Interfaith Marriages...

[Bushmaster78FS]

The Scripture says;

Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? (2 Corinthians 6:14)

I have been taught that we are not permitted into interfaith marriages. But I am trying to explain this to an atheist who sees this restriction as bigotry...

I gave an example from myself as I used to be a muslim and my wife was a Protestant (she still is but that is OK :) ) If we never got married, how I would have come to know the Christian faith?

I told the guy that God is greater than rules and requirements and denominations and His Will be done ultimately. Though the requirements are brought to us by the early saints of the Church for our own good in the light of Gospels. If I had a daughter and she wanted to marry a muslim man, I would only remind her what has to be reminded according to our Scriptures and traditions, but Love is greater and she would decide for her own. I asked where is bigotry in this? Didn't reply to me but quoted the Scripture above...

Help please?

[Brushstroke]

It's not bigotry. I would say that a believer and a non-believer being together would naturally cause tension somewhere along the line, given certain circumstances. It's simply saying that so that we may avoid such tension with people of other belief systems.

[buzuxi02]

Hypothetically you can marry but not in a church wedding. I'm not sure what the church rules are according to this is,
I would say some jurisdictions are more lenient than otherrs. In the GOAA i know members who are in good standing, married to jewish spouses.
Of course a church wedding would be out of the question and offensive to the non-believing spouse. If i were to marry a buddhist i do not want to be married by a LLAMA before a bhudda statue likewise one of another faith shouldnt be forced in front of a christian altar to partake in a ceremony she may believe is fictitious!

[rusmeister]

Well, what St Paul says is pretty obvious. You shouldn't marry a non-believer. Flat. If you are married already and become a believer, there are specific guidelines for how to be and what to do, but the whole idea is to not get into that trap in the first place. So it should be made clear that it is a very bad idea to get married to a non-believer, and I'll extend that to say non-Orthodox, and Scriptural teaching is clear.

Of course, people have free will and legal rights to marry whom they will. Not questioning that. But a person who's serious about their faith had better follow the Biblical teachings, and talk to their priest. ANY marriage of an Orthodox Christian should be one that an Orthodox priest can give his blessing to, and that means to another Orthodox Christian.

[Aristokles]

Hypothetically you can marry but not in a church wedding. I'm not sure what the church rules are according to this is,

A non-recognized union.


I would say some jurisdictions are more lenient than otherrs. In the GOAA i know members who are in good standing, married to jewish spouses.
This surely would not fly in the GOAA Metropolis of Pittsurgh or New Jersey and certainly not in ACROD (you ought to read the pre-marital questionaire they have!)
I doubt the presiding bishop knows on this anamoly.


Of course a church wedding would be out of the question and offensive to the non-believing spouse. If i were to marry a buddhist i do not want to be married by a LLAMA before a bhudda statue likewise one of another faith shouldnt be forced in front of a christian altar to partake in a ceremony she may believe is fictitious!
Legally speaking of course. The Church would not recognize this as a marraige and the Orthodox would have excommunicated him/herself.

Big difference between inter-faith unions and inter-religion unions moreover. Inter-faith may be allowed in some jurisdictions by economy if the non-Orthodox had a Triune baptism, among other criteria. Inter-religion? No.

[OnTheWay]

By interfaith marriages I assume you mean marriages of Christians to non-Christians.
I would explain why is not premitted by using simple logic. A marriage between a Christian and a non-Christian is going to produce countless occassions when something straines the marriage or the faith of the Christian. It's going to strain the marriage when the Christian spouse puts his/her foot down and says, "I cannot do X because it violates my faith." It's going to strain the faith when something that is really unacceptable is done because the Christian spouse doesn't want conflict.
I am friends with a woman who was in the same RCIA class I went to whose husband left her because after she became part of the RCC she refused to use artifical birth control. My cousin just ended her marriage, she's Lutheran and he is an atheist. They fought constantly, a lot of it related to things he wanted to do sexually that didn't fit her morals. Then it came to the point where she was hiding her bible in a shoe box because he didn't want it in the house. Then my grandfather threated to cut his head off with panio wire and the bible went back on the shelf, but that's another story.
There are countless occassions where Christian values conflict with the values of the world. It would be a very silly thing to go into a marriage knowing that you possess few of the same values.
As such it is not bigoted reaction, but wise guidence to prevent people from getting into the painful situation of a failed marriage.

[seashale76]

The Scripture says;

Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? (2 Corinthians 6:14)

I have been taught that we are not permitted into interfaith marriages. But I am trying to explain this to an atheist who sees this restriction as bigotry...


It isn't bigotry. There's nothing wrong with having high standards.

I can guarantee that if you go lurk on any atheist board where they talk about their interfaith marriages, those atheists that are married to devout/pious Christians are unhappy. I've seen people get pretty happy about having a hand in deconverting their spouses.

It is for our protection as believers to not marry those who don't share our faith. Not to mention that you won't have much in common. Usually these types of marriages will go one way or the other, i.e. the Christian spouse will deconvert (or become a totally apathetic cultural Christian) or the non-Christian one will convert. There really isn't what I'd call a middle ground. Someone always winds up compromising.

(That's not to say that there aren't non-believers out there who are still willing to stay married to their spouse if they convert, but you know that can't be easy. I'd say this is the exception instead of the rule in today's world.)

[OnTheWay]

Also, I think marriages between individuals of two different faiths would be even more difficult than with an atheist. Especially when children came into the picture it would be a significant conflict as to what the children are going to be taught.