Title: What’s the biblical definition of marriage? | The Christian Century
Headings: What’s the biblical definition of marriage?
What’s the biblical definition of marriage?
Ronald A. Simkins

Content: In both cases, the woman has no say. These examples of marriage in the biblical tradition illustrate the fluidity of the institution. To 21st-century Americans, these biblical understandings or definitions of marriage are strange and oppressive, but they are expressions of the culture and values of the biblical world. And as the culture and values of the society changed, so did its understanding of marriage. Society continues to change. In 2004, when gay marriage first became legal in Massachusetts, 61 percent of Americans opposed same-sex marriage. Today, gay marriage is legal in 37 states, and public opinion polls have ranged as high as 63 percent in favor. With such changing values, should we not expect the definition of marriage to also change? It always has. Our weekly feature Then and Now harnesses the expertise of American religious historians who care about the cities of God and the cities of humans.