Marriage is not a love affair.

No, It made perfect sense to me.

I think that the beauty of message boards is that we do not always agree. It is the difference of opinions that is absolutely necessary for discussion. Otherwise we are just patting each other on the back for agreeing.
God bless James.

Love,
Betty

Betty, God can bless you and Ann also.

Dear Alice,
You are one of my blessings.

Love,
Betty

Did we disagree? or just cross each other in the night? It seems to me we were just using different words to say the same thing.

Whatever. It made an interesting dialogue.

Ann

Funny and not a bit disgusting!

I've sort of skimmed this thread. While I often find religious dogma blocking true spiritual development, I've also found the Catholic philosophy regarding marriage to make good sense. A marriage doesn't count unless the couple is married in the church with vows. It doesn't end unless the church ends the vows. Now, there are lots of loopholes in their stuff, but the thought makes good sense. If one is married with vows before God, it never made sense to me that marriages are ended in a secular court of law. I always figured that's why divorce is such a shredding, horrid experience that brings out the worst in everyone is that it truly is shredding one spiritual body into pieces without the participation of those who put the marriage together in the first place.

Now, I'm not into dogma very much; but I also heard a religious speaker on a very fundamental radio show say something that made sense to me as well. He said that when two people marry, they are making their vows to God. Those vows to God must be stronger than any quarrel they may have with each other. Therefore, maintaining a spiritual quality in a marriage and remembering that the vows were to God, not just to each other, means that God needs to be a major participant in the union, a source for strength in the difficult times and the place to send gratitude for the good times.

For me, all these thoughts make spiritual sense for those who believe in a Creator to whom they answer for their journey in this life. If a person has no spiritual basis to their life, then their vows to each other stand alone and require their own strength of purpose to maintain their marriage through its difficult times.

Marriage throughout the world, however, differs in its relationships and obligations. Therefore, I pass no judgment on those whose marriages do not hold together nor do I praise those whose marriages hold through time. Individuals have their own spiritual and secular guides for this journey on earth. Society changes from one generation to the next, from one culture to the next; and these changes affect the reasons people to choose to marry or stay married and the very concept of marriage partners.

Marriage has spiritual and secular reasons. The marital unit provides a secure place to raise children. It has financial and health related benefits. It gives structure to communities. When those (among others) reasons change, so might the interpretation of the necessity and benefits of marriage, short or long-term.

Good Post.