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:
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:
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:
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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