Addressing misconceptions about marriage.

Readership: Christians
Theme: A Mini-Series on Church Policy and Sacramental Marriage
Length: 1,000 words
Reading Time: 5 minutes

The Catholic Church’s Teachings on Sacramental Marriage are a Response to the Brokenness in the Real World

Derek L. Ramsey has written many comments about the Catholic Sacramental Marriage construct.  I suspect that Derek is reading too much into his interpretations of this, but for now, I’ll go along with his claims for the sake of discussion. 

Derek wrote,

“Salvation under the covenant of Jesus should precede both baptism and marriage, as part of the already established covenant, not sacraments.  As Ed Hurst and I noted, Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy falsely assert that marriage and baptism are sacramental, that is, part of saving grace, and thus sacramental marriage cannot satisfy the prerequisite above.”

At first, I agreed with this stance, but after thinking it over and writing the posts in this mini-series, I do think it has some value as a church policy, but not as a doctrine of salvation.  Perhaps that is the primary disconnect in our understanding.

To illustrate what I mean, according to Christian doctrine, marriage is not required by God for salvation.  But according to a common understanding of human nature, it is for some.  If they can’t control themselves sexually and they refuse to marry, then they’re rebelliously walking down a path to hell.  In this situation, the Catholic stance rather appropriately sends the stern message, “Get with the program, or else you’re OUT Forever!”  (Whether they will hear it is another matter.)

Perhaps this is what the Catholic stance is getting at — to act as a goad against laziness, self-centeredness, and fallen human nature.  Of course, this approach coddles those who are weak in faith at the expense of more mature believers.  But perhaps this is right, according to Romans 14.

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Is Marriage a Part of Salvation or a Certification of Good Standing in the Church?

Personally, I believe a sanctified sex life can be means of grace, and that sex within marriage is a necessary “sacrament” that maintains the marital covenant.  (If you don’t believe this, then try denying sex to your spouse for a few months and tell me how that goes and what hell is like for you as an individual.)  I believe marriage can be a vector of redemption / regeneration for some individuals, but this is wholly by the grace of God and therefore cannot be expected as a byproduct or result of marriage, nor does this happen to the majority.  I also believe that marriage is infinitely better for those who are regenerated and who are also obedient to God.  (That last clause is very important.)

In this case, the joys, shared purposes, sufferings, and tribulations of marriage provide a living path towards salvation / sanctification, by God’s grace.  But we should also be aware that what I have just described is a subjective view of marriage that is ignorant of the unfathomable Power of God that uses those experiences to draw one closer to Himself.

Of course, these kinds of blessings don’t happen to everyone who marries, unfortunately.  But does this experience of marriage only apply to the elect?

According to the Catholic church, it does.  Derek / Ramman3000 quoted the CCC#1213 as saying,

“Holy Baptism is the basis of the whole Christian life, the gateway to life in the Spirit (vitae spiritualis ianua), and the door which gives access to the other sacraments.”

…with marriage being one of those sacraments.

This brings up the question…  Does this broadly mean that marriage is only a sacrament to those destined for election (as I described above)?  Or does it mean the authority of the church only recognizes marriage as a sacrament to those who are initiated, baptized, bona fide members of the Catholic church (in accordance with the purposes of the Sacramental Marriage construct described in the previous post)?

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What is the value of Sacramental Marriage as a Policy / Social Construct?

As Ed Hurst pointed out in There Is No Sacrament (2023/5/15), the daily ins-and-outs of marital life are different from a religious ritual, and neither are sufficient for being “saved”.  Furthermore, any doctrine or ecclesiastical policy concerning marriage necessarily takes a step away from the real substance of two people in a marital union.  The reason is simply because the ecclesiastical rigamorale of church polity is external to the marriage relationship itself.

However, having a Sacramental Marriage policy is beneficial in helping the church sort out the oddballs from those in good standing by having established protocols and regulations to guide and back up their decisions. Those in good standing (whoever they may be) receive favor and grace with the rubber stamp of the church, while the oddballs are dealt with on various terms, depending on the priest’s interests and time constraints, and the resources available to the parish. This clerical discretion is the weak point at which non-Biblical marriages, usury, and other catastrophic influences make inroads and gain acceptance in the church, e.g. a wealthy powerful patron could entice the clergy to make unwise investments, and an overly “sympathetic” clergy leads to the progressive convergence of the entire church.

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Aside from church polity, however, the marriage issue ultimately comes down to “God’s will” for each man’s life, and that man’s capability and willingness to tap into His Power to live it out.  At that point, the task of maintaining a marriage falls on the responsibility of the man and woman to “work OUT their salvation” (Philippians 2:12).  (This does not mean “work FOR their salvation”.)  Keep in mind that in this case, salvation has already been granted / predestined* / “in process” / etc. (depending on your personal beliefs about that), and only nepsis* / redemption / synergeia* / theosis* / etc. remain.

Of course, finding “God’s will” is even more confusing and difficult to sort out.  It’s like one of those things where either you “get it”, or you don’t.

Ed Hurst addressed this same question of knowing God’s will in a recent post.  He writes,

“If you are Elect but fail to live within the boundaries of Biblical Law (for whatever reason), you still get some thin slice of the promises, but they are consistent with God’s plans for you.  Without that feudal orientation, you will never quite understand God’s will and plans.  You will carry a lot of false impressions.  You won’t know what to expect from His promises, and you’ll end up disappointed quite often.”

Radix Fidem: Covering Differences (2023/5/27)

The Catholic Church and its construct of Sacramental marriage is an attempt to fill in those blanks for the postmodern masses, in lieu of a feudal / hierarchical orientation proscribed by Biblical Law (which is nonexistent in the West).  Of course it’s not the same, but it’s better than nothing, I suppose.

* These terms are borrowed from the Protestant and Eastern Orthodox traditions, as the Catholic Church has no supporting doctrine or terminology for these concepts.

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