What is the purpose of marriage?

Is it as alot of the older generations would contend to have kids and reproduce? Is it to join in a union with a person that you love and want to spend the rest of your life with and be life partners? Or both?

From my point of view when I find the right girl first and foremost it will be the ultimate expression of my love for her and the fact that I want to be partners for life. Having a family would be a secondary thought in my mind. As the Earth is moving more and more towards overpopulation I think it is logical that men and women don't just get married to reproduce and have faimilies.

Certainly that is what some couples marry for. They want to have a family and this is a central focus in there life. Good for them, I guess I am focused more on my career (trying to advance it) and still finding my place in the world. Maybe this makes me sound like a cruel heartless person to some, but I guess I find that I don't relate well to kids and don't like it when I go into a store and there are kids running around yelling and screaming (grates on my nerves.) So that is my opinion/view. I understand and respect that there are many people who feel differently and get offended at what they feel is (kid bashing). Just putting my own view out here. I don't think that makes me any less of a person or heartless as some have told me.

I have a co-worker who sees the purpose of marriage is to have kids, he and I have had arguments about that. Old schhol vs new school I guess.

I dont think old school or new school has anything to do with it.
I think the purpose of marriage is someone to share your life with.. enjoy things with ,share experiences with. If the two of you want kids great if you dont great.
personally I think kids running around and screaming in stores need a little more discipline from there parents..

i honestly don't know...seems like no one takes it seriously anymore whether they have children or not...get married, get divorced...do it again a few more times...i was married for 13 yrs and divorced for 10...would never get married again...not for any specific reason, just don't want to...too suffocating for my likes...

I agree bygeorge...I feel it is too "institutionilized' for my liking...been divorced for 6 years, and never been happier

ooops sorry for typo: Bgeorge...

Having been married myself for awhile, and finding the whole thing an immense mistake, I did a little research on this.

It seems that marriage, in our culture, is one of those things that is powered more, today, by inertia and expectation than by any sort of rationality. In the old days, it was seen as a woman becoming a man's "property" -- hence, the idea of her changing her name to his name. She was expected to "obey" him (this is still even found sometimes in the wedding vows), stay home, cook, clean, raise the kids, etc.

Well, that's all kind of archaic now, and a lot of people get married because they're "supposed to," whether it makes any sense or not. How many 28-yesr-old women (and men, too) have I talked to who have said, "If I'm not married by the time I'm 30, my mother will kill me!" -- ??

I can see that marriage, at least hypothetically, makes sense if you're planning on having kids -- because of the stability of a two-parent household, etc., as factors and influences and security in the kids' lives. But the concept breaks down when you see the divorce rate, and better than half of those kids are now living in single-parent homes, or worse.

But you can do all of that without being married, too. For me, I think a stable family environment with two unmarried parents is better for the kids than married parents who are abusive, distant, etc.

So, from where I sit, the "purpose of marriage" is more or less the same as the "purpose of the telegraph" -- an idea that may have had its uses at one time, but now stands as an ongoing tribute to ancient and outdated customs.

The culture moves on. A piece of paper doesn't make you love anyone. You either do or you don't.

I can't see myself ever getting married again, and there are many reasons for that. And I admit to a bias there.

well said Lex..

The main purpose of a marriage is to get a good divorce settlement.

I agree with hupuppy, it has nothing to do with old school/new school. My aunt and uncle got married and didn't have kids and that was almost fifty years ago. It has to do with whether or not you WANT to have kids.

When I was younger I always dreamt of being a parent, but with all the problems in the world, IF I didn't already have my two, I probably not have had any. Don't get me wrong, my girls are the most important things in my life but the world is a dangerous place and I fear for my girls all the time.

But to answer the first question you posted......the purpose of marriage is to tell the rest of the world that you love and respect this other person so much that you are willing to give them the one thing that is truly yours----your name. And to proclaim that love from the rooftops..



Of course, just my opinion.

exactly...couldn't have said it better myself...and no prob modygrl...lol...

To may or may not get a divorce, another high bill, also getting caught up in commerical scam of it all, by paying out huge amounts of dollars for one day...why not just put the money away for retirement and enjoy each other....knowing you are also taking care of your future.

oops i was agreeing w/lex not eileen...sorry

Having been married and getting out, I'm not sure about the whole thing. I would like to settle down with just one man, but I don't know about the legal paper thing.

the purpose of marriage is for one to have what the Bible calls
a 'helpmate'. it was easier to define when we were all tending livestock, or growing crops for survival...but it still applies.
you have one who is with you unconditionally, to be of help.
help raise the kids-if you have them. help keep and maintain the household. help and support one another....
"it is not good that the man should be alone I will make him a help mate for him". Genesis 2:18
for that reason should a man leave his mother and father, aand cleave unto his wife...almost seems that marriage is more for a man to feel supported. it's also important for the continuation of name legacies/family lines.

I don't even know what the meaning of life is much less the purpose of marriage...just not a concern for me right now..you don't have to be married to procreate..oh hell I'm just gonna go on and shut up now..I confused the hell out of my self...

I know the one woman that I would like to marry. She is the love of my life and brings hope to our future.

Captain you are so lucky
you go guy

Dou you remember that little singsong chant we used to taunt kids with when it seemed like they actually LIKED each other?

"First comes love
Then comes marriage
Then comes Ernesto with a baby carriage"

There's a sort of presupposed linearity to the whole thing.

Nothing says "indoctrination" like little kids singing about marriage....!

I always hated that stupid lil singsong chant

Marriage for me today is to seal my love with my partner. No, it is not about children nor to build a large bank account at my age group because if we do that only there is no guarantee we will get to enjoy it together later in life. So we are just going to enjoy life and make the most of it together for as long as it lasts.