Marriage: Again Under Assault

The institution of marriage is again under assault. Just a couple of years after an Australian man married his yellow Lab, a British woman has now married her pet Terrier. Not to be outdone, a Brazilian man has plans to marry his goat! Sadly, I am not manufacturing these stories, as evidenced from the preceding link. The institution that was once called “holy matrimony” is now being denigrated and treated as a joke. God is being mocked by those who would highjack His terms and redefine His institutions.

I remember when gay marriage was first being discussed, that many of us suggested that if the definition of “marriage” were changed to accommodate same-sex unions, that it wouldn’t be long before people began to marry their pets. Well, that time has come, and like all other forms of digression it will likely grow “worse and worse” (2 Timothy 3:13). So, what can Bible-believers do?

1. Teach people that marriage was designed and is regulated by God: The Bible teaches that marriage is between a man and a woman, that marriage is a life-long contract and that God joins and binds married people in that arrangement (Matthew 19:4-6; Rom. 7:2-3). God designed marriage to satisfy the physical, intellectual, psychological, sexual, spiritual and emotional needs of a human male and a human female. Whether it is animal “marriage,” gay “marriage” or polygamy, one insults God by redefining His holy institution.

2. Teach people that God-approved marriage is the only acceptable way of fulfilling sexual desires (1 Corinthians 7:2). While I don’t know (and don’t want to know) whether or not actual bestiality is practiced in the above referenced cases, we do know that bestiality is practiced by some. There is nothing wrong with having a pet, liking a pet, or even loving a pet, but it is immoral for humans to commit sex acts with animals, and it is wrong to apply the word “marriage” to any type of human/animal relationship. Moses wrote, “If a man lies with an animal, he shall surely be put to death, and you shall kill the animal. If a woman approaches any animal and lies with it, you shall kill the woman and the animal; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them” (Leviticus 20:15-16). Though we are not under the law of Moses today, we are under the law of Christ, which condemns all sexual relations outside of marriage as defined by God (Hebrews 13:4). The term “fornication” includes all illicit sexual behavior and fornication is repeatedly condemned under the law of Christ (1 Corinthians 6:9; Galatians 5:19; Revelation 20:8).

3. We must teach people the difference between human law and divine law. Peter said, “We must obey God rather than man” (Acts 5:29). Human legislatures and courts may allow “marriage” between all types of sexual deviants and animals, but God allows no such thing. For too long, Christians have gullibly accepted the old Catholic and State doctrine that marriage is defined and regulated by human government. This has never been the case! Marriage is defined by God’s law, not man’s. While human governments may approve “same-sex-marriages” and “marriages” between humans and dogs, God does not approve them and He never will.

Tim Haile