Is marriage God's idea? Yes, of course. Will we win the argument by quoting Scripture or arguing marriage as a religious institution? I doubt it. Why? Because marriage is not a religious institution. In the past I have heard a lot of Christians defending previous behavior in prior marriages by saying that they "were not in a Christian marriage." But God expects faithfulness from us whether our marriage is Christian or not. Whether we have the means to accomplish it is quite another matter. Marriage is a legal and binding contract that applies to all who enter into it regardless of faith. The truth is that marriage both pre-dates the writings of all major religions and has applied to all people everywhere, religious or not. For centuries many marriages have been performed with no religious undertones at all. Marriage is a universal institution, not a religious one. Secondly, in the west, marriages were performed in secular contexts, often then blessed by the church, until around...(Read Full Post)