Is Marriage a Sacred Commandment ?

Question

Some of our religious "visitors" are claiming that "gay marriage" would destroy "the sacred commandment of marriage".

The 7th commandment states:

"Thou shalt not commit adultery" addresses the sacred nature of marital life. Chastity in familial relationships is one of the basic elements of a pure society envisioned by the Bible. Therefore, the principle of honoring one's parents is supplemented by the charge to husband and wife to protect the sanctity of family life.

The above text states that husband and wife should not commit adultery and that this couple should protect the SANCITY OF FAMILY LIFE.

It does NOT say "Sancity of Marriage" !

Therefore can it be said that a GAY MARRIED COUPLE who DO NOT commit adultery are then in fact NOT destroying the sancity of marriage or family life...and therefore the religious zealots have NOTHING to preach on this boring subject ?

The 7th commandments states "husband and wife"...NOT "man and woman".

Answer 1

No, it is not a commandment. It is a sacrament. There is a difference.

Now in some traditions, the early Christian church for example, there was actually a ceremony that was sanctioned for centuries that was specifically for same sex marriages. It was considered every bit as holy and blessed by G-d as opposite sex marriages. When The Church split into the RCC and the Eastern Orthodox the RCC ceased the practice of SSM, but not the EO, not for centuries more. I forget why it finally did.

Now lets not forget that all sacraments come for Judaism originally, and since many Temples today perform and sanction SSM, who is to say that one of the Abrahamic faiths is any better than the next? I'll tell you who, no one living on this planet. It's all up to the Big Guy upstairs to decide.

In the mean time I'd suggest we all go about our lives living our faith, not imposing it on others. After all Jesus did say the most important things a person of faith can do is to first Love G-d and second to love one another. I think that pretty much sums up the big picture of what we are supposed to spend our lives doing if you're going to have faith.

If you don't have faith then the point is moot anyway.

My two cents.

Answer 2

Marriage is not a sacred commandment and further, it isn't even in the Bible. The concept of the union between man and woman is mentioned, but not as marriage but by the word betrothed. The word marriage is from the Latin and was defined as the union of two spirits or souls. The word is first recorded in the Roman texts around 200 B.C. and was practised by both heterosexual and homosexuals alike. The word was co-opted by Constantine at the time of the Nicene Council (the time the first "Bible" was written). The word has since been declared a sacred word by evangelicals. The irony is that they are fighting for a word, which was and still is, used by pagans around the globe.

On another note, it should also be pointed out that 'marriage' is/was also a civil contract (pre-christian) between two houses/families/persons in regards to chattel (property including slaves) rights, land and money. So much for a sacred commandment.

Answer 3

It really doesn't matter.
Marriage has been practiced around the world by almost every single tribe and religion that exists.
Marriage here in the United States does not have any form of requirement that would force the acknowledgment of any sort of deity, spiritual belief, or religious ceremony.
Until those that continue to insist that Marriage is a religious rite can produce evidence that not only is the rite exclusive to that religion but they do indeed own what would amount to a copyright on that particular ceremony their claims about marriage, religious ties and commitments, "sanctity", and all those other buzzwords are nothing more but attempting to force their belief system into others lives against their will.
I have a religious belief that is indeed recognized by the United States Government and within that religious belief I may marry my same-sex partner(and actually have done so). Until my marriage, which is every bit as "sacred" and "holy" as any other strictly religious-based commitment ceremony, is viewed as being valid by the United States Government the words of the naysayers are not worth the breath it takes to utter them.

Answer 4

Religion has made marriage a "sacrament" for those who wish to be married by a minister, rabbi, reverend, priest, etc. As we all know, a marriage can also be performed by a judge or civil servant (in the case of a civil marriage at City Hall). As one other answerer says, God did not command marriage, per se.

I agree with you Matteo. The heterosexual community shouts that gay marriage will destroy the "sanctity" of marriage and yet - logically - since we cannot legally be married and they can, it must be THEM in divorce court. How many families have been torn apart due to infidelity? While it's true some of that infidelity may involve a closested gay man or woman, the higher percentage of divorce based on infidelity is at the hands of the straights.

Answer 5

I agree, and come on, how can anyone preach the "sancity" of marriage in this day and age with the divorce rate? I say if 2 people can make a marriage work... and they ARE a h*ll of alot of work, then they have every right to all of the rights of a traditional marriage no matter what sex they are! The only people opposed to this are the closed minded jesus freaks who are probably the biggest hipocrites... times change and they need to worry more about theirselves and less about things that don't even concern them! Live and let live!

Answer 6

Actually, the Seventh Commandment says nothing of the genders or even the gender specific roles. It simply states, "Commit adultery" which is ANY sexual relations outside marriage.

Now, the idea that these marriages are between a man and a woman or a husband and wife is purely subjective at best.

Answer 7

The most important thing that most people need to grasp is that there is more than one type of marriage.

The first is a religious marriage. This is a marriage that is part of a religion and as such it is up to the people that practice that specific religion to define it.

The second is state marriage. This is a marriage sanctioned by the state. It has NOTHING to do with religion and DOES have many specific rights tied to it.

State marriage is what the LGBT community is fighting for and there is no sound reason to deny it.

I will admit that there are plenty of bigoted reasons to deny it.

Answer 8

If Marriage were a Sacred Commandment (it counts as a Blessed Sacrament - for those Roman Catholics that want it to be so) then why are Civil ceremonies permitted?

Answer 9

Once the government gets involve and you live in a society where there is separation of church and state, nothing is a sacred commandment.

Answer 10

marriage is not built on the crap activities the bigots report here. Marriage is first of all built between two human beings. And we don't really need to sign papers to marry the person we love. All we want is rights.