The Meaning of Christian Marriage
Including The Debate Over Same Gender Marriage




Writings on marriage in the different Christian traditions cover nearly two thousand years of thought, and take in a very wide range of ideas and practices. There are introductions for first-time inquirers, and highly technical books and articles for scholars in such fields as philosophy and theology. Some in both categories include the question of same gender unions; most do not, because the historical understandings of marriage assume the union of man and woman.

We have divided these resources into two sections, with the listings alphabetical by Author. First is a listing of sound, readable introductions for those who want to start with a basic overview. There are presently three of these. Following is a selection of more complex writings by prominent thinkers in such fields as theology and ethics. If you are new to the topic, we suggest that you start with the first books, and move into the second section as your interests and curiosity lead you.



Introductions

Geoffrey Bromiley, God and Marriage (T&T Clark/Eerdmans, 1980).
To Order

Dorothy and Gabriel Fackre, ""An Order of Preservation: Marriage and the Family," Christian Basics (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2000, 6th printing), pages 117-124.

To Order

Soren Kierkegaard, "On the Occasion of a Wedding," Thoughts on Crucial Situations (Minneapolis: Augsburg, 1941), 44-74. Now available in the volume, Three Discourses on Imagined Occasions : Kierkegaard's Writings, Vol 10
To Order

Specialized Selections

Karl Barth, Church Dogmatics, III, 2, (:Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1960), 285-324
To Order

Don Browning et al., From Culture Wars to Common Ground: Religion and the American Family Debate (Louisville: Westminster, 1997).
To Order

Don Browning, Marriage and Modernization: How Globalization Threatens Marriage and What to Do About It (Grand Rapids. Eerdmans, 2003)
To Order

Richard Hays, The Moral Vision of the New Testament (New York: HarperCollins, 1996).
To Order

Roger Mehl, Society and Love: Ethical Problems of Family Life (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1964. Not available online. Available at Andover Newton Theological School Library, and other libraries.

Max L. Stackhouse, Covenants and Commitments: Faith , Family and Economic Life ( Louisville: Westminster/John Knox, 1997).
To Order

Max L. Stackhouse
"Covenantal Marriage: Protestant Views in Contemporary Life,"
Forthcoming in John Witte, Jr., Michael J. Broyde, and Eliza Ellison, eds., Covenant Marriage in Comparative Perspective (Grand Rapids/Cambridge: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2005) Download pdf HereReprint by permission

Helmut Thielicke, The Ethics of Sex (New York: Harper, )
To Order

Mary Stewart Van Leuween, "Faith, Feminism and Family" in God and Globalization, Volume 1.
To Order

John Witte, An Apt and Cheerful Conversation on Marriage (Atlanta, 2001)