The Idealization of Marriage

[Seeking ET]

  There is a Christian theme flowing through America that marriage is a Christian institution which should be subject to the restrictions that the Bible illustrates.  That somehow marriage is not only sanctioned by God, but the BIBLICAL God, and that America as a whole, regardless of belief, should conform to the doctrines of the Bible when it comes to wedlock.  Indeed, fervent Bible believers believe that "true" marriage BELONGS to them, notwithstanding that it existed long before Christianity itself.  Like many things in fundamental Christianity, revelation is needed to restore the fallacies that humanity has created for itself.  Marriage is among those Christian ideas that must be more closely critiqued.  So....

Urantia Paper 83: Section 8

 Marriage which culminates in the home is indeed man's most exalted institution, but it is essentially human; it should never have been called a sacrament.  The Sethite priests made marriage a religious ritual; but for thousands of years after Eden, mating continued as a purely social and civil institution.  
 The likening of human associations to divine associations is most unfortunate.  The union of husband and wife in the marriage-home relationship is a material function of the mortals of the evolutionary worlds.  True, indeed, much spiritual progress may accrue consequent upon the sincere human efforts of husband and wife progress, but this does not mean that marriage is necessarily sacred.  Spiritual progress is attendant upon sincere application of other avenues of human endeavor.  
 Neither can marriage be truly compared to the relation of the Adjuster to man nor to the fraternity of Christ and His human brethren.  At scarcely any point are such relationships comparable to the association of husband and wife.  And it is most unfortunate that the human misconception of these relationships has produced so much confusion as to the status of marriage.
 It is also unfortunate that certain groups of mortals have conceived of marriage as being consummated by divine action.  Such beliefs lead directly to the concept of the indissolubility of the marital state regardless of circumstances or wishes of the contracting parties.  But the very fact of marriage dissolution itself indicates that Deity is not a conjoining party to such unions.  If God has once joined any two things or persons together, they will remain thus joined until such a time as the divine will decrees their separation.  But, regarding marriage, which is a human institution, who shall presume to sit in judgement, to say which marriages are unions that might be approved by the universe supervisors in contrast to those which are purely human in nature and origin?
 Nevertheless, there is an ideal of marriage on the spheres on high.  On the capital of each local system the Material Sons and Daughters of God do portray the height of the ideals of the union of man and woman in the bonds of marriage and for the purpose of procreating and rearing offspring.  After all, the ideal mortal marriage is humanly sacred.  

 Marriage always has been and still is man's supreme dream of temporal ideality.  Though this beautiful dream is seldom realized in its entirety, it endures as a glorious ideal, ever luring progressing mankind on to greater strivings for human happiness.  But young men and women should be taught something of the realities of marriage before they are plunged into the exacting demands of the interassociations of family life; youthful idealization should be tempered with some degree of premarital disillusionment.  
 The youthful idealization of marriage should not, however, be discouraged; such dreams are the visualization of the future goal of family life.  This attitude is both stimulating and helpful providing it does not produce an insensitivity to the realization of the practical and commonplace requirements of marriage and subsequent family life.  
 The ideals of marriage have made great progress in recent times; among some peoples woman enjoys practically equal rights with her consort.  In concept, at least, the family is becoming a loyal partnership of rearing offspring, accompanied by sexual fidelity.  But even this newer version of marriage need not presume to swing so far to the extreme as to confer mutual monopoly of all personality and individuality.  Marriage is not just and individualistic ideal; it is the evolving social partnership, existing and functioning under the current mores, restricted by the taboos, and enforced by the laws and regulations of society.
 Twentieth-century marriages stand high in comparison with those of past ages, notwithstanding that the home institution is now undergoing a serious testing because of the problems so suddenly thrust up the social organization by the precipitate augmentation of woman's liberties, rights so long denied her in the tardy evolution of the mores of past generations.

[Stillwater]

There is a Christian theme flowing through America that marriage is a Christian institution which should be subject to the restrictions that the Bible illustrates.  That somehow marriage is not only sanctioned by God, but the BIBLICAL God, and that America as a whole, regardless of belief, should conform to the doctrines of the Bible when it comes to wedlock.  Indeed, fervent Bible believers believe that "true" marriage BELONGS to them, notwithstanding that it existed long before Christianity itself.  Like many things in fundamental Christianity, revelation is needed to restore the fallacies that humanity has created for itself.  Marriage is among those Christian ideas that must be more closely critiqued.  So....

Of course

Urantia Paper 83: Section 8

Was with you until here- you don't need channeled or occult or alien-given scripture to reason for yourself. But it is good that you cite your sources.

What follows is mainly a common-sensical contemporary examination of the idea of marriage; it makes sense, but you don't need to declare mystical sources to get rational information.

[Seeking ET]

And yet, I do.  By choice, not necessity.

[Mr.Flip]

who cares about sources

that piece was on the money!!Great!! and Brilliant!!

haha ok now i care about the source