Where Does Marriage Come From?

[Comprehend]

Now, I'm not a sociologist or anthropologist, but I believe that marriage is a social construct that was invented by humans to help organize society, keep offspring together, and make sure posessions like money, homes, and land stayed within the scope of that offspring. I believe religion came into it later.

and you base this belief on........?

 

[Comprehend]

If marriage was invented by humans, rather than evolved in humans or in a precursor species to humans, how do you account for it's ubiquity? It's found everywhere, in all human culture's and societies. Surely it could not have travelled to all corners of the earth from some point where it was invented. It must be instinctual.

Why not? God is powerful enough to form the earth but not powerful enough to spread His teachings around it?

 

[Ðanisty]

Why not? God is powerful enough to form the earth but not powerful enough to spread His teachings around it?

The problem I have with that idea is that the whole world didn't believe in the same god yet the whole world came up with marriage.

 

[Sunstone]

From an evolutionist point of few: marriage developed over the eons as human ancestors mated as a natural impulse. And as we progressed, marriage progressed from a mere procreational instinct, to love between two human beings.

Are you seriously suggesting that's an "evolutionist" point of view?

 

[Luke_17:2]

Are you seriously suggesting that's an "evolutionist" point of view?

Take it up with the atheist who said it. But that may be a problem considering it's anonymous. It seemed to make sense to me, though.

 

[Sunstone]

Take it up with the atheist who said it. But that may be a problem considering it's anonymous. It seemed to make sense to me, though.

Are you proposing that any old atheist surely must be an expert on evolutionary science? If so, do you have rational explanation for that assumption?

 

[Luke_17:2]

Good God you're sensitive! I was merely saying don't attack me for what an atheist said about the evolution of marriage.

P.S. And no, I'm not implying anything else-just to be safe.

 

[cardero]

I often see in other threads some remark to the effect that religion invented marriage. This is not my understanding of it, however. As far as I know, marriage in it's most basic form was "invented" at least as long ago as the origin of our species and probably even before that. That is, it seems most likely that humans evolved the behavior of pair bonding some very long time ago, long before the rise of any living religion. So, how can marriage be the invention of religion?

Well it is not an invention of GOD, GOD does not stand on (human) ceremony.

 

[Sunstone]

Good God you're sensitive! I was merely saying don't attack me for what an atheist said about the evolution of marriage.

P.S. And no, I'm not implying anything else-just to be safe.

Thank you for clarifying your source for what you had considered the "evolutionist" view of marriage.

 

[lilithu]

Marriage was invented by humans. Religion was invented by humans. They "evolved" together. The ubiquity of both religion and marriage is because both are responses to primal human impulses. (and no, I'm not talking about just sex for the latter)

 

[lilithu]

From an evolutionist point of few: marriage developed over the eons as human ancestors mated as a natural impulse. And as we progressed, marriage progressed from a mere procreational instinct, to love between two human beings.

ARGHH!!! :banghead3

You know what, I'm just going to start MAKING UP things that creationists believe too.

 

[lilithu]

Well it is not an invention of GOD, GOD does not stand on (human) ceremony.

From my perspective the wedding is ceremony. Marriage itself is the living into a sacred trust between two people and greater community and possibly their god(s).

It's funny because I think of marriage as something done in community - the couple wants the recognition of the community of which they are a part, and in some ways are accountable to the community for giving it their all since they got its blessing. Yet some are pointing to the story of Adam and Eve as if it were simply between two people and that's it.