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How Do You Define Marriage?

Marriage definitions vary widely throughout the U.S.

Marriage definitions have been crafted or confirmed in courts, legislatures and voting booths. And in some cases, those definitions have been reversed in a matter of months. With the exception of the Defense of Marriage Act passed a dozen years ago by the United States Congress, the definition of marriage - either the traditional union of a man and a woman or the more recent allowance of uniting same-sex couples - is an issue left for each state to answer for itself. See interactive state-by-state map. Ref. Source 4

Marriage Define You How

I believe marriage is as it has laways been: between a man and a woman and sanctioned by God. Wherelse did we get the idea of marriage from - the Bible.

How Do You Define Marriage? Beliefs Religious General

I must disagree with you on this one revival. The idea of marriage exists and has existed separately in many cultures and religions. Each with its own interpretation, Wicca an earlier religion than Christianity, also has marriage. As far as if its right or wrong, I think if many people are voting for equality and the same freedoms as other fellow citizens. I don't see why they should be denied it. This is America after all, were people of all kinds live together in peace.

Edited: Oliron on 30th Nov, 2009 - 8:45pm

Marriage Define You How

There is no religion older than what the Bible tells us because that IS the beginning. Even when Adam and Even were in the garden God instituted marriage there, what's older than that. God did create Adam and Steve, he created Adam and EVE.

Marriage Define You How

I can see that you feel very strongly about marriage coming from the bible. So, putting that aside do you feel it is fair to gays, to not enjoy the benefits that marriage brings. Tax wise, medically, and things like this.

How Do You Define Marriage?

That's the whole point, why do you want to put God aside? God instituted marriage and now you want to take him out of it.

How You Define Marriage

Regardless of how marriage came about, to be honest, that isn't relevant in today's world, objectively (not meaning significance-wise). You "put God aside", if you choose to refer to it as that, because God is not who decides who is *legally* married in today's society and world.

There ARE two "marriages", I think. I don't mean the two are divided, necessarily, but that when people talk about marriage, they can or may be referring to two different aspects, and a lot of confusion comes in when different things are being referred to.

As noted, there is the religious or spiritual marriage, bonding of two people, sanctioned by God. These are unofficial and carry no empirical objective validity in and of themselves, only those given to them by the couple and their loved ones, etc. It doesn't make them INvalid, it just means that (besides familial and spiritually), this has no obvious real-world application or meaning, beyond general social acknowledgment but not resulting in any benefits.

Legal marriage is entirely part of "the system", and is intimately intertwined in public policy, business, social structure and finance and taxes. In the US, you can "get married" spiritually however you want, to whomever, but if you don't have the appropriate and approved documentation publicly filed and recognized, you do not receive the usual benefits and features that are commonly thought of as accompanying "a real marriage".

Whatever original marriage was, if you want a spiritual one and don't care about tax breaks or who can inherit what, then you can do whatever you want and be married by whomever you choose, in whatever ceremony, of whatever religion (or even non religion). But that is not what the majority want.

If you want marriage to include verifiable "real-world" legal status and resulting benefits, you must meet all the mundane required criteria (blood tests, etc). Although this doesn't invalidate the spiritual aspect of marriage, it DOES inarguably remove that marriage (both parts) from being solely divine and making it a part of modern everyday civilization and legal and financial structures as well. You can have spiritual marriage without legal aspect or benefits, or legal marriage without religion or its sanction, but if you want both, you still abide by legal policy.

In this way, contemporary legal marriage (in the US) can not be argued to be the exclusive domain of religion or God, in that in modern society, divine mandate or morality does not override Man's laws and is secondary to public legislation - this may not be a popular view to religious people, but it is accurate. Legal marriages are subject to the laws, requirements and restrictions of society, therefore (even if they have a spiritual aspect or genesis) are products of and governed by society and whatever its laws are at that time, but require no religious aspect to be present or verified. This comes from the alleged separation of church and state put forth in the founding documents of the US, and does not recognize any one religion as more valid than another, and which it also cannot deny or promote any - the US cannot legislate or validate or invalidate religions of any kind.

Churches and ministers and religious and spiritual leaders and figures may refuse to perform gay marriage ceremonies, both spiritual and legal, but have no power over such marriages beyond that refusal - judges or other licensed or recognized people may perform these same ceremonies, and as long as the paperwork is right (and allowed by law), they're as binding as any other marriage. Also, some religions, pagans most obviously, qualify as having religious leaders and from their point of view, such marriages would be therefore both spiritual and legal.

Legally, I believe a great injustice was done in the US with the so-called Defense of Marriage Act, and it continues to be perpetrated and similar illegal practices legislated, in spite of being in violation of (supposedly not religiously motivated) anti-discrimination laws. LEGAL marriage, in the US, is quite honestly, between consenting adults. Anything past that is blatant personal and direct religious interference in the just and legal functioning of our country - which is illegal and such charges have been responsible for people going away for a long time, in the past.

How You Define Marriage General Religious Beliefs

I believe that marriage is the union between a man and a woman who are of legal age and consent. I believe that these two should have God and others witness and endorse this union. Marriage should be kept sacred as the union endorsed by God between a man and a woman as the Bible states.

I also think that two people of the same sex should have the right to be legally bonded. I do not think they should be married but bonded in the legal sense that they enjoy the same rights as two who are "married". I think this will help those who want to live that lifestyle. While I disagree with it as do many others the law says we have to give them some rights.