Part 2: Marriage in the Bible
If you haven't checked out Part 1 of this series, we recommend that you do that before listening to this episode. In this episode we take a look at what the Bible has to say about marriage. What is the purpose of marriage? Why is there polygamy in the Bible? Would Paul, or any of the New Testament writers, have considered life long, committed same sex attraction relationships in his writings? Also, if God is supposed to be all about love, would He really deny any of His children marriage? The main scripture references we used are listed below. We are also providing you with a list of resources we used for this entire series. We hope this series is helpful to you! We would also love to hear your thoughts and questions. Feel free to write to us at lscollectivepodcast@gmail.com. You can also find us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter [@TCPyouthpastors].
Scripture References:
Origin of Marriage:
Genesis 1:27-28 - "God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
Genesis 2:23-24 - "The Lord God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man. 23 The man said, “This is now bone of my bones, And flesh of my flesh: She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man.” 24 For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh."
Polygamy:
Genesis 4:19 - Lamech
1 Kings 11:1-6 - King Solomon
Deuteronomy 17:17 - "And he shall not acquire many wives for himself, lest his heart turn away, nor shall he acquire for himself excessive silver and gold."
Marriage in the New Testament:
Matthew 19:6 - "Some Pharisees came to Jesus, testing Him and asking, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason at all?” 4 And He answered and said, “Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female, 5 and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? 6 So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate."
Download PDF of "sexual immorality" used in the New Testament (Greek = porneia)
Mark 7:14-23 [example of "sexual immorality"]
Ephesians 5:21-33 [Wives and Husbands]
Colossians 3:18-19 [Wives and Husbands]
Revelation 21:1-4 [The Church as the Bride of Jesus]
Resources used for this Series:
*Were loving, faithful same-sex relationships around in ancient history? Some say "no," but the historical evidence says otherwise. Hubbard's book below addresses this, but here is a blog article that is just as helpful.
Books:
Two Views on Homosexuality, The Bible, and the Church - Gundry and Sprinkle
Eros The Myth of Ancient Greek Sexuality - Bruce Thornton
Homosexuality in Greece and Rome: A Sourcebook of Basic Documents - T. K. Hubbard
What Does the Bible Really Teach about Homosexuality? - Kevin Deyoung
Paul Behaving Badly - Richards & O’Brien
Gay Girl, Good God - Jackie Hill Perry
A War of Loves - David Bennett
Queer Theology - Linn Marie Tonstad
Unashamed - Amber Cantorna
Software:
Logos Bible Software
Podcasts:
Unbelievable? Podcast - Multiple episodes
Hole In My Heart Podcast - All episodes
Think Biblically Podcast - [Apr 4; Jun 21; Mar 8 & 15; Feb 22]