One ubiquitously promulgated common misconception based pop-cultural talking point of a myth is that there has been an evolution of marriage so that one cannot claim that marriage between one man and one woman is traditional, normal, family value based, right, true, God given, etc.
Before thinking of an answer, or a counterargument, it is important to think about and dissect the question, the argument.
What does it mean to claim that marriage has evolved?
One definition of the term “evolution” is a blind, random, process which since it lacks foresight, lacks a goal. So did marriage just sort of come about from non-marriage via random processes?
Another usage of “evolution” merely means “change over time” and so the question is “Has marriage changed?”
We might also consider whether marriage was created via intelligent design.
1) Did marriage just sort of come about…
Since Darwinian evolution is a worldview philosophy, a manner whereby to force evidence to be interpreted according to a materialism, it is about weaving together Victorian Era tall tales. Thus, a Darwinist can, off the top of their heads, concoct a story about how and why marriage came about: it was due to pooling resources together and thus combine forces, it was to decrease competition, it was to ensure purity of gene pools, in short it was because it somehow increased the survival of bio-organisms who married over those who did not.
2) Has marriage changed?
This requires further dissection by asking “What is meant by change?” You see, something can amorphously change from whatever to whatever: from a non-specific something to an equally non-specific something else. Yet, something can change form something meant to be, something purposeful, something specifically formulated, etc. into something else which it was never meant to be.
So, has marriage changed? Well, of course, the aforementioned ubiquitously promulgated common misconception based pop-cultural talking point of a myth is not directed towards Christianity and not any other religion, worldview, philosophy, culture or even Atheism or Darwinism. So, within this context, has marriage changed? Indeed, but it was not supposed to.
From Musée de l’Arles et de la Provence antiques FAN92.00.2482 image by Ad Meskens
3) Was marriage was created via intelligent design?
Indeed, and it was from this original creative design that it was changed, corrupted.
Someone has produced a graphic titled, “Marriage =” as a tool to illustrate the talking point. The graphic includes text and it is this text upon we will focus.
The graphic’s text breaks down into the following categories and so each will be considered within their own article:
Man + Woman – Nuclear Family: Genesis 2:24
Man + Brother’s Widow (Levirate Marriage) Genesis 38 6:10
Man + Wives = Concubines
Rapist + His Victim: Deuteronomy 22:28-29
Man + Woman + Woman’s Property – Genesis 16
Male Soldier + Prisoner of War – Number 31:1-18, Deuteronomy 21:11-14
Man + Woman + Woman + Woman…(Polygamy)
Male Slave + Female Slave – Exodus 21:4
While we will consider each in turn and details there is a succinct response to all of it which is that yes, YHVH established marriage as being based upon the template in the Garden of Eden which is one man with one woman. Yes, there are times when the Israelites, the Jews, the Hebrews practice alternative marriages (with wives plus concubines, polygamy, etc.). All that this proves is that they took it upon themselves to not keep to the YVHV’s ordained concept, of marriage.
This means that marriage has changed only in as far as it has devolved into something which it was not supposed to be.
Also, we actually find certain marriages that were arranged, as it where, by YVHV Himself and they are all one man and one woman: Adam and Eve, Isaac and Rebecca, Hosea and Gomer, etc. It is also noteworthy that repeatedly YHVH employs the metaphor of marriage to describe his relationship with His one and only chosen people in terms of YHVH being the one husband and His people being the one wife.
Jesus was specifically asked certain questions about marriage. Also, some, such as Rev. Dr. Mel White, claim that “Jesus says nothing about same-sex behavior.”
However, when Jesus responded, in part:
Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ 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’? So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate (see Matthew 19:3-6 also see Mark 10:2-9).
Jesus points to the marriage model in the beginning which is “made them male and female…no longer two.” This discredits polygamy as it is one man and one woman, only two. It discredits same-sex marriage as it is one male and one female.
For more info see:
Rev. Dr. Mel White on Christian Homosexuality, part 10 of 21
Next, we will consider “Man + Woman – Nuclear Family.”