Whilst I was writing Purgatory in Paradise, a further niggle raised its head.
The Christian Marriage ceremony.
In the Christian(1) wedding ritual, "till death us do part" is included as a clause.
This is there, it seems to me, as a signal for the legal dissolution of the "contract to partner" which, although it only implies so, I'm sure most would say literally means...
"upon the death of one member of the partnership, the other is free to join with another as spouse."
So, why does the line "till death us do part" appear in the Christian(1) wedding ceremony?
If the soul is supposed to be the personality that inhabits the biological body is it not the soul who marries?
Also, as the 'soul' is the means by which humans escape death, if it's the soul that marries, death is not an obstacle to the continuance of the relationship of the two souls.
I mean, if the 'soul' delivers to a pair of lovers the opportunity to rock each others post mortem world, doesn’t that make the "till death us do part" clause redundant?
And a further problem occurs when one examines the line "with my body I thee worship".
As the religious would have us think, the body is merely the clay which the soul 'inhabits' for its miniscule time on earth before trotting off to the fabulously appointed accommodation of the happy hunting grounds for the remainder of eternity, so, doesn't that suggest one could encapsulate the Christian marriage as...
The coupling of two human shaped husks, so that the parasites within can briefly experience, shall we say, our most animalistic tendency?
Now, as you may be aware, I've been married and in love with the same woman for over a quarter of a century. And, in the enchanted & magical language that is humanity's current folly, one could say we, my wife and I, are spiritually entwined to be together 'forever'. However, in eternity's terms, even a whole human life partnership of love and caring looks like no more than a boozy shag in a nightclub toilet. And while, fair enough, it's been a bit like that sometimes (Phwoar :P) doesn't the notion of eternal consciousness diminish the human experience of love to a mere footnote?
This is one of the Too Many Questions
The Christian Marriage ceremony.
In the Christian(1) wedding ritual, "till death us do part" is included as a clause.
This is there, it seems to me, as a signal for the legal dissolution of the "contract to partner" which, although it only implies so, I'm sure most would say literally means...
"upon the death of one member of the partnership, the other is free to join with another as spouse."
So, why does the line "till death us do part" appear in the Christian(1) wedding ceremony?
If the soul is supposed to be the personality that inhabits the biological body is it not the soul who marries?
Also, as the 'soul' is the means by which humans escape death, if it's the soul that marries, death is not an obstacle to the continuance of the relationship of the two souls.
I mean, if the 'soul' delivers to a pair of lovers the opportunity to rock each others post mortem world, doesn’t that make the "till death us do part" clause redundant?
And a further problem occurs when one examines the line "with my body I thee worship".
As the religious would have us think, the body is merely the clay which the soul 'inhabits' for its miniscule time on earth before trotting off to the fabulously appointed accommodation of the happy hunting grounds for the remainder of eternity, so, doesn't that suggest one could encapsulate the Christian marriage as...
The coupling of two human shaped husks, so that the parasites within can briefly experience, shall we say, our most animalistic tendency?
Now, as you may be aware, I've been married and in love with the same woman for over a quarter of a century. And, in the enchanted & magical language that is humanity's current folly, one could say we, my wife and I, are spiritually entwined to be together 'forever'. However, in eternity's terms, even a whole human life partnership of love and caring looks like no more than a boozy shag in a nightclub toilet. And while, fair enough, it's been a bit like that sometimes (Phwoar :P) doesn't the notion of eternal consciousness diminish the human experience of love to a mere footnote?
PEACE
Crispy
Crispy
(1) I'm not au fait other death-cult marriage rites but maybe also they.
More on marriage
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The best communications are often,
THREE WORDS OR LESS
OR ONE OR MORE FINGERS!
The best communications are often,
THREE WORDS OR LESS
OR ONE OR MORE FINGERS!
