A recent Pew Research Center study revealed that nearly 40% of the respondents felt that marriage is becoming “obsolete.” Why do some people have this view and what can believers in Jesus do to support marriage?
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jeGeddes on December 14, 2010 at 1:11 am
If anyone has noticed, the divorce rate is really high. Marriage to society is now seen as a close relationship between the opposite sex or the same sex. Society has torn down the beautiful structure that marriage should be. We need to campaign, we need to say NO to Gay marriage, we need to say NO to divorce and the other atrocities conducted in this society. After all the victim will be us, when the church may have to go under-ground.
dae on December 15, 2010 at 4:43 am
I think as a society we have gotten away from the bible and think divorce is ok. I do think there are times when divorce is approiate ie domestic violence.
AManofGod on December 14, 2010 at 6:13 pm
This is a tough topic…..much tougher than it first appears. In fact there are several things combined in this whole divorce issue that must be considered..
I do not agree with gay marriage. In fact, like most Christians, I hate to admit it but I did not “like” homosexuals AT ALL! In fact I had a strong DISLIKE for them and their lifestyle. Then my own sister told me that she was a lesbian and was about to marry a woman. How could I reconcile my feelings for homosexuals with my love for my own sister?
Likewise I had a strong dislike for drugs and drug addicts. In fact I believed that people like that brought our society to a much lower level and they served no use. Then the woman I was married to became a drug addict. How was I to reconcile my love for my [then] wife with my disdain for drug addicts?
Do you notice how in each case God made me confront situations where I had a negative view of a person or a group that I knew little about. And He did that by placing someone I knew and loved in that group! God is so crafty in the way He teaches us lessons sometimes.
These are just two examples from my own life that show we must hate the sin but not the sinner. I am against divorce but sometimes it is necessary. Sometimes it even brings you closer to God.
In my case it brought me much closer to Him…..so I am thankful for all my experiences….even divorce.
AManofGod
silky333 on December 15, 2010 at 3:04 pm
In Matthew 19:8-9
Jesus said divorce should only be on the grounds of adultery or fornication. This is a hard thing for many, because of domestic violence among other reasons.
I think that if we view marriage in the same light of Jesus married to us the church, we may be more forgiving and longsuffering. Loyal to our spouses through thick and thin. Jesus remains faithful to us no matter what. Imagine if he divorced us when he got angry, dissapointed, let down, or bored? Scary thought.
The Love chapter in 1 Corinthians 13 (13:4-8) gives us the guidelines for love towards our spouse and our fellow man.
AManofGod on December 15, 2010 at 5:09 pm
If anyone is going through marital troubles I recommend the Jimmy and Karen Evans “MarriageToday” website. They have lots of useful information and videos you can watch. If both parties are willing to work God can move mountains and make any situation better. Keep in mind though that both parties must be open and willing.
Be Blessed!
AManofGod
zero_g on December 16, 2010 at 7:17 am
I think this view that marriage is obsolete (40%) is because divorced couples are becoming better at raising their kids. Yes, the rate of divorce is increasing, but through the grace of God, couples have been shown that they must put asside their differences for the sake of the kids and can still raise happy/productive kids in separate households.
How can we be more supportive? The only thing we CAN do is in our own marriage. Using Gods word to enrich and strengthen the bonds of marriage as a living example of how God intended marriage to work. Sharing our trials and tribulations with others and how we worked them out with our spouse can be very helpfull to others who could also be facing the same difficulties, is truly doing God’s work.
I don’t believe the sexual orientation of a couple has as big an impact on the concept of marriage as the way the two people work together in that marriage.Two unhappy married heterosexuals raising kids with many social and deep down mental problems is much more damaging to the institution of marriage. A bad heterosexual marriage gives a poor example to their kids and hurts the concept of marriage much more than a good gay marriage.
AManofGod on December 16, 2010 at 9:37 am
Zero G,
I do agree with you that the best thing people can do to promote marriage is to be in a happy marriage. Sometimes however that just isn’t possible. If one party wants out or refuses to work at it the other cannot force a view on their mate.
Now on the matter of a “good gay marrige” I will have to disagree. I feel the intended idea of marriage is one man and one woman. I don’t believe a gay marriage can provide the biblical structure of a family to a child. I admit that a bad heterosexual marriage can pass on problems to a child but I believe a gay marriage will do that even moreso.
I was in a bad hetrosexual marriage for many many years and I have often prayed to God hoping that I did not pass any “gerenational” curses onto my children. I don’t believe if I had married a man or if my ex had married a woman things would have been any better.
There is simply no scripture [that I know of] to back up that view.
AManofGod
zero_g on December 20, 2010 at 2:25 pm
AManofGod,
No there is no scripture to back up a gay marriage. In fact it is assumed through the scripture which says that people should not have sex with someone of the same sex. But the Bible also says that we should not work on the Sabbath (Saturday) or eat pork.
Reading through these posts in response to the query about how marriage is becoming obsolete, I see a lot of hate and judgement, and not much compassion, empathy and love. “Let he who hasn’t sinned cast the first stone.”
AManofGod on December 20, 2010 at 4:06 pm
Zero G,
I hope I didn’t give you the impression that I hated homosexuals. Early in my life I will admit that I had a strong dislike for their lifestyle but if you read my original post I spoke of how God showed me how wrong I was by placing people in my immediate family in groups that I knew little about. My ignorance was dealt with by God through enlightenment.
A lot of Christians do have problems with “hating the sinner rather than the sin” and hopefully they will learn the err of their ways. If God could teach me a thing or two He can teach anyone.
AManofGod