Michael, you have such a double standard. You say you believe that vows are unnecessary when it comes to marriage, but then you turn around and beg us to answer you just so that you can have visible, written proof that people are in agreement with you. haha! You are a funny man, Michael.
Come on, let's stop this nonsense and be glad for what we have. A vow in marriage and a ceremony isn't some extreme heavy burden that people are under. You wed your wife, voluntarily! Nobody held a gun to your head, ha ha -- you WANTED to marry her, remember? You would have done anything to marry her, remember? So what's the big deal?
You're bringing this forum down to the dumps over something you say you're unclear on but then you finally let out your position, but still you have double standard.
If I were in your shoes, I'd be really embarrassed.
Well, Gina, all I can say is you are wrong. You're wrong about my position, you misunderstand my intentions, and you do err by fantasizing about my reasons for asking these things. You also do err in not carefully studying the scriptures with regard to this subject, but instead deferring to what 'the church' has always taught, and how the state foists their doctrine upon us. All of the wedding vows/ceremonies/accoutrements are demonstrably pagan in nature and serve no purpose for God's people. The "marriage covenant" THEORY proposed by most in Babylon is a pure, unscriptural fiction.
Do I have a double standard? I've no idea. The Lord knows. I only want the truth and I despise error. I honestly believe this matter of marriage is
deeply misunderstood by God's people (especially in our Western society), and the error is propagating...and metastasizing.
I am not 100% certain about my thoughts on this, which is why I bothered to ask the members here what their ideas were (I respect your opinions). Frankly, I expected more searched-out and cognizant positions from them, so we could 'compare notes'. But it seems I'm the only one who's really given this subject some serious, long term thought. Most, instead only regurgitate what Ray said in one short study.. I love Ray and understand and accept almost everything he's taught (else I wouldn't be here). But I think he totally missed it on this and it has brought confusion (to me, at least) at a time when I was really seeking. I asked about the vow because I didn't think it existed and I wanted to know if there was something I missed--OR--are most people just accepting a doctrine blindly.
No one has the whole truth, Gina. Ray did not write scripture. We all could use some guidance. This world God made is an unimaginably complicated place with realms inside of realms and the darkness of this Age shrouds almost everything. But sometimes, God lifts the curtain--just a little bit...for those who
want to see.
This discussion was not about me, or my personal life. If it helps you, I have a happy marriage with my wife; we love each other and neither of us have any regrets. She doesn't see things the way I do (she is totally ambivalent about these Truths we've learned here, for instance), but that's ok. No, I did not intend to "bring this forum down in the dumps"...Please, really? If that is the consensus, let others say so and I'll just go away. No harm, no foul. And no, I'm not embarrassed; I have no reason to be.
Meanwhile, I'll try and answer a question that's posed about this subject. My intention is to dispel confusion--others' and my own. If that offends you, my apologies... (In any case, you said your mind was already satisfied with your understanding, so why do you keep needling me??)