Origin of Marriage?

[Mooseberry]

I’ve been debating about homosexual “marriage” with my sister, and she recently made the claim that “Marriage was a pagan tradition long before it was ever a sacrament of the church.” My other sister, a History grad student, claims that the Church didn’t make marriage a sacrament until sometime in the middle ages. I’ve heard these things before, but never paid them any mind because it didn’t affect me . . . until now.

My question(s) are: Is this the truth about how marriage came to be? If so, is there any proof to document this? What are the true origins of marriage?

I always believed, more or less, that marriage began with Adam and Eve. I also believed that, after having become a somewhat corrupt institution, Christ restored marriage back to the original sacramental status it had in the beginning. Am I wrong in this?

Any comments would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Mooseberry

 

[preyoflove]

Mooseberry:

I’ve been debating about homosexual “marriage” with my sister, and she recently made the claim that “Marriage was a pagan tradition long before it was ever a sacrament of the church.” My other sister, a History grad student, claims that the Church didn’t make marriage a sacrament until sometime in the middle ages. I’ve heard these things before, but never paid them any mind because it didn’t affect me . . . until now.

My question(s) are: Is this the truth about how marriage came to be? If so, is there any proof to document this? What are the true origins of marriage?

I always believed, more or less, that marriage began with Adam and Eve. I also believed that, after having become a somewhat corrupt institution, Christ restored marriage back to the original sacramental status it had in the beginning. Am I wrong in this?

Any comments would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Mooseberry

Yes, you’re right. Marriage did began with Adam and Eve. Heck, it’s even older than (Original) Sin. Your sisters say otherwise, demand proof from them. And study the evidence they present to you if they are valid. They’re the one making the claims here. And if you find out that the evidence doesn’t hold up. Correct them for presenting such material they already believe and adhere to.

Peace, so be it.

 

[Catholic2003]

See my post in another thread for an explanation of marriage as a sacrament.

The middle ages thing is probably when the Church started conducting marriage ceremonies, instead of leaving that to the state. It had nothing to do with the sacramental nature of marriage.

 

[Deacon_Ed]

Yes, marriage as a social custom dates back long before the Church. In fact, Jesus is asked about the Mosaic laws with regard to divorce, and divorce cannot exist without marriage. So, it does predate the Church.

In the early Church marriages were conducted by the state. The couple could then ask for a blessing if they so desired. This was because the Church had no legal standing. Following the Edict of Milan in the 4th century the Church acquired the same legal standing as other religions and could then perform marriages.

According to Church teaching, any marriage between two baptized persons is sacramental (unless the marriage is invalid – and that’s a whole different question). Thus, all that was missing from marriages celebrated before the time of Christ was the sacrament of baptism. Without that a marriage is a “natural bond.”

The reference to the “middle ages” is usually a reference to Peter Lombard’s book Sentences in which the seven sacraments as we know them today were first listed. Prior to that time writers had mixed sacramentals and sacraments together under the title of sacraments. It is not simply that the Church made marriage a sacrament.

Deacon Ed

 

[Carolyn]

If you look far enough back into history many traditions (secular as well as religious) have pagan origins. This does not take away from the sacrament. For instance, in ancient cultures such as the Germanic tribes of Europe fathers controlled the destiny of their children and fathers were compensated for the loss of a fertile member of his family by gifts of money or property…later this became a symbolic: in place of the “price for the bride” a precious ring was placed on the brides finger. (Greg DuesCatholic Customs and Traditions ) Bridal veils and dress, wedding cakes and garlands of flowers all owe their origins to pagan times. It makes perfect sense for societies to lend their customs to traditions of the Church.

It is not good that the man should be alone, and so God created a helper for him: A WOMAN, not another man.

 

[Jacktastic84]

The origin of marriage predates recorded history. It is highly unlikely that the basic concept of holding a ceremony to commemorate a life partnership began in any one culture. For instance, marriage existed amongst tribes native to the Americas long before Europeans reached their shores (and, naturally, also before they were named Americas). This, and other such examples, indicates that marriage developed in different ways in different cultures before those cultures were able to interact with each other, ergo eliminating the possibility of a single origin of marriage. Marriage has played a variety of roles in a variety of cultures ranging from the mundane purposes of alliances or selling daughters as currency to the more romantic purposes of raising a family or for love. Deacon Ed accurately portrays the history of marriage within the context of the church.

 

[Br.Rich_SFO]

I’ve been debating about homosexual “marriage” with my sister, and she recently made the claim that “Marriage was a pagan tradition long before it was ever a sacrament of the church.” My other sister, a History grad student, claims that the Church didn’t make marriage a sacrament until sometime in the middle ages. I’ve heard these things before, but never paid them any mind because it didn’t affect me . . . until now.

My question(s) are: Is this the truth about how marriage came to be? If so, is there any proof to document this? What are the true origins of marriage?

I always believed, more or less, that marriage began with Adam and Eve. I also believed that, after having become a somewhat corrupt institution, Christ restored marriage back to the original sacramental status it had in the beginning. Am I wrong in this?

Any comments would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Mooseberry

You are correct. Christ points back to Genesis when speaking on Marriage in Matthew. God established Marriage between one Man and one Woman from the beginning. Ignatius speaks of seeking the blessing of the Bishop before Marriage in the early 100’s. However the understanding of the Sacrament of Marriage did in fact develop over the centuries.