Marriage from Biblical Times and Marriage in Current American Culture

Introduction

Marriage is a foundering institution in the present American society, and the pressures that have eroded its cultural support have had a severely erosive effect upon marital and family life within the Christian community as well. This dissertation looks upon this new situation and its changes as a challenge for Church theologians in The U.S., to confront them as opportunity to develop a deeper and more personal theology of Christian marriage and family. Marriage and family is a common experience that has significant meaning for American s because it is the meeting point for the community, both the living and the departed. It also has a central place in the personal and social life.

Marriage from Biblical Times

The biblical basis of marriage and family in the Old Testament sets forth the creation of an institution that in theory is full and complete, but in practice is developing. In the New Testament, the theory is present in a complete form and model. For example, Jesus Christ is the bridegroom and the church is the bride. The marriage occurs through a commitment of faith. Historically, marriage has been highly influenced by the Old Testament, Hebrew and Arab cultures, but the Old Testament model has exerted the greater influence. In this model, the roles and duties are more critical to marriage than the growth of enrichment of the relationship. The biblical model of marriage to which this research is focused is one that is both institutional and relational (Adams, 15). It is the blending of both Old and New into something richer and greater because from the New Testament perspective, marital security is not to be found in the love of law but in the higher law of love.

Ernest White maintained that "the institutional approach sees marriage as almost having an existence and rights without relation to the lives of men and women who live in the married state. Marriage should be seen not only from an institutional point of view but also as a relationship, with strictly human and divine-human dimensions. The Church as a social institution provides a useful foundation for assessing church organizations as contexts for marriage and family ministry. The church is an "organized religion" which includes all organizations which seek to develop, renew, and guide people's religious lives.

The Commitment Factor

Though all of the overhead components have assisted to the end wedding ceremony rate, there is yet another - a missing preventative factor. However much the overhead components may predispose our humanity to an outbreak of ends wedding ceremony, such an outbreak can still be stopped if one key component is present. What component could this be? True commitment! Our ancestors examined marriage as a vow before God, a vow to be taken very seriously. To shatter a somber vow before God was to ask for divine punishment. Churches educated that God despised end wedding ceremony and that marriage was intended to be for life. Churches, schools, and the managers of ...