1. Who made marriage?
God made marriage.
2. When did God make marriage?
God made marriage when He created Adam and Eve.
“Male and female He created them. And God blessed them saying: Increase and multiply and fill the earth’ (Genesis1:27-28).
3. Why did God make marriage?
God made marriage for two purposes:
1) for the bringing of children into the world
2) for the mutual help of husband and wife
4. How do I know that the first purpose of marriage is children?
I know that the first purpose of marriage is children because the Bible says so and the Catholic Church teaches it.
“Increase and multiply” (Genesis 1:28).
“I will therefore that the younger should marry, bear children be mistresses of families” (1st Timothy 5:14).
5. Does not common sense tell me that the first purpose of marriage is children?
Yes, even common sense tells me that the first purpose of marriage is children, since I can see how different a woman’s body and mind are from a man’s.
A woman’s body is made for the bearing and nursing of children, while a man’s body is stronger so that he can protect his family and give them food and shelter. A woman’s mind is different from a man’s in that she is kinder, more sympathetic, more emotional than man. She needs these qualities to care for and instruct her children.
6. Why is mutual help the second purpose of marriage?
Mutual help of husband and wife is the second purpose of marriage because the Bible says so.
“And the Lord God said: It is not good for man to be alone; let us make him a help like unto himself. For Adam there was not found a helper like himself … And the Lord God built the rib which He took from Adam into a woman, and brought her to Adam” (Genesis 2:18, 20, 28).
7. Does not common sense tell me that mutual help is the second purpose of marriage?
Yes, common sense tells me that the second purpose of marriage is mutual help because men and women are incomplete without one another and find their completion in marriage.
A man needs the sympathy, understanding and encouragement of a wife, while the wife needs his love, affection and companionship to overcome her loneliness.
8. What is the purpose of the sexual pleasure?
God attached pleasure to the act by which children are conceived in order to attract husband and wife to have children and to foster mutual love.
Just as the first purpose of eating is to continue the life of the body, so also the first purpose of marriage is to continue the life of the human race. And just as the pleasure of taste attracts us to eat, so also the pleasure of sex was given to attract husband and wife to have children.
9. Who are the only ones who may enjoy sex in any way at all?
The only ones who may enjoy sex in any way at all are husband and wife who are validly married.
“I say to the unmarried and to the widows … if they do not contain themselves, let them marry. For it is better to marry than to be burnt” (1st Corinthians 7:8 & 9).
10. Why is all use of sex outside of marriage a mortal sin?
All use of sex outside of marriage is a mortal sin because the purpose of sex is so serious and so sacred, namely, to attract husband and wife to have children.
“Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are fornication, uncleanness, immodesty, luxury … who do such things shall not obtain the kingdom of God” (Galatians 5:19, 21).
11. How many wives did God create for Adam?
God created only one wife, Eve, for Adam and wanted this marriage to be the model for all marriages — one man and one woman.
“Wherefore a man shall leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife and they shall be TWO in one flesh” (Genesis 2:24).
12. How long did God want husband wife to stay together?
God wanted husband and wife to stay together until death should separate them.
“A woman is bound by the law as long as her husband liveth; but if her husband die, she is at liberty; let her marry to whom she will, only in the Lord” (1st Corinthians 7:39).
13. Why did God want husband and wife to stay together until death?
God wanted husband and wife to stay together until death because a mother cannot raise her children properly without a husband’s help and support.
It takes 20 or 30 years to raise a family. Just to make sure that husband and wife should stay together for the raising of the children, God made it a law that they have to stay together until death.
14. Can men and women find real happiness in marriage?
Yes, men and women can find real happiness in marriage if they will only follow God’s plan for marriage.
15. What was the condition of marriage at the time of Christ?
At the time of Christ, the beauty and holiness of marriage was, for a great part, destroyed, because men changed God’s plan to suit their own selfish desires.
Sexual pleasure was worshipped. Children were not wanted.
Women were not loved and respected.
16. How does the Bible describe the condition of marriage at the time of Christ?
“They became vain in their thoughts, and their foolish heart was darkened. … Wherefore God gave them up to the desires of their heart, unto uncleanness, to dishonour their own bodies among themselves. … God delivered them up to shameful affections. For the women have changed the natural use into that which is against nature. And, in like manner, the men also, leaving the natural use of the woman, have burned in their lusts one towards another, men with men working that which is filthy, and receiving in themselves the recompense which was due to their error” (Romans 1:21, 24,26, 27).
17. What did Jesus do for marriage?
Jesus brought back God’s plan for marriage and condemned those who break God’s Laws concerning marriage.
“From the beginning of the creation, God made them male and female. For this cause a man shall leave his father and mother; and shall cleave to his wife. And they shall be two in one flesh. Therefore now they are not two, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. … Whosoever shall put away his wife and marry another, committeth adultery against her. And if the wife shall put away her husband, and be married to another, she committeth adultery” (Mark 10:5-12).
18. What else did Jesus do for marriage?
Jesus also made marriage a Sacrament, thus putting it on the same level as Baptism, Holy Communion and the other Sacraments.
19. What did Jesus do for the family?
Jesus held up His own Holy Family as a model for the Christian family, Mary His own Mother as the model for all Christian wives and mothers, Joseph as the model for all Christian husbands and fathers, and Himself as the model for all Christian children.
20. What was the Christian family like?
There was real happiness in the Christian Family because the husband and wife followed God’s plan for marriage.
21. What was the Christian husband like?
The Christian husband and father loved and respected his wife, was loyal to her, supported his family and gave his children good example.
22. What was the Christian wife like?
The Christian wife and mother was a respected woman who took care of her husband and children with great love and devotion.
23. What were the children in a Christian family like?
The children in a Christian Family were obedient and respected the authority of their parents, just as Jesus did Mary and Joseph.
24. What happened to marriage in the 16th century?
King Henry the Eighth of England broke away from the Catholic Church because the Pope would not grant him a divorce. Then he started his own church, and, without God’s permission, he made divorce a part of English law.
25. How did divorce laws and practices start in the United States?
Since American law is based on English law, which permits divorce, divorce became part of American Law.
26. Does the government, then, have the power to grant divorces?
No, in the eyes of God, the Government has no more power than a grocery store to break a marriage, and its divorce decrees are not only worthless but a defiance of God’s Law.
Jesus, said: “What therefore God hath joined together, let no man put asunder,” and that includes the Government.
27. What has happened to marriage in the United States?
Book date: November 2, 1951
Marriage today is almost like it was before the coming of Jesus:
1) People break God’s Law against divorce and marry as often as they want
2) Many husbands and wives do not want children, only sex pleasure
3) Unfaithfulness is no longer considered shameful
4) Women are being respected less and less
5) The beauty and holiness of marriage is quickly being destroyed
6) The number of unhappy marriages is growing.