Let's Get Biblical
The religious nutwads go on about being true to the biblical pronouncements about marriage. The truth is, they're selectively true to it. Vaughn Roste posts the broader truth here. And here are a few of the high points:
12 Biblical Principles of Marriage 1. Marriage consists of one man and one or more women (Gen 4:19, 4:23, 26:34, 28:9, 29:26-30, 30:26, 31:17, 32:22, 36:2, 36:10, 37:2, Ex. 21:10, Judges 8:30, 1 Sam 1:2, 25:43, 27:3, 30:5, 30:18, 2 Sam 2:2, 3:2-5, 1 Chron 3:1-3, 4:5, 8:8, 14:3, 2 Chron 11:21, 13:21, 24:3).
2. Nothing prevents a man from taking on concubines in addition to the wife or wives he may already have (Gen 25:6, Judges 8:31, 2 Sam 5:13, 1 Kings 11:3, 1 Chron 3:9, 2 Chron 11:21, Dan 5:2-3).
3. A man might chose any woman he wants for his wife (Gen 6:2, Deut 21:11), provided only that she is not already another man’s wife (Lev 18:14-16, Deut. 22:30) or his [half-]sister (Lev 18:11, 20:17), nor the mother (Lev 20:14) or the sister (Lev 18:18) of a woman who is already his wife. The concept of a woman giving her consent to being married is foreign to the Biblical mindset.
4. If a woman cannot be proven to be a virgin at the time of marriage, she shall be stoned (Deut 22:13-21).
5. A rapist must marry his victim (Ex. 22:16, Deut. 22:28-29) - unless she was already a fiancé, in which case he should be put to death if he raped her in the country, but both of them killed if he raped her in town (Deut. 22:23-27).
6. If a man dies childless, his brother must marry the widow (Gen 38:6-10, Deut 25:5-10, Mark 12:19, Luke 20:28).
7. Women marry the man of their father’s choosing (Gen. 24:4, Josh.15:16-17, Judges 1:12-13, 12:9, 21:1, 1 Sam 17:25, 18:19, 1 Kings 2:21, 1 Chron 2:35, Jer 29:6, Dan 11:17).
8. Women are the property of their father until married and their husband after that (Ex. 20:17, 22:17, Deut. 22:24, Mat 22:25).
9. The value of a woman might be approximately seven years’ work (Gen 29:14-30).
10. Inter-faith marriages are prohibited (Gen 24:3, 28:1, 28:6, Num 25:1-9, Ezra 9:12, Neh 10:30, 2 Cor 6:14).
11. Divorce is forbidden (Deut 22:19, Matt 5:32, 19:9, Mark 10:9-12, Luke 16:18, Rom 7:2, 1 Cor 7:10-11, 7:39).
12. Better to not get married at all - although marriage is not a sin (Matt 19:10, I Cor 7:1, 7:27-28, 7:32-34, 7:38).
I particularly like "Marriage consists of one man and one or more women." Think Ralphie Reed'll go for that one?
I believe Leviticus also suggests stoning to death women who wear jeans.
Well, OK, not jeans per se, but "mens' clothing".
Stu "El Inglés" Harris at April 18, 2005 8:24 AM
That would, I guess, include all those women drinking coffee while wearing their boyfriend's buttondown in New York Times ads.
Amy Alkon at April 18, 2005 8:31 AM
Great post Amy- Mysteries of the Bible did a show on this very subject, and it can be seen in repeats on History Channel. One of my favorites is Solomon , who had over 1,000 wives!
This weekend here in Idaho the crazies have started a petition drive to protect marriage from gays and Lesbians- you gave me some points to rattle their brains.
eric at April 18, 2005 8:43 AM
I'd go for the "marriage is between a man and one or more women" if I were you!
Protecting marriage from gays and lesbians seems kind of like protecting golf from tennis players who'd like to try their hand with it. Unfortunately, the desperately irrational are always the last to try their hand at logic and reasoning.
When I clicked on CNN.com today, I was struck with a wave of disappointment to see, in 2005, with all the science we have, a bunch of guys in long red dresses lining up to choose a new chief witch doctor.
Amy Alkon at April 18, 2005 8:49 AM
"Marriage is between a man and 1 or more women."
I tried that for about two years- it really brought home the Adams Family line when Gomez was asked the penalty for bigamy and he replied "Two wives".
It looks like the Panzer Cardinal is moving up to head witch doctor. He has creepy eyes...
eric at April 18, 2005 9:43 AM
uh...yeah..I do think Ralph Reed would go for that!
silo at April 18, 2005 11:09 AM
Panzer Cardinal? You mean the JugendHitler member? See suburban guerilla for details. Wonder why Ratzinger never mentioned it in his biography?
moe99 at April 18, 2005 12:56 PM
The one and same, though membership in the Hitler Youth was compulsory, not voluntary. He was given a dispensation from Hitler Youth due to his religious studies, and later deserted the German Army.
Besides being compulsory, membership in Hitler Youth provided tuition reductions.
He did talk about all this in the book Salt of the Earth, but I never read the biography you mention.
eric at April 18, 2005 2:16 PM
Actually, Solomon only had 300 wives. He had 700 concubines.
How many times a day do you think he "did it"?
Goddyss at April 18, 2005 2:23 PM
It being a slooooooow day here today, I wanted to check this out. Most of the places I went to say he had 700 wives (most were women he married as part of a treaty for a king he defeated or made an alliance with) and 300 concubines. But some agree with you Goddyss. Some say he had more than a thousand. It is apparantly up to interpretation.
There was also something on that Mysteries of the Bible episode that a husband had to "service" his wife a certain number of times a year, depending on what his job was.
eric at April 18, 2005 4:09 PM
Ah, Eric, my apologies, you are correct. If the babble - er- Bible is to be believed:
I Kings 11:3 "And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart."
I owe you a beer.
:)
Goddyss at April 18, 2005 4:41 PM
Hey Crid! No comment for this post?
Rojak at April 18, 2005 7:12 PM
Wow, Amy, what a great list! Reminds me of a hilarious open letter to some talk show host:
http://www.manbottle.com/humor/The_Book_of_Leviticus.htm
(Excerpt follows:)
Dear Dr. Laura:
Thank you for doing so much to educate people regarding God's Law. I have learned a great deal from your show, and I try to share that knowledge with as many people as I can. When someone tries to defend the homosexual lifestyle, for example, I simply remind them that Leviticus 18:22 clearly states it to be an abomination. End of debate. I do need some advice from you, however, regarding some of the laws and how to follow them.
a) When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odor for the Lord (Lev. 1:9). The problem is my neighbors. They claim the odor is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them?
b) I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her?
...
Cheers,
Rainer
Rainer at April 19, 2005 12:34 AM
>I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7
Hah.
I'm especially fond of that passage somewhere in the early to mid 20s of Leviticus that suggests that it would be morally justifiable to enslave Canadians.
On a serious note it's about time someone other than me remembered that 1 Corinthians (which seems to be one of the more oft-quoted books against gay marriage) offers a ringing denouncement of straight marriage.
Little ted at April 19, 2005 1:44 AM
Hi Ted,
I got the best laugh out of this one:
> h) I know from Lev. 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes me unclean, but may I still play football if I wear gloves?
Cheers, Rainer
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