians 5, the verb "to be subject" or "to be submitted" appears in verse 21 which he describes as serving as "hinges" between two different parts. The first part consists of verses 18-20, verse 21 is the relationship between the two, and the second part consists of verses 22-33. When the discussion begins at verse 22 of Ephesians 5, Paul seems to reaffirm the principle of the chain of command within the family. However,
... when interpretation begins with verse 21, all readings describe each other in the family. The wife bowed to her husband in all respects "as God did." If her husband proposes an unfit request for her Lord, her primary loyalty is "to God."... The instructions on filing are four times longer for husbands than for wives. The largest delivery burden is clearly placed on the husband.
Advocates of Christian egalitarianism believe that this model has strong biblical support:
The egalitarian paradigm leaves it to the couple to decide who is responsible for what task or function at home. Such a decision must be made rationally and wisely, [Eph 5:15] not based on gender or tradition. Examples of pairing decision logic may include:
Complementary view
Complementaries hold a hierarchical structure between husband and wife. They believe men and women have different gender-specific roles that allow each to complement another, then the appointment of "Complementarians". The complementary view of marriage states that while husbands and wives share equal value before God, husbands and wives are given different functions and responsibilities by God based on gender, and that male leadership is biblically ordained so that husbands are always authority figures senior. They claimed that they "observed with deep concern" "accompanied the distortion or ignored the pleasant harmony portrayed in Scripture between the clever, humble leadership of a redeemed husband and loving support, and willing from that leadership by the wives redeemed ". They believe that "the Bible presents a clear chain of authority - above all authority and power is God, the Lord is the head of Christ, then in descending order, Christ is the head of man, man is the head of woman, and the parents are the heads of their children. Complementaries teach that God intends men to lead their wives as "heads" of the family. Wayne Grudem, in an article that interprets the "joint submission" of Ephesians 5:21 as hierarchical, writes that it means "to be concerned with one another, and to care for one another's needs, and to be wise of one another others, and sacrifice one another. "
Scriptures like 1 Corinthians 11: 3: "But I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is male, and the head of Christ is God" (KJV) understood as meaning the wife must submit to her husband, if not unconditional.
According to complementary author John Piper, Wayne Grudem, and others, historically, but to a much lesser extent in most of today's Christianity, the dominant position in both Catholic and Protestant conservatives puts men as "heads" at home and in church. They argue that women are commanded to submit to male leadership, with a wife who is obedient to the head (her husband), based on the teachings and principles of the Old Testament. This view holds that, "God has created equal men and women in their important human dignity and human personality, but different and complementary in function with the headship of men at home and in the Church."
Grudem also recognizes the exception to the surrender of wives to husbands where moral issues are involved. Of the unconditional obedience, complementary writers such as Piper and Grudem are careful to warn that the surrender of a wife should not cause her to "follow her husband into sin."
The Roman Catholic Church's teaching on the role of women includes Pope Leo XIII in his 1890 encyclical Arcanum which states:
Her husband is the head of the family and the head of the wife. The woman, because she is the flesh of her flesh, and the bone of her bones, must bow to her husband and obey him; not, indeed, as a servant, but as a companion, so that his obedience will desire both honor and dignity. Because the husband represents Christ, and because his wife represents the Church, let it always exist, both in him who rules and in him obedient, the love born in heaven guides both in their respective duties. "This position was affirmed in the 1930 Encyclical Casti Connubii calling Ephesians 5:22 ," Let women submit to their husbands as to God, for the husband is the head of the wife, and Christ is the head of the Church.
Although each church is autonomous and independent, the official position of the Southern Baptist Convention (the largest Protestant denomination in the United States) is:
Husband and wife have the same value before God, because they are created in the image of God. A husband must love his wife as Christ loves the church. He has a God-given responsibility to provide, protect, and lead his family. A wife must surrender herself gracefully to the leadership of her husband's servant even when the church is willingly subject to Christ's headship. He, in the image of God as her husband and thus is equal to him, has a God-given responsibility to honor her husband and to serve as her helper in managing the home and nurturing the next generation. "
patriarchy by Biblical
The patriarchy marriage model is clearly the oldest. This marks the theological understanding of most of the writers of the Old Testament. He entrusted supremacy, at the moment of supreme domination, of the husband-father in the family. In the first century of the Roman Empire, in the time of Jesus, Paul, and Peter, it was the law of the state and gave the husband the absolute authority over his wife, children, and slaves - even life or death. It subdues all women.
Biblical patriarchy is similar to Complementarianism but with different degrees and emphases. The biblical patriarchs carry the husband's leadership model far farther and with more militancy. While the Companions also hold exclusively male leadership both at home and at church, Biblical patriarchy also extends the exclusion to the realm of citizenship, so women should not be civil leaders and should not have careers outside the home.
Patriarchy is based on authoritarianism - full obedience or submission to male authority as opposed to individual freedom. Patriarchy gives men an advantage basically all religious and cultural issues. This explicitly robs all women of all social, political, and economic rights. Marital relations only reinforce female domination by men, providing a religious, cultural, and legal structure that clearly supports patriarchy to the exclusion of even the most basic human dignity for wives.
Historically in classical patriarchy, wives and children have always depended on the father legally, as are slaves and other servants. It is a way of life in most of the Old Testament, religion, law, and culture. However, that is not unique to Hebrew thought. With only a few variations, it marked almost every pagan culture of the day - including all Pre-Christian doctrines and practices.
While Scripture permits this approach in the days of the Old Testament, wherever the Bible does not put it. In the Hebrew state, patriarchy seems to have evolved as an expression of male domination and supremacy, and the double standards prevailing in most of the Old Testament. Its contemporary advocates insist that this is the only valid Bible model for today's marriage. They argue that it is founded in Creation, and thus is a firm and irrevocable decision of God concerning the relative positions of men and women.
Biblical patriarchs see what they describe as the crisis of this era into what they call a systematic attack on "the eternal truth of biblical patriarchy". They believe such attacks include movements to "subvert the biblical model of the family, and redefine the meaning of fatherhood and motherhood, masculinity, femininity, and parent-child relationships." Arguing from the biblical presentation of God revealing himself "masculine, not feminine," they believe that God sets different gender roles for men and women as part of the fabricated order. They say "Adam's headship over Eve was set at the beginning, before sin entered the world". Their view is that men have God-given authority and a mandate to direct their "household" in the path of obedience to God. They refer to the human "power" that begins in the home, and a man's qualifications to lead and the ability to lead well in the public square is based on his previous success in governing his household.
Thus, William Einwechter refers to the traditional Complementarian view as the "two points of Complementarianism" (leadership of men in families and churches), and considers the biblical patriarchal view as "three-point" or "full" complementarianism (male leadership in the family , church and community ).
The patriarchs teach that "the woman was created as a helper for her husband, as the bearer of the children, and as" the guard at home, "concluding that the scope of power that God set and deserved for a wife is a household, patriarchically assume that" requires that (the biblical patriarch) be trusted, taught, and lived. "They claim that" man is... the image and glory of God in authority, while woman is the glory of man. "They teach that a wife must obey to his "head" (husband), based on the teachings and models of the Old Testament.
More views
See Christian feminism
Foundation and biblical history
Christians believe that marriage is considered ideal according to God's purpose. At the heart of God's design for marriage is friendship and intimacy.
The biblical picture of marriage extends into something much wider, with a husband and wife relationship that describes the relationship between Christ and the church.
It is also considered in actual events, sometimes involving failure. Therefore, the Bible speaks of the issue of divorce. The New Testament recognizes a place for singleness. Salvation in Christianity does not depend on the continuation of the biological lineage.
Old Testament
Polygamy, or men who have many wives at once, is one of the most common marriage arrangements represented in the Old Testament, but scholars doubt that it is common among the average Israelis because of the wealth needed to practice it. Both the biblical patriarch and the king of Israel are depicted engaging in polygamous relationships.
The engagement ( erusin ), which is only a binding promise to marry, is different from the marriage itself ( nissu'in ), with the time between these events varying substantially. Since a wife is considered a property in biblical times, engagement (erusin ) is done only by purchasing her from her father (or guardian); her consent is not explicitly required by any biblical law.
Like the adjacent Arab culture (in the pre-Islamic period), the act of marriage arose mainly consisting of the groom who picked up the bride, although among the Israelites (unlike Arabs) the procession was a festive event, accompanied by music, dancing, and turn on the lights. To celebrate the wedding, a week-long celebration is sometimes held.
In Old Testament times, a wife was considered a treasure, belonging to her husband. The Bible description shows that he will be expected to perform tasks such as spinning, sewing, weaving, making clothes, taking water, baking bread, and farms. However, wives are usually treated with caution, and big men are expected to ensure that they provide their first wife's food, clothing and sexual activity. [Ex 21:10]
Since a wife is considered a property, her husband was initially free to divorce her for any reason, at any time. A divorced couple may return together unless his wife marries another person after the divorce. Jesus about marriage, divorce, and remarriage
The Bible clearly discusses marriage and divorce. Those in marital matters are encouraged to seek counseling and recovery as most divorces are unnecessary and unavoidable.
"Do not you read that at first the Creator made them men and women, and said," For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and unite with his wife, and both will be one flesh "So they are < i> no longer two, but one, therefore, what God has united, let nothing separate. "
Both Matthew and Mark, Jesus appealed to God's will in creation. He builds on a narrative where men and women are created with the [Genesis 1:27] and each other.
Some argue that marriage promises can not be solved, so even in the sad situation where a couple separates, they are still married from God's point of view. This is the position of the Roman Catholic church, although sometimes the church will declare marriage to be "zero" (in other words, it is never really a marriage). William Barclay (1907-1978) writes:
There is no time in history when marriage bonds are in danger of greater destruction than in the days when Christianity first came into this world. At that time the world was in danger of witnessing the breakup of marriage and the collapse of the house.... Theoretically no nation has a higher marriage aspiration than the Jews. The voice of God says, "I hate divorce" (in Malachi 2:16 )
Jesus gathers two parts of Genesis, reinforcing the basic position of marriage found in the Jewish scriptures. Thus, he implicitly emphasizes that it is the work of God ("God has joined together"), "man and woman," [Genesis 1:27] lifetime ("let no one separate"), and monogamous ("a man... his wife").
Jesus used the image of marriage and family to teach the foundations of the Kingdom of God. He inaugurated his ministry by blessing the wedding at Cana. In the Sermon on the Mount he established a new commandment on marriage, teaching that lust is adultery.
Theologian Frank Stagg says that the manuscript disagrees with the presence in the original text of the phrase "except for fornication". Stagg writes: "Divorce always represents failure... a deviation from the will of God.... There is grace and redemption where there is repentance and repentance.... There is no clear authorization in the New Testament for remarriage after divorce." Stagg interprets the main concerns of Matthew 5:32 as "to condemn the criminal acts of a man who divorces an innocent wife.... Jesus rebukes the husband who sacrifices his innocent wife and thinks that he made it right by giving her a divorce ". He shows that Jesus refused to be trapped by the Pharisees to choose between the strict and liberal position on divorce as it was held at that time in Judaism. When they asked him, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason?" [Mt. 19: 3] he answers by reaffirming the will of God as stated in Genesis 1:27 and 2:24 , that in marriage the husband and wife are made "one flesh ", and what God has united humankind must not be separated. [Mt. 19: 4-6]
There is no evidence that Jesus himself was ever married, and there is much evidence that he remains single. Unlike Judaism and many other traditions, it teaches that there is a place for singleness voluntarily in Christian service. He believed marriage could be a diversion from an urgent mission, that he lived in times of crisis and urgency in which the Kingdom of God would be established where there would be no marriage or marriage:
"I tell you, indeed," Jesus told them, "no one who leaves home, wife, or brother or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God will fail many times in this age and, in the days to come, eternal life. "
In Matthew 22: 28-30 Jesus is asked about the state of continuing marriage after death and he insists that at the resurrection "people will not marry or be married, they will become like angels in heaven."
New Testament outside the Bible
The Apostle Paul quotes verses from Genesis almost word for word in two of his New Testament books. He uses marriage not only to portray the kingdom of God, as Jesus did, but also to define the nature of the first-century Christian church. His theological view is the Christian development of the Old Testament in parallel between marriage and the relationship between God and Israel. He analogies the church as the bride and Christ as the parallel of the bridegroom making between Christian marriage and the relationship between Christ and the Church.
There is no hint in the New Testament that Jesus was ever married, and there is no clear evidence that Paul was ever married. However, both Jesus and Paul seem to view marriage as a legitimate call from God to Christians. Paul enhanced the alignment with the preferred position, but offered a warning suggesting it was "due to the coming crisis" - which can be extended to the present (see also Pauline privilege). Paul's main problem is that marriage adds worries to one's life that diminishes their ability to serve God without interruption.
Some scholars speculate that Paul may have been a widower because before he converted to Christianity, he was a Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin, a position in which the social norm of the day required men to marry. But it looks like he never married at all.
However, Paul acknowledges the mutuality of the marriage relationship, and recognizes that his own singleness is a "special gift of God" that may not necessarily belong to others. He writes: "Now for the unmarried and the widows I say: It is good for them to remain unmarried, like me, but if they can not control themselves they must marry, for it is better to marry than to be burned to the full spirit. " [1C Cor 7: 8]
Paul shows that bishops, deacons, and elders must be "husbands of one wife", and that women should have one husband. It is usually understood to make laws against polygamy rather than sue for marriage:
Now the bishop is above reproach, faithful to his wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, friendly, able to teach, not given a drunk, not hard but soft, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money.
A deacon must be faithful to his wife and must manage his children and household well.
The reason I left you in Crete is that you may make what remains unfinished and appoint (or ordain) the elders in every city, as I instruct you. An elder must be blameless, faithful to his wife, a man whose children believe and not open to accusations of being wild and disobedient.
In Roman times, widows of unmarried women were considered more holy than those who did. Such widows are known as one female ( enos andros gune ) in Paul's letters. [1 Tim.Ã, 5: 9] Paul writes:
No widow can be included in the widow's list unless she is over sixty years old, faithful to her husband, and is well known for her good deeds, such as raising children, showing hospitality, washing the feet of God's people, helping those in distress and devoted himself to all kinds of good deeds ".
Paul allowed the widow to remarry. [1Ã, Cor.Ã, 7: 39-40] [1 Tim.Ã, 5: 11-16] Paul says that only single women older than 60 years Early Church Marriage and Father
Based on what they see the examples of Jesus and Paul suggest, some early Church Fathers place less value on families and see celibacy and freedom from family ties as a better country.
The Fathers of Nicea like Augustine believe that marriage is a sacrament because it is a symbol used by Paul to express the love of Christ to the Church. However, there is also an apocalyptic dimension in his teaching, and he is clear that if everyone stopped marrying and having children it would be a wonderful thing; it means that the Kingdom of God will return faster and the world will end. Such views reflect the past of Manichaean Augustine.
While upholding the New Testament teaches that marriage is "honorable in all and the bed is spotless," Augustine believes that "however, whenever it comes to the actual process of generation, a very legitimate and honorable embrace can not be done without the passion of lust. This is the carnal lust of the flesh, which, meanwhile no longer counts sin in regeneration, but never happens to nature except from sin. "
Both Tertullian and Gregory of Nyssa are married church fathers. They each emphasize that marital happiness is ultimately rooted in misery. They see marriage as a state of slavery that can only be healed with celibacy. They wrote that at least, the virgin woman could expect liberation from "the government of a husband and a chain of children."
Tertullian argues that the second marriage, which has been liberated from the first by death, "should be termed none other than fornication," is based partly on the reason that it involves the desire to marry a woman from a sexual spirit, which converts Christians should be avoided.
Also advocating celibacy and virginity as a better alternative to marriage, Jerome writes: "This does not underestimate the marriage of choosing virginity.No one can make a comparison between two things if one is good and the other evil." At 1 Corinthians 7: 1, he reasoned, "Good, he said, that a man should not touch a woman.If it is good not to touch a woman, it is bad to touch one: because there is no opposite of good, but evil, but if it is bad and the crime is forgiven, the reason for the concession is to prevent a worse crime. "
St John Chrysostom writes: "... virginity is better than marriage, however good.... Celibacy is... a replica of angels.Therefore, virginity is much more honorable than marriage, because angels are higher than But why I say angels? Christ, Myself, is the glory of virginity. "
Cyprian, Bishop of Karthago, says that the first commandment given to men is increased and multiplied, but now the earth is full does not need to continue the multiplication process.
This view of marriage is reflected in the lack of formal liturgy formulated for early Church marriage. There are no special ceremonies designed to celebrate Christian marriage - despite the fact that the Church has produced the liturgy to celebrate the Eucharist, Baptism, and Confirmation. It is not important for a couple to have their marriage blessed by a priest. People can marry a collective agreement before a witness.
At first, the ancient Roman pagan rites were used by Christians, though modified superficially. The first detailed account of Christian marriage in the West dates from the 9th century. This system, known as Spousals, persisted after the Reformation.
Denominational beliefs and practices
Premarital sex and Christianity
Roman Catholic
Today all Christian denominations regard marriage as a sacred institution, covenant. Roman Catholics regard it as a sacrament,. Marriage is officially recognized as a sacrament in 1184 of the Council of Verona. Before that, there was no special ritual prescribed to celebrate the marriage: "The marriage vow does not have to be exchanged in the church, nor does it require the presence of a priest." The couple can exchange permits anywhere, anytime. "
In the decision on the marriage of the Council of Trent (session twenty-fourth of 1563), the legitimacy of marriage was made dependent on the marriage that occurred before a priest and two witnesses, despite the lack of a requirement for the consent of the parent to end the debate. which has started from the 12th century. In the case of a divorce, the right of an innocent party to remarry is denied as long as the other side is alive, even if the other side has committed adultery.
The Catholic Church allowed marriage to take place in churches beginning in the sixteenth century, before religious marriage took place in the church's porch.
The Roman Catholic Church teaches that God Himself is the author of the sacred institution of marriage, which is His way of showing love to those whom He created. Marriage is a divine institution that can never be broken, even if the husband or wife is legally divorced in a civil court; as long as they live, the Church considers them bound together by God. Holy Matrimony is another name for sacramental marriage. Marriage is meant to be a faithful, exclusive, and lifelong union of men and women. Committed fully to one another, the Catholic husband and wife seek to sanctify each other, bring the children to the world, and educate them in the Catholic way of life. Men and women, though created differently from one another, complement each other. This complementarity attracts them together in a loving union.
The legal marriage of baptized Christians is one of the seven Roman Catholic sacraments. The sacrament of marriage is the only sacrament a priest does not do directly; a priest, however, is the main witness of the husbands and wives of the sacraments to each other at a wedding ceremony in a Catholic church.
The Roman Catholic Church considers that Christ himself instituted the sacrament of marriage at a wedding at Cana; therefore, because it is a divine institution, neither the Church nor the state can change the basic meaning and structure of marriage. Husbands and wives give themselves completely to one another in unity that lasts until death.
Priests are instructed that marriage is part of God's natural law and to support the couple if they choose to marry. Today it is common for Roman Catholics to enter a "mixed marriage" between Catholics and non-Catholics who are baptized. Couples who enter a mixed marriage are usually allowed to marry in a Catholic church as long as their decisions are of their own accord and they intend to remain together for life, to be faithful to each other, and to have children raised in Catholic faith.
In Roman Catholicism, marriage has two purposes: both their own spouses and the procreation and education of children (1983 code of canon law, c.1055; 1994 catechism, par.2363). Therefore "entering marriage with the goal of never having a child is a wrong grave and more of a possible reason for cancellation." It is a normal procedure for a priest to ask prospective brides about their plans to have children before leading their marriage. The Roman Catholic Church may refuse to marry anyone who does not want to have children, because procreation by "marital acts" is a fundamental part of marriage. Thus the use of any form of contraception, in vitro fertilization, or birth control other than Natural Family Planning is a grave breach of the sanctity of marriage and ultimately against God.
Protestantism
Destination
Basically all Protestant denominations are married ordained by God to the union between a man and a woman. They see the main purpose of this union as a friendly friendship, raising children and supporting each other for husbands and wives to fulfill their vocations. Protestants generally agree on birth control and consider the sexual pleasure of marriage as a gift of God. While allowing divorce only in limited circumstances, most Protestant churches allow divorce and remarriage.
Conservative Protestants take a more rigorous view of the nature of marriage. They regard marriage as a solemn covenant between wife, husband and God. Most see appropriate sexual relationships only in marriage. Divorce is allowed, if it exists, only in very specific circumstances (for example, sexual immorality or neglect by unbelievers).
United Methodist Church, the second largest Protestant denomination, specifically states that "the covenant of marriage was established by God who created us male and female to one another". The Methodist further teaches that marriage is "God's gift and covenant meant to imitate God's covenant with mankind" that "Christians enter their baptism." The ritual used in Free Methodist Church states that marriage is "more than a legal contract, a bond of unity made in heaven, where you enter quietly and with reverence."
Roles and responsibilities
The role and responsibilities of husband and wife today vary greatly on a continuum between predominant male/female views and a shift toward equality (without equality) of women and men. There is much debate among many Christians today-not just Protestants-whether male-to-male equality or headship is a biblically ordained outlook, and even if it is biblically permissible. Different opinions are divided into two main groups: Complementary (calling for the kinship of husbands and surrender of wives) and Christian Egalitarians (who believe in full partnership equality in which couples can find and negotiate roles and responsibilities in marriage).
There is no argument that Ephesians 5: 12-32 presents a model of a historically benevolent marriage welcome to the marriage. The question is (a) how the New Testament household codes should be reconciled with previous calls in Chapter 5 (see Verse 1, 18, 21) to submit to each other among all believers, and (b) the meaning of "head "in v.23. It is important to note that verse 22 contains no verbs in the original text: Ephesians 5 (NIV)
Eastern Orthodox
In the Eastern Orthodox Church, marriage is treated as a Sacred Mystery (sacrament), and as an ordination. It serves to unite a woman and a man in eternal unity before God. This refers to the 1st century of the church, where the spiritual union of the couple in the first sacramental marriage is eternal. Therefore, it is considered martyrdom because each couple learns to die for themselves for the sake of another. Like all Mysteries, Orthodox marriage is more than a celebration of something that already exists: it is the creation of something new, which gives to the spouse the grace that transforms them from 'spouse' to husband and wife in the Body of Christ.
Marriage is an icon (picture) of the relationship between Jesus and the Church. This is somewhat similar to the use of the Old Testament marriage as an analogy to illustrate the relationship between God and Israel. Marriage is the simplest and most basic church unity: a congregation in which "two or three people come together in the name of Jesus." [Mat 18:20] The house is considered a sanctified space (the ritual for the Blessing of the House is based on the consecration of the Church), and the husband and wife are regarded as servants of the congregation. However, they do not "do" the sacraments in the house church; they "live" the Sacrament of Marriage. Because marriage is considered a pilgrimage where couples walk side by side into the Kingdom of Heaven, marriage with non-Orthodox couples is not recommended, although it may be permitted.
Unlike Western Christianity, Eastern Christians do not consider the sacramental aspects of the marriage to be given by the couple themselves. On the contrary, the marriage was conferred by the actions of the Holy Spirit acting through the priest. In addition, no one besides a bishop or priest - even a deacon - can carry the Holy Mystery.
The external sign of the marriage is the placement of the crown of marriage on the head of the couple, and its division in the "General Cup" of wine. Once crowned, the couple walked around three times in a ceremonial "dance" in the center of the church, while the choir represented three exhilarating antiphonal songs, "Dance, Isaiah"
The distribution of the General Cup symbolizes the transformation of their union from public marriage to holy unity. Marriage is usually done after the Divine Liturgy where the couple receive Holy Communion. Traditionally, the couple will be wearing their wedding crown for eight days, and there is a special prayer the priest says on the lifting of the crown.
Divorce is not recommended. Sometimes outside marriage economics can be dissolved if there is no hope whatsoever for a marriage to meet even the similarities of the sacramental character intended. The standard formula for remarriage is that the Orthodox Church joyfully blesses the first marriage, only doing the second, hardly tolerating the third, and always forbidding the fourth.
Early church texts forbade marriage between an Orthodox and heretical or schismatic Christian (which would include all non-Orthodox Christians). Traditional Orthodox Christians prohibit mixed marriages with other denominations. The more liberal do so, as long as the couple is officially committed to raising their children in the Orthodox faith.
All people are called to celibacy - all humans are born in virginity, and Orthodox Christians are expected by the Holy Tradition to remain in that state unless they are called to marry and the call is sanctified. The Church blesses two paths on the road to salvation: monasticism and marriage. Celibacy, without the sanctification of monasticism, can fall into selfishness and tend to be displeased by the Church.
Orthodox priests serving in the parish are usually married. They must marry before their ordination. If they marry after they are ordained, they are not allowed to continue to perform the sacrament. If their wives die, they are forbidden to marry again; if they do, they may no longer serve as pastors. Married men can be ordained as priests or deacons. However, a priest or deacon is not allowed into marriage after ordination. The bishops should always be monks and therefore s
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