How the New Testament changed the ancient view of marriage:
"To appreciate how unique the biblical view of marriage is, we need to set it against the ancient Greco-Roman culture into which the early church was born. In the ancient world, sexual promiscuity and homosexuality were both socially accepted for men. The purpose of a wife was to have legal heirs, but it was expected that men would have sex with prostitutes, mistresses, concubines, and, most of all, slaves -- male and female, adults and children.
Demosthenes famously said, “We keep prostitutes for pleasure. We keep mistresses for the day-to-day needs of the body. We keep wives for the begetting of children and for the faithful guardianship of our homes.”
Pagan society did not expect emotional intimacy between husband and wife. Most marriages were arranged -- not for love but to advance the family’s financial and political interests. Wives were often very young at the age of marriage; child brides were common. The Greek historian Plutarch reported that Romans “gave their girls in marriage when they were twelve years old, or even younger.” Their husbands were usually twice as old. As a result, wives were less mature, less experienced, and less educated than their husbands.
Under these conditions, not surprisingly, husbands and wives often had little in common. Men held their wives in low esteem. Divorce (by husbands) was widespread. Since it was thought acceptable for men to have sex outside of marriage, a wife had no recourse if her husband committed adultery. The Roman statesman Cato declared, “If you catch your wife in adultery, you can kill her with impunity; she, however, cannot dare to lay a finger on you if you commit adultery. It is the law.”
In this historical context, the Christian view of marriage was nothing short of revolutionary. At its core was a new form of sexual equality. To the shock of the ancient world, both sexes were held to the same moral standard. Christianity condemned promiscuity among men as well as women. It stood out as radically different because it taught that a husband actually wrongs his wife by committing adultery. Jesus said, “Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her” (Mark 10:11).
Such evenhanded treatment was genuinely novel....
Finally, in contrast to the surrounding Roman culture, husbands were commanded to actually love their wives -- to “nourish and cherish” them (Ephesians 5:29 ESV). Carrie Miles of Baylor University writes,
'Note that the kinds of behavior Paul advocated here were far from being typical male roles. The Roman man was expected to be virile, dominant, and “macho.” “Nourishing and cherishing” were not typical “guy” behaviors in the first century.'
The New Testament writers were calling for a transformation of the marriage relationship that would eventually change the world."
--Love Thy Body
No comments:
Post a Comment