John Meunier’s blog in this article, makes a case for the distinction of traditional Christian marriage, and other forms of union or marriage. You may read his thoughts here, “Forsaking All Others [is] Necessary For Marriage”.
As adults in America we have the right to choose how to live our life. We are the proverbial butchers, bakers, and candlestick makers – and everything else under the sun, moon, and stars. We all have differing interests and passions in the living of our lives. Sometimes our beliefs, passions, and endeavors merge, and at other times we and our interests are tangential.
Some people view marriage differently than those holding a traditional view. Unless one lives in isolation, I find it hard for anyone to imagine alternative relationships, whether one chooses to call them marriages, unions, or shacking up, were invented in the last few years.
A few facts and thoughts:
According to Divorcereate.org , the divorce rate for first time marriages in America is a fifty percent.
From what I read at ReligiousTolerance.org, the percentage of population in America that can be classified as Christian was 76% in 2008.
I think it is safe to assume that a majority of first time divorce claims are filed by Christian couples.
The divorce rate does not concern itself with those people who stay in failed marriages because for whatever reason they do not feel they can not end the Marriage.
Unfortunately this does not leave a lot of wiggle room for the Christian community unless one allows that while Christianity tries to take the moral high ground, the moral high ground is a slippery slope wholly attainable and sustainable by very few. Most of us are mere fallible mortals doing the best we can with what we have to work with.
People do marry or form unions for reasons other than love and fidelity. Some people marry or form unions for money, some for companionship, others for as many varied reasons as there are hobbies. Not all people need or want traditional marriages, and all the encumbrances that comes with it. Nor do all people want the stigma and isolation attached when a formal marriage fails.
It has not recently been openly acknowledged, or close to obvious in the recent past, but these types of relationships have been happening as long as there have been formal communions between men and women.
My hope is our thinking and tolerance is maturing. We in America have matured our opinions about women’s rights, children’s rights, animal rights, and skin color.
We are maturing our opinions in other areas of life, such as caring about where our food comes from, how it is treated, where our fuels come from and how they effect the environment, sustaining the earth for a few more generations, and trying to help the worlds poorest people without making their plight worse than it is now.
Is it really important how two reasonable adults choose how to form a relationship as long as they are not harming each other or those around them? Whose business is it how coupled adults spend their private time? Are we immature enough to believe same sex relationships were confined to the Mediterranean a few thousand years ago then recently, some deviants became activists and went public with their life style, contaminating a percentage of our population?
I have yet to meet any balanced, moral, ethical person who controls who they like, love, and what they believe when they have enjoyed exposure to the real world, and know why they think what they do. How wonderful it must be to be a real Christian, and know of no one who is not ‘normal’ like themselves, their family and their friends.
I can not guess what God really prefers, but there does seem to be a prevalent thread that God does want us to be happy. God also demands we intentionally cause no undo harm to others. The Christian world, or parts of it, want God in all adult relationships as long as the same Christian world controls both the participants and the confines of those relationships.
