WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT

  ANSWER The Bible records the creation of marriage in  Genesis 2:23–24 : “The man said, ‘This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called “woman,” for she was taken out of man.’ For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.” God created man and then made woman to complement him. In the Bible marriage is God’s “fix” for the fact that “it is not good for the man to be alone” ( Genesis 2:18 ). As the Bible describes the first marriage, it uses the word  helper  to identify Eve ( Genesis 2:20 ). To “help” in this context means “to surround, to protect or aid.” God created Eve to come alongside Adam as his "other half," to be his aid and his helper. The Bible says that marriage causes a man and woman to become “one flesh.” This oneness is manifested most fully in the physical union of sexual intimacy. The New Testament adds a warning regarding this oneness: “So they are no longer two, but o

  ANSWER Common law marriage may be defined differently in different states, but, in general, a common law marriage can be thought of as a romantic relationship legally recognized as a marriage without the need to purchase a marriage license and without being “made official” with a ceremony. Usually, to be eligible for a common law marriage, a couple must have a marriage-like lifestyle: they live together, agree that they are married, and present themselves to others as husband and wife. Also, neither one of the individuals is already married to someone else.  Webster’s New College Dictionary  defines  common law marriage  as follows: “A marriage existing by mutual agreement and cohabitation between a man and a woman without a civil or religious ceremony.” A common misperception is that, if you live together for a certain length of time (seven years is what many people believe), then you are common-law married. This is not true anywhere in the United States. The Bible does not speak of

  Interracial marriage is really a misnomer. There is only one race — the human race. But, since inter-ethnic marriage and inter-skin-color marriage haven't caught on as alternate terms, I'll go with inter racial  marriage. Like most of the articles in the GotQuestions.org Top 20, this one can stir up some pretty heated arguments and strong emotions. In  Deuteronomy 7:3 , speaking of the Israelites' relationship with the inhabitants of the promised land, God commands, "You shall not intermarry with them, giving your daughters to their sons or taking their daughters for your sons." There are many other Old Testament scriptures that warned the Israelites against intermarriage with the inhabitants of the land of Canaan. Some look at those scriptures and come to the conclusion that it was a racial issue. I disagree. It was a religious issue. God did not want interracial marriage between the Israelites and Canaanites because, "for they would turn away your sons fr

  First of all, no matter what view one takes on the issue of divorce, it is important to remember  Malachi 2:16 : “I hate divorce, says the  Lord  God of Israel.” According to the Bible, marriage is a lifetime commitment. “So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate” ( Matthew 19:6 ). God realizes, though, that marriages involve two sinful human beings and that divorces are going to occur. In the Old Testament, He laid down some laws to protect the rights of divorcées ( Deuteronomy 24:1–4 ). Jesus pointed out that these laws were given because of the hardness of people’s hearts, not because such laws were God’s desire ( Matthew 19:8 ). The issue of remarriage after a divorce is addressed directly in  1 Corinthians 7:10–11 : “To the married I give this command (not I, but the Lord): A wife must not separate from her husband. But if she does, she must remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband. And a husband must not divorc