Amending Marriage

Shakespeare observed that “many a good hanging prevents a bad marriage.” Since nowadays hanging is out of favor, some people are trying to prevent what they regard as bad marriages by a constitutional amendment. The recently proposed Federal Marriage Amendment defines marriage as “the union of a man and a woman.” By this definition, gay marriage would forever be prohibited. This proposed amendment is said to appeal to traditionalist Christians, who want the institution of marriage to be Bible-based. I have no particular objection to these people’s preferences, though I agree with the majority of the Senate, which has determined that this is no business of the federal government.

But if people want marriage to be defined in a biblical way, why stop with the matter of gender? Why not make marriage fully biblical? Let’s imagine what a full-bodied biblical marriage amendment would look like.