6/3/09

"Traditional Marriage"

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1 Corinthians 7:8
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"Now to the unmarried and the widows I say: it is good for them to stay unmarried, as I am"
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Why doesn't the church push this?
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Why don't pastors refuse to marry people if the apostle Paul teaches that singles and widows should stay single?
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Another example of picking and choosing by fundamental evangelicals...

4 comments:

Heather said...

But it's so much harder to pass judgment if you don't pick and choose certain versus from the Bible! I mean, if you have to follow EVERYTHING, it makes pointing the finger nearly impossible!

You are right on sister. right on.

Douglas V. Gibbs said...

this is not picking an choosing, but a verse taken out of context. Read the entire chapter carefully and you will find it is referring to the service to the Lord. It is essentially saying that if your service to the Lord is hindered by marriage, then it is better to be single and serve the Lord without the problems of a relationship get in the way. This has been misinterpreted by the Catholic Church, however, and it is this verse that made them decide to not allow Priests to marry. However, I know a great many preachers who have a wonderful ministry, and are able to keep a great marriage as well. It amazes me that people who don't understand the Bible are constantly claiming that Christians pick and choose verses and what to believe - wouldn't it be prudent to fully understand what you are criticizing before you attack it?

Shannon said...

Doug,

I can't tell you how many fundamentalists say "read the entire (fill in the blank) very carefully and take it in context. Well, it IS in context. The Catholic church did get it right - that IS what is says. And Paul was saying it is more important to serve God than to get married but if you can't control your lust, you should get married.

You also missed one of the other arguments that fundamentalists push on this verse: Paul was talking about that time period when Christians were being persecuted by the Romans. He didn't want children being produced in these marriages and then having orphans.

This letter was to the church at Corinth and does not apply to us today - although we can use much of it. As with the rest of scripture, none of it was meant as literal word for word. We have to understand the historical and cultural contexts. Most of us never will.

Melissa said...

The thing about citing the bible for any sort of personal conduct is that for the quote to be relevant,the person on the receiving end has to have some sort of actual belief in the book. For me, bible quotes don't matter in my life choices because frankly, I don't believe in it. A person using that as a source to instruct me on how to behave might as well be reading me a passage from a backgammon rules manual.