Marriage according to the Bible

[Jmarjhah]

If anyone bases their ideas on marriage and their opposition to gay marriage off of the bible, please explain.
Shall we look to the bible for guidance on marriage?
Shall we look to Abraham, the great patriarch, who slept with his servant when he discovered his beloved wife Sarah was infertile?
Or to Jacob, who fathered children with four different women (two different sisters and their servants)?
Abraham, Jacob, David, the kings of Judah and Israel - all these kings and heroes were polygamists.
The New Testament model is hardly better.
Jesus himself was single.
Paul (also single) regarded marriage as an act of last resort for those unable to contain their animal lust.
Would any contemporary heterosexual married couple newly married turn to the bible as a how-to script?
Of course not, but the debate lingers on.
Neither the bible nor Jesus ever explicitly defined marriage as between a man and a woman.
Most of us no longer heed Leviticus on haircuts or blood sacrifices.
Why should we accept its stance on homosexuality.
The Bible gives no good reason to oppose gay marriage.
I rest my case.

[Estayland]

Please keep similar debates in one thread.

[Jmarjhah]

This is a new debate specifically focusing on the relationship between marriage (specifically gay marriage) and the bible.

[Iwerddon]

I'd agree with Estay. We don't need 7 gay marriage threads.

[Sheynat]

Yeah, you have some very good points there, but there's no reason this can't be in the gay marriage thread.

[Jmarjhah]

Point taken - already moved.

[Jmarjhah]

**** also in main gay marriage thread *****

More on this specific topic:
The biblical Jesus preached a radical community of believers, whose bond in God suspended all blood ties. Leave your families, and follow me, Jesus says in the gospels. There will be no marriage in heaven, he says in Matthew. Jesus never condemns homsexuality, but he roundly condemns divorce.
The apostle Paul echoed the Christian Lord's lack of interest in matters of the flesh. For him, celibacy was the Christian ideal, but family stability was the best alternative. "Marry if you must," he said, "but do not get divorced."

It goes without saying that the phrase "gay marriage" does not appear in the Bible at all.

So if the bible doesn't give abundant examples of traditional marriage, then what are the gay-marriage opponents REALLY exercised about? Well, homosexuality- specifically, sex between men. Sex between women, even in biblical times, has never raised as much ire. Nowhere in the bible do its authors refer to sex between women. Twice Leviticus refers to sex between men as an, "abomination." But most of us no longer heed Leveticus on haircuts or blood sacrifices; our modern understanding of the world has surpassed its prescriptions. Why would we regard its condemnations with more seriousness than we regard its advice, which is far lengthier, on the best price to pay for a slave?

Religious objections to gay marriage are not rooted in the Bible at all, then, but in custom and tradition (and a personal discomfort with gay sex that transcends theological argument.)