What is "Christian marriage?"

Christian marriage describes marriage as shaped by Christian tradition.  Yet, Christian marriage is not necessarily limited to Christians.  Persons who are not members of the Christian tradition could profess the same understanding of marriage that we are calling “Christian marriage” and they may prefer to use the term covenant marriage.

For a marriage to be a Christian marriage (or covenant marriage), it must be:

1 – A marriage founded on a permanent & unconditional commitment to one’s spouse.

2 – A marriage which is life-giving (open to the possibility of children).

3 – A marriage which is an intimate community of life and love.

4 – A marriage which includes God (or Higher Power) as a “3rd party” to the relationship.

To put it another way, a couple who wants to establish and live Christian marriage (or covenant marriage) will affirm each of the following options:

1 – The option to choose a marriage of permanent and unconditional commitment (rather than a relationship in which divorce is always an option.)

2 – The option to choose to be open to the gift of children and to be committed to being a responsible parent toward each child conceived.

3 – The option to include God as a real and effective “third party.”  The surest sign of this is that the couple learns to pray together.

4 – The option to commit to loving one’s partner to the degree and intensity that one loves God, and to commit to loving God to the degree and intensity that one loves one’s partner.

5 – The option to commit to ongoing efforts to develop a truly intimate relationship (physically, emotionally, intellectually, spiritually) and develop effective problem solving skills, because these are essential tools for building a non-ending love relationship.

6 – The option to promise to seek professional marital counseling if they need more help than they can provide for each other.

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