What does "unequally yoked" mean,...really?

[MysticMissMisty]

Salvete, omnes!

(First of all, my apologies if this is posted in the wrong forum. Please feel free to move!)

What does being “unequally yoked” with unbelievers mean,…really?

I hear a lot of people say that it is specifically referring to marriage, but, if you look at the passage, marriage is not mentioned at all. And, if it were referring specifically/only to marriage, don’t you think Paul would have just said “don’t get/be married to unbelievers”?

The term is strange, really – “unequally yoked”. It is almost as if it has some sort of very specific/technical meaning or is if Paul is making an allusion, say, to some other text or commonly-known expression when he uses this term (possibly a text or an expression which did not come down to us). Then again, perhaps it is simply a phrase that was typically used in farming. Still, on its own, the term seems very vague and, if it was just referring to farming, one would have expected Paul to elaborate more fully or more precisely on what his meaning for it was here. Then again, maybe Paul may have actually spoken to the Corinthians using this term before he wrote this letter. Maybe he used it commonly so that they would’ve been far more clear on what he meant when he wrote it in this letter.

Nevertheless, could it be applied more broadly than simply to marriages? Could it be applied to other relationships? If so, which other relationships and in what case? Could it go so far as to be commanding us not at all even to associate with unbelievers? Could it be saying that we are not to form close friendships or bonds with them? Could it simply mean that we are not to have the same goals as unbelievers, certainly when they are sinful, or even that we cannot, that such is impossible? After all, Paul goes on to say that it is impossible for light to mix with darkness, for the temple of God to mix with idols, etc. Could Paul be saying that we simply should not do the same sinful things as unbelievers because, frankly that doesn’t even make sense and is not at all fit for a believer? Related to this, but from a slightly different angle, maybe Paul is calling those who do the same thing as unbelievers, in a kind of absurd way(?) “unequally yoked” in that both are so different from each other that it is absurd that they are “getting together” in sin. He may even be being a little humorous by using this term (humorous, but biting in making a point?) in that we get the image of the cart tipping over due to the fact that one, say, has a heavier yoke than the other or the cart is getting upset because one animal under one yoke is going one way and the other person under another yoke is going another way(?). Granted, I know little about farming, so maybe I’m completely off in the metaphor here…

And, then, what are we to make of Paul’s last statement about believers (some translate) having “nothing in common” with unbelievers? (Other translations render this phrase having “no part” with unbelievers. See a previous post I just made for more detailed discussion on the problematic nature of this passage: forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=998046 ) After all, both other Scripture passages and Catholic teaching as well as common experience would seem to indicate that our having absolutely “nothing” in common with unbelievers is (and I apologize for putting it so strongly, but) a complete and utter fiction! So, Paul is surely meaning something else other than this when he makes this statement?

So, what are we do to with Paul’s command / advice(?) on not being “unequally yoked” with unbelievers? When should we apply it? When should we not? Why? Why not?

Gratias.

 

[MysticMissMisty]

As far as “unequally yoked” being potentially used out of humor, it may also be argued that even the unusualnes of the term might be being used for humorous effect, just as we often do with similar wordplay today.

Also, one could also argue that Christ Himself sometimes used humor but with a serious point, possibly(?) to lighten an otherwise weighty topic, to show His hearers’ absurdity but not to beat them over the head with the hardest of hammers over it. The image of one blind man leading another into a ditch might be just that, or the image of the camel going through the ye of a needle or the speck in one eye and the beam in another or a number of examples which I am probably not coming up with right now off the top of my head.

I don’t know. This is perhaps a bit of a tangent away from my main very serious questions, but it is just a thought an dpossibly helps to answer the question as to the reason for the use of the term “unequally yoked” here.

 

[HungerNThirst4R]

I thought it was in reference to sex, see 2 Corinthians 6:17 as well as the following verses which have to do with sex. Also, I always thought 1 Corinthians 6:15-17 was parallel to these, as the “two become one flesh” (from the sexual act) to be very similar to become “yoked”.

 

[pianistclare]

haydock1859.tripod.com/id184.html

 

[fisherman_carl]

When Paul talks about unequally yoked he can’t be talking about severing all relationships with unbelievers. For he says elsewhere in 1 Cor 10:27, “If one of the unbelievers invites you to dinner and you are disposed to go, eat whatever is set before you without raising any question on the ground of conscience.” Here Paul makes an allowance for eating with unbelievers. If he was against all relations with unbelievers he would have forbid it. Also, Jesus is often accused of eating with sinners and tax collectors. He didn’t avoid the sinners. He sought them out. So, I think unequally yoked means a deeper kind of relationship, perhaps a spiritual communion, or any relationship where you enter into a partnership with another, which is why I think people associate it with marriage. Since in marriage one enters into a spiritual communion with the other person. And, one can not help but be influenced by another’s spiritual outlook overtime, even if they don’t even realize it. Which is why some people end up in Hinduism when they started out just doing yoga. Because they are exposed to these ideas overtime without even realizing it.

 

[MysticMissMisty]

I thought it was in reference to sex, see 2 Corinthians 6:17 as well as the following verses which have to do with sex. Also, I always thought 1 Corinthians 6:15-17 was parallel to these, as the “two become one flesh” (from the sexual act) to be very similar to become “yoked”.

Your interpretation is possible and would seem to have tadition (small t) to back it up.

Still, i see nothing about sex in the following verses…

 

[MysticMissMisty]

When Paul talks about unequally yoked he can’t be talking about severing all relationships with unbelievers. For he says elsewhere in 1 Cor 10:27, “If one of the unbelievers invites you to dinner and you are disposed to go, eat whatever is set before you without raising any question on the ground of conscience.” Here Paul makes an allowance for eating with unbelievers. If he was against all relations with unbelievers he would have forbid it. Also, Jesus is often accused of eating with sinners and tax collectors. He didn’t avoid the sinners. He sought them out. So, I think unequally yoked means a deeper kind of relationship, perhaps a spiritual communion, or any relationship where you enter into a partnership with another, which is why I think people associate it with marriage. Since in marriage one enters into a spiritual communion with the other person. And, one can not help but be influenced by another’s spiritual outlook overtime, even if they don’t even realize it. Which is why some people end up in Hinduism when they started out just doing yoga. Because they are exposed to these ideas overtime without even realizing it.

As far as spiritual relationship, I would think that that would be an obvious one to avoid.

As far as “intimate” relationships, I would argue that, in some cases, even believers and unbelievers would have enough in common to make that work. I mean, there are indeed, some unbelievers, shocking to say! :sarcastic:, who are also wanting to live the “good” or “moral” life to varying degrees, though, of course, their moral sense may not be precisely like ours. And, yes, I would certainly myself caution against accompanying unbelievers everywhere they go. For instance, if they go to a bar and are in the habit of getting drunk and if you are very likely to end up getting drunk with them, then, sure, it is not advised to go. Still, cutting off all ties with that person simply because you believe and they don’t, I would argue, can even be perceived as a lack of charity toward them.

 

[CatholicRaven]

As for being unequally yoked: a yoke is a single piece of curved wood used to keep teams of oxen together as they pull a plow or wagon. If one ox turns, the other is pulled in that direction, as well. If they pull in different directions with equal force, the plow doesn’t go anywhere (and neither do the oxen). If they pull away from each other, back and forth, or with different amounts of force, the furrow behind them will be crooked, not straight. They have to work together and support each other to make a straight furrow for proper planting of seeds.

I think that’s why it’s generally assumed that marriage is what is being mentioned here–because spouses really are “yoked” together in the Sacrament of marriage, two becoming one, and what one does affects the other. But I think some friendships and family relationships can fit this image, too.

I think the “nothing in common” phrase was a hyperbole used to make a point. I don’t think he really meant absolutely NOTHING in common… after all, we’re still human beings, so there’s that. But I’d also say I have “nothing in common” with the lady down the street from me. We are pleasant to each other, we say “hello” in passing… but we really don’t have much else to talk about, we don’t relate well to each other… that is, we have nothing in common.

I think he is saying that Christians and unbelievers really don’t have much in common, because real belief in Jesus Christ requires a whole new way of life. Faith in Jesus changes the way we do nearly everything (or it should, anyway!). It changes our outlook, our concern for others. Our perspectives, our lifestyles, and our values will likely be affected, and will probably be much different than an unbeliever’s.

I think Paul is saying that we can’t let ourselves be led astray by getting too close to others with values too different from those we know are true. It’s too easy to justify to ourselves why this otherwise “good person” would do those things… and then it’s just a baby step away to justifying that behavior in ourselves.