In these dire times, when traditional marriage is under attack by those who would try to change its meaning, we all need to do everything we can think of to save our cultural heritage. However, some people might be unaware of what constitutes traditional marriage, so let's go to Wikipedia for some background.
[Marriage] In the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament)
Rembrandt's depiction of Samson's marriage feast. The Hebrew Bible (Christian Old Testament) describes a number of marriages, including those of Isaac,[Gen 24:49-67] Jacob,[Gen 29:27] and Samson.[Judg 14:7-12] Polygyny, or men having multiple wives at once, is one of the most common marital arrangements represented in the Hebrew Bible, yet scholars doubt that it was commom among average Israelites because of the wealth needed to practice it.
Betrothal (erusin), which is merely a binding promise to get married, is distinct from marriage itself (nissu'in), with the time between these events varying substantially. Since a wife was regarded as property in those days, the betrothal (erusin) was effected simply by purchasing her from her father (or guardian); the girl’s consent is not explicitly required by any biblical law. Like the adjacent Arabic culture (in the pre-Islamic period), the act of marriage appears mainly to have consisted of the groom fetching the bride, although among the Israelites (unlike the Arabs) the procession was a festive occasion, accompanied by music, dancing, and lights. To celebrate the marriage, week-long feasts were sometimes held.
In biblical times, a wife was regarded as chattel, belonging to her husband; the descriptions of the bible suggest that she would be expected to perform tasks such as spinning, sewing, weaving, manufacture of clothing, fetching of water, baking of bread, and animal husbandry. However, wives were usually looked after with care, and bigamous men were expected to ensure that they give their first wife food, clothing, and sexual activity.[Ex 21:10]
Since a wife was regarded as property, her husband was originally free to divorce her for any reason, at any time. A divorced couple were permitted to get back together, unless the wife had married someone else after her divorce.[Deut 24:2-4
Kathryn Jean Lopez, one of traditional marriage's most ardent defenders, knows all too well the threat hanging over marriage, and wants to do anything she can to help. In an interview with the director of the National Organization for Marriage, Brian Brown, she asks about their prospective bus tour to support marriage. He says:
Gay-marriage advocates have a well-organized grassroots movement they’ve built over the years. Conservatives tend to rely on spontaneous mass uprising. I think HRC’s model is more effective — after all, it’s allowed a tiny fraction of Americans to have an outsize influence all disproportionate to their actual numbers. Social conservatives need to learn (as I think the pro-life movement has learned) that we need to organize politically to make a difference. We wanted to make sure that the majority of Americans who support marriage as the union of husband and wife are not drowned out by a loud minority, or by a biased media. Even the conservative media (with certain key exceptions — thank you, NRO!) does not cover this issue well. This bus tour is our first step in bypassing the media, becoming culture creators ourselves, and getting our message out to our supporters.
We have a helpful suggestion for Miss Lopez that might just turn the tide for supporters of marriage, for who among us cannot help but be influenced by the example set by others? Therefore we suggest that Miss Lopez auction herself off to the highest bidder on the steps of the Capital Building during the pro-marriage rally. By selling her body to any man with a few goats or sheep, she will do more to preserve the Biblical definition of marriage than any number of posts or protests.
Just as God led by example, becoming man and sacrificing himself for mankind, Kathryn Jean Lopez can lead by example, changing hearts and minds and helping women return to their former, happy state of utter dependence. Anyone can tell women to take their rightful place in society--behind a man, supporting him and caring for him and bearing his children and living through him. Lord knows Miss Lopez has been doing it for years. But marriage has been getting worse for millennia all the same. First women demanded ownership of their bodies, then the ownership of their children and monetary assets. Now they demand the ability to marry someone they love, instead of someone they are told that they are allowed to love! How can traditional marriage survive if women are not sold to the highest bidder like cattle? Sadly, it cannot.
There is one small flaw in traditional marriage, we regret to say. It is possible that under traditional marriage laws a man might buy another man for a spouse, or a woman for a woman. But that need not stop us from preserving traditional marriage--that is what traditional forms of punishment like stoning are for.