When God is not on the guest list

[missmuffet]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I've often wondered why they even bother to marry since they don't believe in sin..makes no sense...I live in a secular country and not surprised that America is headed in that direction..very sad.

Yeah many  have  no problems living together for a long time. Marriage still is regarded as a public commitment to one another in a way that is mutually binding in ways that merely living together isn't. In that way even if living together isn't sinful you can see how marriage would appeal to atheists wanting to commit.

 

 

I guess the law in America is vastly different to nz...here people who are in a relationship living together have almost the same rights as a married couple..one can even take on the others name...its a 50/50 split of property etc (as in marriage) should the couple split....marriage is just a piece of paper here....its a secular country.

 

Yeah people living together do not have the same legal rights but I don't think you quite responded to my point. Atheists can still, and do still value often, making a public verbal commitment to each other, law or questions of sin aside.

 

It is not a commitment and a vow to God.Athiests and Christians do not see life in the same way.

 

Yes they are married and yes they did commit. Atheists are capable of committing to others in a variety of meaningful ways. Them not believing in God doesn't mean that they can't be validly married or make a vow to each other other.

 

 I agree... but a vow before God as in " Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate " seems to validate the union at the highest level... though some may reject it... matter of opinion... I voiced mine.... Blessing "B"

 

I don't disagree with that exactly. I was thinking about my wording as I was trying to express this. When Christians marry there is a covenant before God, but insofar as atheists don't believe in God that aspect of it is absent. I don't think that makes them not married or means they can't care about marriage etc (which I realize you agree, and now I'm agreeing more)

 

That is life.Life is full of choices.One of those choices is if you want to commit your life to Christ.The athiest has made their choice.Who do they make their wedding vows to??? No one.They make up their own??

[alphaparticle]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I've often wondered why they even bother to marry since they don't believe in sin..makes no sense...I live in a secular country and not surprised that America is headed in that direction..very sad.

Yeah many  have  no problems living together for a long time. Marriage still is regarded as a public commitment to one another in a way that is mutually binding in ways that merely living together isn't. In that way even if living together isn't sinful you can see how marriage would appeal to atheists wanting to commit.

 

 

I guess the law in America is vastly different to nz...here people who are in a relationship living together have almost the same rights as a married couple..one can even take on the others name...its a 50/50 split of property etc (as in marriage) should the couple split....marriage is just a piece of paper here....its a secular country.

 

Yeah people living together do not have the same legal rights but I don't think you quite responded to my point. Atheists can still, and do still value often, making a public verbal commitment to each other, law or questions of sin aside.

 

It is not a commitment and a vow to God.Athiests and Christians do not see life in the same way.

 

Yes they are married and yes they did commit. Atheists are capable of committing to others in a variety of meaningful ways. Them not believing in God doesn't mean that they can't be validly married or make a vow to each other other.

 

 I agree... but a vow before God as in " Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate " seems to validate the union at the highest level... though some may reject it... matter of opinion... I voiced mine.... Blessing "B"

 

I don't disagree with that exactly. I was thinking about my wording as I was trying to express this. When Christians marry there is a covenant before God, but insofar as atheists don't believe in God that aspect of it is absent. I don't think that makes them not married or means they can't care about marriage etc (which I realize you agree, and now I'm agreeing more)

 

That is life.Life is full of choices.One of those choices is if you want to commit your life to Christ.The athiest has made their choice.Who do they make their wedding vows to??? No one.They make up their own??

 

they make their vows to *each other*. They make promises to *each other*. It's something like a public promise, to each other, to be faithful, be there for the other, and so on.

[LadyKay]

http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/22/living/matrimony-atheist-wedding/index.html?hpt=hp_c3

All the traditional elements were in place for Joseph and Fiona Long's 2009 New Year's Eve wedding.

She wore a white dress; he wore a tuxedo and her family wore kilts in honor of her Scottish heritage. After they exchanged vows and rings and sealed the deal with a kiss, an officiant in a black robe pronounced them husband and wife. Then, they dined and danced the night away at an Atlanta country club with their closest friends and loved ones, culminating in a midnight confetti drop.

Missing from the guest list: God.

The Longs are atheists who did not want gods or religious texts involved in their marriage celebration. But apart from the non-church setting, the only hint at an deliberately non-religious wedding was contained within their vows and readings. These included selections from Shakespeare, Robert Burns and the Massachusetts Supreme Court ruling on same-sex marriage, which they felt "beautifully expressed the social and secular significance of marriage without any appeal to religion," said Joseph Long, a lawyer in Tampa, Florida.

A bride's bittersweet reunion"We felt it made the point well that you can have the sanctity of marriage without having to fit into a particular group," he said. "It basically states that marriage is extremely important in society for a variety of reasons, regardless of what someone's god thinks about it."

As secularism continues to rise in the United States, more couples like the Longs are deviating from a traditional wedding blueprint that includes prayers, blessings and biblical passages.

"A secular wedding can be exactly like a religious wedding with two key differences: no mention of any deities and no recitation of supposedly sacred texts," said David G. McAfee, author of "Mom, Dad, I'm an Atheist: The Guide to Coming Out as a Non-Believer and Disproving Christianity and other Secular Writings."

Well Okay whatever. I don't really care what the rest of the world does. As for me in my house, we will serve the Lord. (Joshua 24:15)