Christians are so funny: The Series; Part IV - Marriage (post also entitled "What brings us together today")

Marriage.

The sacrament of marriage is something that Christian culture latches onto like no other. Which is why they get so upset when anyone tries to tell them that maybe they have too narrow a view of what is and what isn't marriage. Christians would like to think that they have the monopoly on "true" marriage.

However, the irony is that Christians have let marriage be defined by the state. They claim to have a monopoly on marriage, but they are letting the state dictate when marriage occurs. This in turn affects how Christians approach relationships prior to marriage.

What do I mean? In Scripture, the marriage relationship is simply defined as two people being united to one another--emotionally, spiritually, and in particular, physically. There is no mention of a wedding ceremony, no mention of getting legal documents signed, etc. Essentially, sex is marriage.

The Christian argument, however, states that sexual relations are something that should only be reserved for marriage and afterward. And when does marriage happen? Some kind of ceremony must occur, whether that is a church service or a signing of legal documents. Then, and only then, is it okay to proceed with sexual relations.

However, the church has inverted this process. If the sanctity of marriage is something that belongs to Christianity, then there is no need for a ceremony or for documentation to serve as the hurdle to jump over. A couple commits to each other for life and has sex--they are married.

Suppose an engaged couple has sex for the first time two nights before their official wedding ceremony. And this is the first sex that either of them has had in their lives, and neither will have sex with anyone else. Christians would label this as "premarital sex" because they had sex before their ceremony. But Christians have let external factors determine when the couple is married. The couple must be wed by a minister ordained by the state; and until then, the couple is not married.

False.

The couple was married when they had sex. A ceremony with a state-ordained minister is not how God recognizes marriage. By making a ceremony something necessary, Christians are actually releasing their monopoly on marriage to the state.

If we think about it that way, it actually makes a lot of sense. It explains why Christians are so particular about same-sex marriage legislation.

This is an example of how American Protestantism has been wedded to American politics.