Marriage – What is it and what’s the point?

You do know the Code was written be fore Gen, don't you?

He thinks Genesis describes the beginning of time, so I rather doubt he knows any such thing.

Interesting. Makes me wonder though why marriage existed long before Christ if that were true and why people marry for entirely different reasons. I think maybe for purposes of rearing children. Either that or, as you said, designed to mirror a covenant between Christ and the Church.Edited by Hyroglyphx, : No reason given.

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"Political correctness is tyranny with manners." -- Charlton Heston

Sorry, I haven't checked on this thing in a while, heh. I do know that the Code was penned before Genesis, but in terms of raw chronology (the actual events), the events of Genesis 2 would precede the Code of Hammurabi by over 2,000 years. Moses did not make up the contents of the book of Genesis but was rather compiling the oral history of much earlier times.

I may be some psycho-conservative-Christian wacko in your mind, but I try to be respectful to you guys. I have a degree in history to balance my second degree in divinity, so I am in fact familiar with the Code of Hammurabi. I will not personally slam any of you guys for your views; a little reciprocity would be nice. I think a good, honest discussion on this stuff is a great thing.Edited by AdminPD, : WarningEdited by AdminPD, : No reason given.

You can't do that.The date of something that is actually written is a different to events that are purported to have taken place 2000 years before they are written down.Edited by AdminPD, : WarningEdited by AdminPD, : No reason given.

You are right in saying that, but it is irrelevant.The point is this: Marriage goes back a minimum of 3,000 years before the Code of Hammurabi. Moses' penning of Genesis (whether you think he wrote it or not) did not institute marriage. It was in existence 3,500 years or so before this. Moses was merely reporting what had been passed on to him as to its origins. The Code of Hammurabi was a new codification of law, sure, several hundred years or so before the penning of Genesis...but it was several thousand years after God's institution of marriage...from the Biblical perspective.

JUC writes: Seems this is the moment where I should reveal my entropic theory of marriage, from the Laws of Thermodynamics.Consider that entropy, which we also have heard never decreases in the universe, is a measure of disorder. Things tend to progress from an orderly arrangement to a disorderly arrangement. In order to make something progress to a more orderly state, surrounding things must become more disordely. There can be a rough measure of how much work it takes to go from one to the other.A common example given is a building. To demolish it requires a few legal hoops and a few hours of planning and a few more to carefully plant the charges, then a few seconds to demolish it. Contrast that with the amount of time & effort it took to build that buiilding, or a new one in its place. The building is overwhelmingly regarded as being in a more orderly state than the rubble after the demolition.Now let's look at marriage. How hard is it to get married compared to how hard is it to get divorced. You can get married in 2 minutes in Las Vegas. Divorce takes years and costs a lot, requiring more effort on each part.Therefore being divorced is a more orderly state than being married.

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- xongsmith, 5.7d

Just read you post.I agree totally. My wife and I have lived together for 5 years now and we have never raised our voices to each other once. I have a rotten temper and she is very forgetful and untidy but we file this under 'little things', as you seem to do. You think that's bad? I had to sit through '27 Dresses' but then she actually came to cinema to watch 'Predators', with me.It does not feel like compromise because of the buzz I get when she smiles.

You, sir, have discovered the meaning of life.

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"It appears that many of you turn to Hebrew to escape the English...." -- Joseppi

Amen.

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Dost thou prate, rogue?
-Cassio

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Real things always push back.
-William James

Is that a line from the movie, "How To Turn A Guy Gay In 10 Days"...? - Oni

Now don't scorn marriage, oni.I like it so much, I did it three times.

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Dost thou prate, rogue?
-Cassio

​

Real things always push back.
-William James

Yeah, some people have no problem with commitment. The just can't get enough of it.

I'm not sure that there is any evidence that the source of the Code of Hammurabi is any different than the source for the mosaic laws.In either case, the institution of marriage was not some divine coupling but rather property rights.Marriage was about who would own the land, the animals, the productive hands. It was about establishing ownership of the women so that it cut down on fights.Marriage, particularly in the Bible, is about ownership, inheritance, welfare and conflict reduction.

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Anyone so limited that they can only spell a word one way is severely handicapped!