CHRISTIAN MARRIAGE
BACKGROUNDS
AND
PERSPECTIVES
IN
VARIED SETTINGS
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Material adapted in part from:
John, R. Witte, Jr.
From Sacrament to Contract: Marriage,
Religion, and Law in the Western Tradition.
Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press,
1997
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THE MARRIAGE DECISION
GOOD DECISIONS REQUIRE
BOTH INFORMATION AND FORMATION
WHAT AND HOW MUCH DO YOU KNOW?
WHO IS YOUR GURU?
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THE MARRIAGE DECISION
WHAT ARE THE CRITERIA?
“A.M.D.G” ---Ignatius of Loyola
(“For the greater glory of God.”)
“Few people realize how much you have to
know in order to realize how little you know.”
--Fr. Walter Ong, S.J.
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MODELS OF MARRIAGE
1. Catholic Sacramental
2. Lutheran Social Estate
3. Calvinist Covenantal
4. Anglican Commonwealth
5. Enlightenment Contract
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MODELS OF MARRIAGE
INTERACTIVE FACTORS
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THEOLOGICAL
POLITICAL
LEGAL
HISTORICAL
SOCIAL/CULTURAL
PSYCHOLOGICAL
ECONOMIC
GENERATIONAL
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DIMENSIONS OF MARRIAGE IN
CHRISTIAN HISTORY
1. RELIGIOUS PERSPECTIVE: SACRAMENTAL
/SPIRITUAL ROLE IN CHURCH COMMUNITY
2. SOCIAL PERSPECTIVE: ROLE IN WORLDLY
COMMUNITY LIFE AND LIVELIHOOD
3. CONTRACTUAL PERSPECTIVE: VOLUNTARY
ASSOCIATION SUBJECT TO THE COUPLE AND
THEIR PREFERENCES FOR THEIR HOUSEHOLD
4. NATURAL PERSPECTIVE: SHAPED BY THE
LAWS OF NATURE
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ANCIENT JEWISH TRADITION
• TRIBAL SOCIETY: WHERE DOES ONE FIT?
(not individualistic)
• MEMBERSHIP IN THE COVENANT
PEOPLE- RELATIONSHIPS AND DUTIES
(Jewish mother as birth certificate)
• LAND DISTRIBUTION AND OWNERSHIP
• LEVITICAL PRIESTHOOD-TEMPLE
SACRIFICE
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STAKEHOLDERS IN MARRIAGE
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STATE
LOCAL COMMUNITY
NEIGHBORS
COUPLE
FAMILY
CHILDREN
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TWO MILLENNIA OF CHRISTIAN MARRIAGE
“ It might be instructive to note that family
crises on a comparable scale to those we face
today have been faced before….Sexual
pathos was prominent at the opening of the
second millennium with widespread
concubinage, prostitution, voyeurism,
polygamy, adultery, fornication, sodomy, wife
and child abuse, teenage pregnancy,
abortion…[and it]…has returned with equal
pungency at the close of this second
millennium.” John Witte.
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CATHOLIC SACRAMENTAL MODEL
EASTERN (GREEK) APPROACH:
MYSTERION: a revelatory event of encounter
and meaning that draws one deeper into
communion with God and humans.
(Cf. Paul Eph 5; “Divine Mysteries”)
WESTERN (LATIN) APPROACH:
SACRAMENTUM: an “outward” (sensible) sign
of an oath or pledge one has taken that
signifies one’s duty or commitment.
(NB: military brand; Tertullian)
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CATHOLIC SACRAMENTAL MODEL
WESTERN (LATIN) CHRISTIANITY
• 12TH AND 13TH CENTURIES: Synthesized
varied teachings from the past in terms of
three themes-• NATURAL: “Be fruitful and multiply” plus a
remedy for lust/sin
• CONTRACTUAL: Mutual Consent of Parties in
lifelong relation of love, service, mutual duty
• SACRAMENTAL: The earthly union of the
couple symbolized the eternal union of Christ
and his Church (Eph 5/21 ff.)
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FORMULATIONS OF CANON LAW
• CHURCH COURTS GOVERNED
MARRIAGE FROM 12TH CENTURY ON
• SYSTEMIZED BY COUNCIL OF TRENT
(1563)
• PROSCRIBED CONTRACEPTION AND
ABORTION
• PROSCRIBED INCEST, POLYGAMY,
BESTIALITY, SODOMY
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FORMULATIONS OF CANON LAW
• ENSURED VOLUNTARY CONSENT
• ANNULLMENT OF MARRIAGES MADE BY
MISTAKE, DURESS, FRAUD, COERCION
• GRANTED HUSBAND AND WIFE EQUAL
CONJUGAL RIGHTS
• PROTECTED INDISSOLUBILITY OF BONDS
• DISSOLVED INVALID BONDS
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THE ‘RELIGIOUS’ ALTERNATIVE
• A HIGHER CALLING TO ‘RELIGIOUS’ LIFE OF
VOWED CELIBACY
• CHURCH OFFICE OPEN ONLY TO VOWED
CELIBATES
• POVERTY: Renunciation of booty rights
• CHASTITY: Renunciation of inheritance rights
• OBEDIENCE: Transfer of fealty to church vs.
family (father or oldest brother)
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WHERE DID THIS COME FROM?
THE GOSPELS
• JESUS WAS CELIBATE
• HIS MOTHER WAS A VIRGIN
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THE GOSPELS
THE AMBIGUITY:
– The first of Jesus signs—The Wedding at Cana
– The Kingdom of God is like a wedding feast (Mt
22)
– The children of this world marry and are given in
marriage, are born and have their own children;
but those who are judged worthy of a place in the
other world …do not marry nor are they given in
marriage (Luke 20)
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THE EPISTLES
• “I arranged for you to marry Christ so that I
might give you away as a chaste virgin to this
one husband” (2 Cor 11:2)
• “There is something I want to add for the sake
of widows and those who are not married: It
is a good thing for them to stay as they are,
like me, but if they cannot control the sexual
urges, they should get married, for it is better
to than to be tortured.” (1 Cor 7:8)
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THE EPISTLES
• “The man who sees (to it) that his daughter is
married has done a good thing, but the man
who keeps his daughter unmarried has done
something even better.” (1 Cor 7:38)
• “False teachers say that marriage is
forbidden.” (1 Tim 4:3)
• “Marriage is to honored by all, and marriages
are to be kept undefiled.” (Heb 13:4)
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THE EPISTLES
• “’For this reason a man shall leave father and
mother and be joined to his wife, and the two
shall become one flesh.’ This is a great
mysterion, but I speak in reference to Christ
and the church. Each one of you should love
his wife as himself and the wife should love
her husband.” (Eph 5:31-32)
• “Happy are those who are invited to the
wedding feast of the Lamb.” (Rev 19:9)
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AUGUSTINE
THE CITY OF GOD
(AD 410, the same year Rome was sacked by the Visigoths)
• The city of man is full of violence, death
and destruction. (The natural world)
• The city of God (The kingdom of God), is
a place of peace, life and creation.
(The spiritual world.)
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SECOND HALF OF FIRST
MILLENNIUM
• BARBARIAN INVASIONS AND FALL OF ROMAN
CIVILIZATION
• RISE OF FEUDALISM
• SPREAD OF MONASTICISM--RISE OF CITIES
ASSERTION OF CHURCH CONTROL OF
MARRIAGE FOR COMPLEX OF REASONS
TROUBADORS AND COURTLY LOVE
INDIVIDUALISM AND COMMERCE
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FIRST HALF OF SECOND
MILLENNIUM
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Black Death
Printing Press
Clerical and monastic marriages
Adultery
Concubinage
Prostitution
Secret Marriages (Romeo and Juliet)
Political Machinations (Machiavelli)
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CATHOLIC SACRAMENTAL
• Coalesces in mid-twelfth century
• Three-fold Character:
1. NATURAL ASSOCIATIONa) created by God to enable humans to “be
fruitful and multiply”
b) To raise children in service and love of God
c) A remedy for lust
d) A channel to direct one’s service to
community and church
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CATHOLIC SACRAMENTAL
2. CONTRACTUAL UNIT
a) Formed by mutual consent of the
parties
b) Life-long relationship of love,
service, devotion
c) Prescribed marital and parental
duties
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CATHOLIC SACRAMENTAL
3. SACRAMENTAL REALITYa) Symbolized the eternal union of Christ
and his Church
b) Sanctified the couple, the church and
the community
c) Remedy for lust and sin
d) Considered less commendable than
celibate life
e) Hence, not open to clergy and religious
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LUTHERAN SOCIAL ESTATE
• Martin Luther: German Augustinian Monk
• Concerned about power and its abuse
• Doctrine of Two Kingdoms:
–Earthly Kingdom based in creation and
nature
–Heavenly Kingdom based in revelation,
grace and redemption
(Took hold in Germany, Scandinavia)
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LUTHERAN SOCIAL ESTATE
MARRIAGE IS—
• Divinely ordained in creation
• Useful for earthly human purposes (nature)
• Restrains sex
• Enhances public virtue
• Raises awareness of sin
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LUTHERAN SOCIAL ESTATE
MARRIAGE IS—
• NOT SACRAMENTAL
• CHURCH HAS NO JURISDICTION
• SUBJECT TO THE STATE, CIVIL LAW &COURTS
• CHURCH CAN COUNSEL MARRIED PERSONS
TO BE GOOD CITIZENS
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LUTHERAN SOCIAL ESTATE
THIS MODEL—
• REJECTED CLERICAL CELIBACY
• REJECTED ANNULMENTS DUE TO VOWS
• IS STRICTLY BETWEEN THE TWO PARTIES
• DIVORCE ALLOWED FOR CAUSE
• MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE ARE PUBLIC
• REQUIRED PARENTAL CONSENT, WITNESSES,
CHURCH REGISTRATION, INSTRUCTION
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CALVINIST COVENANTAL
• Swiss Reformer John Calvin
• Took much from Luther but recast it
• MARRIAGE IS-a covenantal association within the
community
• THREE PARTIES: 1.GOD (as witness & judge)
2. HUSBAND
3. WIFE
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CALVINIST COVENANTAL
• Life-long because God is a covenant
partner
• Parents’ Consent as God’s reps for
children
• Two witnesses from the community
• Minister- Power of the Word of God
• Civil Magistrate- Temporal Power of
Sword
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CALVINIST COVENANTAL
• In creation God established the law of
Marriage
• Two Sets of Norms Govern:
– CIVIL- duties for all persons; state enforces
– SPIRITUAL- duties for Christians; church
persuades
– In Geneva, administered by joint committee
– Hence, spiritual as well as earthly (natural)
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CALVINIST COVENANTAL
• SINCE CHURCH, STATE AND COMMUNITY
ALL HAD A STAKE—
• THEY CO-OPERATE TO ENSURE
–FITNESS OF THOSE SEEKING TO MARRY
–RIGHT CONDUCT IN MARRIAGES,
FAMILIES
Huguenot, Pietist, Puritan, Presbyterian
Great Britain and U.S.
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ANGLICAN COMMONWEALTH
• VIA MEDIA ANGLICANA
• Embraced elements of Sacramental (Catholic),
Social Estate (Lutheran) and
Covenantal(Calvinist)
• MARRIAGE IS—
– A symbol of divine life
– A social unit of the earthly kingdom
– A solemn covenant between the partners
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ANGLICAN COMMONWEALTH
• MARRIAGE SERVES THE COMMON
GOOD OF
–THE COUPLE
–THE CHILDREN
–THE CHURCH
–THE STATE (The Realm, the King &
Commonwealth)
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ANGLICAN COMMONWEALTH
MARRIAGE IS ESTABLISHED BY GOD AS A
“LITTLE COMMONWEALTH” THAT MODELS
THE “GREAT COMMONWEALTH”—
• Respects Traditional Hierarchies
Husband
Wife
Parent
Child
Church
Household
King(State)
Church
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ANGLICAN COMMONWEALTH
• Restored much of Catholic Canon Law
• Stressed Parallel Duties for Well-Ordered
World (Britain and English Colonies)
• No Dissolution of Commonwealth, therefore
no divorce (Henry VIII not withstanding—the
King was subject to the State)
• Gradually accommodated democracy, shifting
toward equality, voluntary consent, rights of
individuals
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ENLIGHTENMENT CONTRACT
PROPOSED IN 18TH CENTURY
ELABORATED IN THE 19TH CENTURY
IMPLEMENTED IN 20TH CENTURY
(ESPECIALLY IN US, ENGLAND)
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ENLIGHTENMENT CONTRACT
MARRIAGE IS—
a voluntary, essentially private,
bargain struck between two
parties who want an intimate
association
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ENLIGHTENMENT CONTRACT
MARRIAGE IS—
• NOT SET BY GOD, NATURE, STATE, CHURCH,
TRADITION OR COMMUNITY
• THE PARTIES THEMSELVES SET THE TERMS
• ACCORDING TO LEGAL NORMS that respect
the life, liberty, property, interests of others
(NB: John Locke-”Social Contract”)
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ENLIGHTENMENT CONTRACT
PROPONTENTS URGE—
• ABOLITION OF PARENTAL CONSENT
• ABOLITION OF CHURCH CONSECRATION
• ABOLITION OF FORMAL WITNESSES
• NO GENDER/SEX DISCRIMINATION
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ENLIGHTENMENT CONTRACT
PROPONENTS URGE—
• ABSOLUTE EQUALITY IN PROPERTY RIGHTS
• ABSOLUTE EQUALITY IN CONTRACTS AND
COMMERCE
• ABSOLUTE EQUALITY IN WORKPLACE
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ENLIGHTENMENT CONTRACT
PROPONENTS URGE—
• STATE JURISDICTION OVER DIVORCE AND
ANNULLMENT
• STATE JURISDICATION OVER CARE AND
WELFARE OF CHILDREN
• CHILDREN INCIDENTAL TO MARRIAGE
• RECOURSE TO STATE BY DISTRESSED PARTIES
• STATE SANCTION FOR MARITAL PROBLEMS
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MODELS OF MARRIAGE
“WHAT’S IN YOUR WALLET” (HEAD)
WHEN YOU THINK OR TALK ABOUT
MARRIAGE?
WHEN YOU HEAR PEOPLE USE THE
WORD “MARRIAGE”, WHAT ARE
THEY TALKING ABOUT?
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