MichaelNZ
Puritan Board Freshman
I'm curious to know if it's possible for a Christian to marry someone (particularly a non-Christian) in a legal ceremony but with the intention that it not be a Christian marriage.
Based on a scenario I heard about on a TV programme, say you (a Christian believer) strike up a friendship with an illegal immigrant/refugee of the opposite sex from somewhere like Burma or Somalia (in your own country). They apply to the department of Immigration for residency, but they are denied. They are in danger of being deported back to their home country where they will face persecution. The only way for this person to remain in the country is for them to marry a citizen. You are not attracted to this person (e.g. age difference) and don't fancy spending the rest of your life with them. Would it therefore be permissible (within Christianity) for you to enter into a legal marriage with that person while specifically intending NOT to marry in a Christian sense (in God's eyes)? You will not be living together and once this person has been in the country enough to get permanent residency you will obtain a civil divorce.
If neither party has any impediments to marriage, would such a thing be possible? Or are all civil marriages automatically recognised by God as Christian marriages, binding until death? Would it make any difference if the other party was also a Christian believer?
Based on a scenario I heard about on a TV programme, say you (a Christian believer) strike up a friendship with an illegal immigrant/refugee of the opposite sex from somewhere like Burma or Somalia (in your own country). They apply to the department of Immigration for residency, but they are denied. They are in danger of being deported back to their home country where they will face persecution. The only way for this person to remain in the country is for them to marry a citizen. You are not attracted to this person (e.g. age difference) and don't fancy spending the rest of your life with them. Would it therefore be permissible (within Christianity) for you to enter into a legal marriage with that person while specifically intending NOT to marry in a Christian sense (in God's eyes)? You will not be living together and once this person has been in the country enough to get permanent residency you will obtain a civil divorce.
If neither party has any impediments to marriage, would such a thing be possible? Or are all civil marriages automatically recognised by God as Christian marriages, binding until death? Would it make any difference if the other party was also a Christian believer?