: : If my memory serves me, according to my high school religion teacher, a marriage was deemed to be a marriage by the couple themselves. The couple initiates this sacrament and the whole ceremony is meant to signify what's occured in their hearts... an unbreakable covenant or something (the priest doesn't cause marriage to occur, he just makes it legal and official). Thus, if one of the members in the marriage really was never in love, or information was withheld by one of the parties that would have effected whether or not the marriage covenent would be made (ex. say you didn't tell her you were gay, that you were already married, etc), the marriage was never a true one. Hence, you could get an annulment granted by the church that says "your marriage was never really a true marriage in the first place, so your free to have guiltless sex with other people," or something to that effect. Of course the negative implication would be if the couple had kids, in which case the children are left feeling like they were the product of an unholy unity, and they aren't seen as God's children. Needless to say it can cause needless trauma. Also, since the "withholding info" thing can be rather ambiguous (ex. I didn't know he/she was a slob, thus making cohabitation impossible), there are more annulments than ever before, especially in northamerica.

: : According to my teacher, the ceremony wasn't really necessary, the whole exchaning rings was a symbol of an unbreakable covenant. I theory this kind of a think could be done in my basement... and you wouldn't even need a real priest. Hmmm... getting ideas.

: Beelzebub: : You need no priest? Is that true bzrd? Then a marriage is only a special kind of friendship? What kind of ceremony is at least necessary? : What is when you want to marry a mentally disturbed person? Is that possible? The person is not able to say "I love you" or "I want to marry you", etc. : Must you love a person when you want to marry her/him or is it enough when you like her/him? : Is a marriage between homosexual persons really not allowed? ---------- Marriage has to be consentual. Both have to agree. That's why minors can't get married (legally). I guess the point is, a marriage is only deemed a marriage in the eyes of God. Also, it should be pointed out that the primary purpose of marriage is to extend the love felt between to people, to create children (the idea that sex for pleasure is evil). Since homosexuals can't reproduce (naturally), their union is considered an unholy one. The only sex they have is for pleasure.

This is of course what I learned from religion class. I think this archaic notion of marriage is both restrictive and outdated. Have you taken any sociology? It's suggested that gender classifications are purely social constructs. Makes you look at things differently.

• Re: whoa... my contraversio-meter just went off the scale! - Beelzebub - December 16, 1999 - 11:52 UTC
  • I hear ya... (nope, women aren't inferior... they're just socialized to believe that they are) - tenacious - December 18, 1999 - 02:28 UTC
    • Re: I hear ya... (nope, women aren't inferior... they're just socialized to believe that they are) - Beelzebub - December 18, 1999 - 23:08 UTC