Hi, The question of arranged marriage has nothing to do with Christianity. This concept in itself does not contradict or support Christian belief. There is evidence in Bible for both arranged marriages(Eg:Issac) as well as love marriages(Eg: Jacob).
Indian community, by tradition has looked down upon love marriage. There is a good intension behind it. When two people are in love they tend to oversee many aspects of life(financial, cast and religion, family background etc) just for their love thinking that they will somehow overcome the realities of life. Yet these are the very reasons behind breaking of many a love marriage. For an arranged marriage, it is not only the likes or dislikes of the boy/girl is involved, the parents and other family members are also involved. Since these people are not blinded by love, they consider the alliance in its merit. It is a truth that an alliance between two compatible people(compatibility of family, cast, community, financial status, etc. as well) is likely to workout much more than an incompatible alliance. I am not saying that arranged marriages do not fail. I am only pointing out that arranged marriages has a much better chance to succeed as the decision is based on realities. Lovers (mostly young people) MAY not be able to take a decision based on merit(because of lack of knowledge and experience in life. They are also biased by the love they have for each other). So elders take interest in their marriage and try to work out a suitable alliance for them that is likely to succeed. Western community is traditionally an open community where social interaction between young people is encouraged. Love marriages are a side effect of this openness. It has nothing to do with the Christian belief of those people. The decision of the boy and the girl, and the elders in their family matter most for a marriage. Respect for the elders is a byproduct of people's faith in God and the discipline they grew-up with. These two get intertwined as one induces the other. So people tend to believe that love marriages are against God. So arranged/love marriages has nothing to do with the Indian spirit of a person. It is only that western community is much more conducive for love marriages. Both arranged as well as love marriages happen in Indian and other communities in the world. When we pray to God, God helps us to find a suitable alliance which may result in a love marriage or an arranged marriage. That is all there is to it. Your friend in Christ Thomas -----Original Message----- From: Leena Philip [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Wednesday, December 11, 2002 8:37 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [JOYnet] Can someone please help me with a question? Hey everyone!I was talking about arranged marriages with a friend and they asked me this question. Can someone please help me: "show me where in the catechism it allows for you specifically to get an arranged marriage. your culture is not catholic, it is hindu, therefore it could easily violate catholic teaching. you may have to decide which you are first, catholic or indian." Thanks! ~LeenaPhiladelphia, USA **************************Disclaimer************************************************ Information contained in this E-MAIL being proprietary to Wipro Limited is 'privileged' and 'confidential' and intended for use only by the individual or entity to which it is addressed. You are notified that any use, copying or dissemination of the information contained in the E-MAIL in any manner whatsoever is strictly prohibited. *************************************************************************************** **************************************************************** This mail is generated from JOYnet, a Jesus Youth mailing list. For more info on the list visit http://www.jesusyouth.org/joynet To unsubscribe from the list send a mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe to the list visit http://www.jesusyouth.org/joynet/join To get a standard help message on the list services send a mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] In case of any issue related to the mailing list contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] ****************************************************************
