Note: Before reading the following arguments, please understand that they are not what I believe. On Wednesdays, I deliberately argue for wrong ideas, challenging my listeners to call and defend the obvious right answer, which is usually far harder than one would expect. This is a summary of what Wacky Andrew will be arguing, not a representation of what real Andrew believes.~Why not let people enter into marriage based on their own ideas?
~Given the ease and legality of getting a divorce at any time, this is essentially the nature of marriages already.
~Lots of marriages turn out to be bad decisions. This lets them expire without having to do anything.
~If someone isn’t willing to renew his vows, doesn’t that mean he shouldn’t have to continue living them?
~If people knew marriage was only temporary, they’d be better able to endure it.
~If people knew marriage needed to be renewed, they’d be more likely to treat their spouses better in the hopes of earning the renewal.
~Lots of people cohabit for 2, 3, 4, 5 years when they could just get a temporary marriage instead.
~Isn’t the world better with lots of options?
~Certainly, you have to admit that this idea would encourage lots of people to get married who currently don’t.
~People change, right?
~Aren’t lots of marriages just mistakes?
~You can endure anything for seven years.
~Why would you want to force yourself on someone for life who doesn’t even want you after seven years?
Links
Curing the seven-year itch (London Times)
1 comment:
Wish I could have heard this wacky wednesday. What an interesting topic.
From a Christian perspective, it's pretty easy to argue against non-permanent marriage. (One flesh, God hates divorce, marriage is a covenant, and reflects the relationship between God and the church.
But even apart from purely Christian arguments...
My parents were married in 1953. After 57 years of marriage, there's an intimacy, a closeness, a trust, and a 'oneness' of shared lives and loves and family; this is only really possible in a relationship that sets out from the beginning with that end result in mind.
Also; in February of 2007, my mom suffered a serious stroke; she is paralyzed on the left side of her body, requiring help to accomplish most any task. In a temporary marriage, how would couples deal with something like that? I would think the urge to cut and run would be enormous, since the marriage started out with that as the likely end result anyway. I can't imagine how my family would deal with our situation, and more importantly, how my mom could deal with it, if we thought there was even a chance that my dad would walk out the door and not return. It's that commitment to stay, for better or worse, in sickness and in health, that makes their love special. And worth it.
Longwinded Steve in Mesa
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