Proof #53 - Think about Marriage as described in the Bible

Most Christians consider marriage to be a sacred act created by God in the Bible. For example, on this page you can see Rick Warren stating: "I'm opposed to redefinition of a 5,000 year definition of marriage." At many weddings you will hear a Bible passage like Genesis 2:24 used to show God's view of marriage:

    For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.
There is also the commandment that forbids adultery. If digging deeper, a Christian might selectively pull out other verses from places like Ephesians, as described in this article:

What Does the Bible Say About Marriage?

In doing this, however, the Christian is ignoring the rich tapestry of marriage types condoned by God and the Bible.

For example, there are many examples of polygamy in the Bible, all of them condoned by God. Kind Solomon is legendary in this regard. According to 1 Kings Chapter 11, "He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines." King David also had many wives. Seven of his wives are listed in 1 Chronicles 3:1-5. In Acts 13:22 God says, "'I have found David son of Jesse a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do." And many other characters in the Bible had two or more wives, including Jacob.

The case of Jacob (described in Genesis chapters 28, 29 and 30) is fascinating because it shows several other attributes of Biblical marriage. For example, Jacob earns his wife as payment for seven years of work done. It is a contract between Jacob and the woman's father – the woman is mere property in a transaction and has no say in the matter.

However, the man that Jacob is working for tricks Jacob by giving him the wrong sister, and corrects the problem by letting Jacob work another seven years for the second daughter. Now Jacob has two wives.

But the second sister is barren. So the second sister gives Jacob her slave to sleep with and have a child. All of this is done as part of God's plan and with God's active intervention (for example, God makes the second sister barren).

This idea of giving a slave to be a child-bearer for a barren wife is also seen in Genesis 16.

Clearly God is fine with Polygamy, as well as with sexual relationships with slaves.

In Deuteronomy 21:11-13 another form of Biblical marriage is described. Female prisoners of war can be taken as wives without the woman's consent:

    if you notice among the captives a beautiful woman and are attracted to her, you may take her as your wife. Bring her into your home and have her shave her head, trim her nails and put aside the clothes she was wearing when captured. After she has lived in your house and mourned her father and mother for a full month, then you may go to her and be her husband and she shall be your wife.
Deuteronomy 22:28-29 offers another, even more vile, path to marriage:
    If a man happens to meet a virgin who is not pledged to be married and rapes her and they are discovered, he shall pay the girl's father fifty shekels of silver. He must marry the girl, for he has violated her. He can never divorce her as long as he lives.
This law appears not once but twice in the Bible. It is repeated in Exodus 22:16:
    If a man seduces a virgin who is not pledged to be married and sleeps with her, he must pay the bride-price, and she shall be his wife.
Note that, according to the Bible, the only valid marriage is to a woman who is a virgin. This law is laid down in Deuteronomy chapter 22, verse 13 through 21. If a woman is not a virgin, she must be put to death.

Also note that, if a man commits adultery with another man's wife, both man and woman must be put to death, as described in Deuteronomy 22:22:

    If a man is found sleeping with another man's wife, both the man who slept with her and the woman must die. You must purge the evil from Israel.
Why do Christians ignore all of these other forms of marriage, which are quite clearly allowed in the Bible? Why do Christians not kill people who break the commandment forbidding adultery as the Bible demands? Because God is imaginary. If God were real, Christians would do what the Bible actually tells them to do.

To any rational person standing outside of Christianity, the Bible's position on marriage proves God to be imaginary because the Bible is so obviously ridiculous.

[Note - Even in the United States, the definition of marriage and the rights of marriage partners have changed dramatically over the years. For example, interracial marriage was illegal in the United States until the 1950s. See this page for details.]

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by Marshall Brain

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