Quote:
Originally Posted by Roagiesgal
I have to start by saying I have not read all the posts, so don't know if anyone addressed this or not...children born out of wedlock is better than abortion! Over 50 Million babies have died at the hands of abortion doctors (I hesitate to call them doctors) While it is tragic that families are so fragmented, and few fathers are in the home anymore, I still would rather a child is born, then murdered in the womb. I am a birth Mother, I gave my child up for adoption, it was the most painful thing I ever had to do, don't know if I would do it now looking back, but I am so grateful I didn't abort her. We were re-united when she was grown, and if I had murdered her I would not have had a second chance. I didn't know the Lord when I was young, but I do now and again I am grateful she is alive!
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I couldn't agree with you more.
A couple weeks back, I remember reading that for the first time in America's history more couples are choosing to live together without civil marriage than there are couples in civil marriages. While many of these unions will become civilly married, more and more are choosing not to be. This is because of the way marriage law is handled in our country. No longer does civil marriage offer any security in a relationship. As a matter of fact, it has become a major liability because courts increasingly don't care about any filed grounds for divorce or who was "at fault". Today, your spouse can up and decide to divorce you for no reason... and take half of everything. And if there is difference in income... you have to pay spousal support. And if there are any children, you have to pay child support. The legal procedure of "no fault" divorce has done more to destroy the institution of marriage and contribute to the rising divorce rate than anything else. With this in mind, more and more couples find not being civilly married offering far more security. It basically protects most of your assets and leaves one only liable for child support should the relationship fail. As a result... more and more children are being born out of "wedlock". Also, more and more churches are starting to bless committed relationships while only encouraging the couple to get married. Some churches are choosing to actually consider couples "married in the eyes of God" without the marriage being formalized through the government.
Outsiders sometimes criticized Quaker couples for "living in sin" because they married each other without priests or ministers. Also, many couples choose to marry within the meeting without registering their marriages with the government (a tradition dating back to Quakerism's earliest days). If a couple later needs to prove that they are married, the Quaker wedding certificate signed by witnesses at the ceremony might be sufficient in some states of the United States but not all. A few states have statutes that specifically recognize Quaker marriages.
Here are some excerpts from "Faith and Practice": "Quaker Marriage Procedure"...
"Marriage is a sacred commitment of two people to love one another in faithful partnership with the expectation that the relationship will mature and be mutually enriching. Friends know that marriage depends on the inner experiences of the couple who marry and not on any external service or words. Thus, the ceremony in which the couple enter into this commitment is performed by the couple alone, in the presence of God, the families, and the worshiping community. Both the solemnity and the joy of the occasion are enhanced by its simplicity."
"While most Friends’ marriage ceremonies conform to civil law, couples who do not want, or are not eligible to contract a legal marriage occasionally ask for a ceremony of commitment or a wedding under the care of the Meeting. The Religious Society of Friends has long asserted its freedom to conduct under divine leading marriage ceremonies not conforming to civil law."
Ultimately individual couples are responsible for their life choices before God. And perhaps we should pause and consider each relationship on it's own merit without vehement judgment. Also, we shouldn't stigmatize children born from these relationships based on their parent's decisions regarding what kind of union or relationship they desire to have. We should welcome all children into this world with open arms.
That's just my take on it.
God bless,
CH
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