Yurt
Gold Member
CivilLiberty said:1) Marriage BEGAN before the god of Abraham religions, as way for a man to "own" a woman.
2) Historically, gay marriage was not unheard of - For instance emperor Nero married men twice. around 59 AD.
3) In 342 AD the Romans outlawed gay marriage.
4) It wasn't until 1563 that the Catholic Church officially "sanctified" marriage as part of canon law.
(as a side note it's interesting that the 13th century the greek orthodox church had a ceremony for the marriage of two men to each other.)
Regards
Andy
A,
If you look at Genisis 23,24 you will find the understanding of marriage for Christians/Jews/ and probably Islam (though not sure about Islam). This idea of "ownership" is actually refuted if you read the Bible in context. Especially, if you read the aforementioned versus, which truly convey, what I think, God intended natural relations to (albeit many relations, such as divorce, were later granted because of the hardness of man's heart, thus God "allowed" certain things solely because of the hardness of man's heart) to be between a man and a woman, as they clinged to ONE flesh. This to me does not indicate "ownership." If it does for you, I would be curious to see why.
As for the other historical, ie, mostly non religious examples (which is fair, as this issue has implications for both parties), they are rather bleak in terms of numbers. That is, in terms of man and woman being the true reality of "marriage." If you want to cite examples of the exception, then feel free. However, you must also agree that this is the "exception." Especially given the numerical ration of said events.
Whether or not the Catholic Church sanctified marriage as "canon" law is truly irrelevant for this discussion. I appreciate you bringing in a close to modern view of marriage, however, fundamentally and historically (on the vast greater majority) marriage has always been and understood to be between a man and a woman.
Good talk
J