WHERE Did the Marriage Vows Come From Anyways?

In this journey of detoxing from church, I often challenge myself to openly examine any and all religious teachings and practices that are in place within the institution of church.  

Let me just say upfront that I do so NOT because I don't believe in God, or I don't believe in marriage.  I do so out of a very reverential and devoted love for God and the highest respect for marriage.

Last night, I was posting on relationships and marriage and before I went to bed the question popped up in my mind, 'WHERE DID THE MARRIAGE VOWS COME FROM ANYWAYS?'

We've all been to weddings:  most of them have sort of the same 'template' or 'format,' if you will.  The priest or preacher recites a scripture, maybe two.  Most people -including the bride and groom themselves - are not really paying attention to them as they ramble on.  They are mostly looking forward to the preacher getting to them repeating the vows.

It goes a little something like this:

"...I, ____, take you, ____, to be my (husband/wife). I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health. I will love you and honor you all the days of my life."

"I, ____, take you, ____, to be my lawfully wedded(husband/wife), to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part."

And then the priest/preacher says:

"The priest will then say aloud "You have declared your consent before the Church. May the Lord in his goodness strengthen your consent and fill you both with his blessings. What God has joined, men must not divide. Amen."

Some preachers recite scriptures beforehand that says that the husband should love his wife as Christ love the church...again, I want to reiterate, most people simply do not be listening to the preachers go through their spill.

The only part of the actual vows themselves that are based in scripture is the part that the preacher tells the WIFE to recite where she is made to promise that she will obey her husband!

Now, I used to work for a lawyer.  In a law school.  As a matter of fact, TWO law schools.  Boston College and SUNO (Southern University at New Orleans).  So I know a thing or two about law.

When you take vows in a legal ceremony, they are legally binding.  It's called a legally verbal agreement.  All you really need is one for it to be binding...that is where the witness in smaller, civil ceremonies come into play.

But I want to back up a bit and ask the VERY NEEDED QUESTION:  WHO CAME UP WITH THE PRACTICE OF WEDDING CEREMONIES????

According to Wikipedia, 'In the time of the Roman Empire (17 B.C.- A.D. 476) the lower classes (proletarians) had "free" marriages. The bride's father would deliver her to the groom, and the two agreed that they were wed, and would keep the vow of marriage by mutual consent. Wealthy Romans, though, would sign documents listing property rights to publicly declare that their union was legalized and not a common law marriage. This was the beginning of the official recording of marriage.

The oldest traditional wedding vows can be traced back to the manuals of the medieval church. In England, there were manuals of the dioceses of Salisbury (Sarum) and York. The compilers of the first Book of Common Prayer, published in 1549 based its marriage service mainly on the Sarum manual. Upon agreement to marry, the Church of England usually offered couples a choice. The couple could promise each other to "love and cherish" or alternatively, the groom promises to "love, cherish and worship", while the bride to "love, cherish and obey."  [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marriage_vows]

Now I find this very interesting.  That the very institution that - as far as I'm concerned - polluted the Church that GOD built - THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH - started this practice.

Most marriage ceremonies, according to the Wikipedia article are variations of the Catholic wedding ceremony that the pope(s) and the Diocese started.  This is very important to remember.

While I believe in marriage, I have no choice but to question the validity of 'wedding ceremonies' of ANY kind, ESPECIALLY THOSE PERFORMED BY A PRIEST, A PREACHER...EVEN A JUDGE.

Now, I know.  Someone is gonna say, 'But Wenona.  How will the marriage be 'official' in the eyes of man if it's not officiated by a priest, preacher or some other legal party?'

WHO came up with the 'idea' to make marriage a legal matter anyways?  WHO started the whole practice of filing papers with the government to make marriages 'official' anyways?

THE CATHOLIC CHURCH!!!!!!

ANY TEACHING OR RELIGIOUS PRACTICE INSTITUTED BY THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH I HAVE VERY GOOD REASON TO DOUBT, QUESTION AND SHUN.

-Why aren't the wedding vows not totally steeped in SCRIPTURE?
-Why aren't men made to vow before man and God that they WILL love their wives as Christ love the
  church?  Make them SAY IT.  Not just hear the preacher say it...
-Why is it that the only part of the vows that have scriptural basis is where the woman is supposed to 'obey'
  her husband?  (based loosely on the scripture about submission to husbands)  Why not make the vows so
  that BOTH parties vow to submit to ONE ANOTHER IN THE FEAR OF GOD??

Also, how valid are these marriages when they are 'doomed from the start' because they are officiated over, chanted over, by a bunch of men (and women) who are known pedophiles, adulterers, fornicators, lesbians, and gays?  INSIDE of a church building, to boot!?

It seems to me that the whole concept of 'church weddings' is asking for religious demons to infest the marriage....

Is it any wonder that over HALF the marriages officiated IN THE CHURCH end in divorce?

And now we have same sex marriages.  And everybody wants to get all up in arms about gays and lesbians legally allowed to marry.  But we have to look at this thing:

If the weddings/marriages between STRAIGHT FOLK who have these religious ceremonies within these religious institutions, officiated by a bunch of freaks don't last, and marriages between STRAIGHT FOLK is in such disarray, how can we honestly bash same sex marriages when different sex marriages have become a joke to so many????

Now please understand:  I am staunchly against same sex marriages.  Yall know my testimony.

But to try to IN-validate or make void - same sex marriages by using the 'examples' of different sex marriages is kind of ...well, FOOLISH!

See my article, First Gentlemen, First Ladies, And Other Foolishness In The Church

Think about it...the whole concept of having a wedding ceremony - IN A CHURCH - of having ceremonies period...is steeped in religiosity and lunacy!

Again, I wholeheartedly believe in the concept of marriage.  I think that marriage is a beautiful thing.

I just think the whole religious posturing of it needs to be TOTALLY revamped.

I don't think that another preacher or priest should officiate over another wedding!  REAL TALK!

Them jiggers are cursed from the get go...HOW CAN THEY POSSIBLY BLESS YOUR UNION IF THEY DOING ALL THE DIRT THEY ARE DOING ANYWAYS?

Then...you have to realize that the institution of CHURCH is a cursed institution.  It is currently under JUDGMENT.

I don't know about you, but I don't want no cursed folks within a cursed institution to officiate over NOTHING concerning MY life.

Just some things to ponder....

WHERE Are You Shopping? Im Looking For A Church Home...

Where are you grocery shopping these days?  

I have noticed that groceries, fresh produce, meats, and grocery items in general have lost somewhat of their 'shelf life.'  The quality of products we normally purchase at the grocery store is not as fresh as it used to be.  Nor does it last as long as it used to.  

Not to mention that the prices have gone UP!

But even though this is a growing phenomena, how many of us still go to the grocery store - you know, that same store that continuously sell stale, poor quality products time and time again - even though we are totally dissatisfied with the products they sell?

How many times have we found ourselves running to that same store we complained about for a quick run?  To pick up a few items for dinner?  Or for a late night snack?  

Then we get home and find that the products have NOT changed.  The quality has NOT changed.  The prices?  They may have actually gone UP...but that's as far as it goes.

Why do we continuously do this?  

Why do we continue to frequent a store - or many stores - that by and large, continue to sell us genetically modified products created to last longer on the shelves but STILL go bad after a few days?  Or make us sick?  

Is it that we feel there are no other options?  Do we somehow feel trapped into grocery shopping?  And that at the local grocery stores, that continue to sell us over-priced, poor quality products....week in and week out?  And then have the nerve to have these 'sales' to make us believe that we are saving money, when, in actuality, we are not?

The store branch managers and franchisers do this because they know that you, the consumer, are going to obsess over WHAT ARE WE GONNA EAT?  

They also know you are a creature of CONVENIENCE.  You will do whatever it takes to make life more CONVENIENT.  It's inconvenient to go miles away to a farmer's market or another store - perhaps a Whole Foods store - not to mention even MORE pricey - so they do all these things - price-gouge, sell, poor quality products, hold 'sales' events to make the consumer believe they are saving money - to draw you into their STORES!

They know that for you to grow your own crops, for you to go out and kill your own cattle, to grind the meat, for you to make your own cleaning products, paper products and the such would take up WAY too much of your time...so they sell you the products they know you need to survive...at inflated prices...and most of the time NOT the best quality!

****These store branch managers sound a lot like these preachers in these churches.****

These preachers know you've been conditioned to believe that if you need Jesus, you got to go 'shopping' (or should I say 'church-hopping') for him and need to go to church to find Him.  

These preachers know the Word, but they dole it out in such POOR QUALITY, in such POOR CONDITIONS, they offer to you STALE manna, spoiled rotten meat, and then have the AUDACITY to sell it to you at exorbitant prices....and make you believe you have been 'fed' the Word of God!

They know that those prophecies, that Word, that sermon, that teaching series, etc. they are peddling to you is poison and hazardous to your spiritual health.  But they simply DO NOT CARE!

They also are banking on you being TOO LAZY to crack open your Word for YOURSELF and getting your OWN Word from the Lord...that would be WAY too inconvenient ... so they open up these church drive-thru franchises.  Where you can drive up to the church window, order the 'word' you want, get a quick word to satisfy your temporal hunger, and then drive off not realizing that every time you do so you are poisoning your spirit even MORE!

And you don't even realize by going from church to church you are injecting all kinds of different poisons into your spirit.  

Each type of poison requires its own specific type of antidote as a cure.  There is no one antidote that treats all types of poisonings.

An antidote is substance which oppose the effects of poisons without causing damage to body.  There are antidotes that prevent certain types of poisons from being absorbed into your system.  Then are antidotes that neutralize the poison making it ineffective.  Then still there are other antidotes that produce the opposite effects of the poison.

Each church building has its own specific type of 'poison,' if you will.  And one won't get 'poisoned' unless they continue to frequent and fellowship at said buildings.  To shop there.  To ingest what's being served there.  It's a spiritual thing, folks.

And because each type of church has their own brand of poison, if you get 'infected,' you will need a specific type of ANTIDOTE to be cured of it!

If you leave Church A and then think God is calling you to Church B, then after awhile start going to Church C to help them out in the ministry....only to find that you are 'better received' at Church D....

And this cycle continues for years on end....it is very conceivable that you will need 'antidotes,' to be 'cured from,' delivered from, SEVERAL different types of POISONS you picked up at these churches??????

And the more churches you've attended and been a part of, the longer it will take to be healed from all that nonsense.

All of this...only because you wouldn't just SIT STILL and HEAR FROM GOD FOR YOURSELF!

You wouldn't crack open your Word and allow the Spirit of God to feed you...and you trusted charlatains and wolves to feed you.

Contrary to popular religious belief, you do NOT need a preacher to feed you.  IF God sends one your way, the way to know He is telling the truth and it is TRUE MANNA is that it WILL line up with the Word of God.

Grow your own food.  Harvest your own Word.  Eat from YOUR OWN table...right there in YOUR HOUSE.

At least you KNOW what you're eating when you do!

The Harlot MANIFESTS!

NEVER BE SURPRISED AT WHAT A WHORE (STREET TERM-A HO!) WILL DO TO SURVIVE: 

Many within the church system are constantly allowing themselves to be shocked by the things that goes on within her walls. The Harlot Church NEVER WAS alive...or there were many 'shakings.' A lot of movement was going on...but NO life!

Now she is beginning to actually SEE her condition...and what we all see unfolding right B4 our eyes are merely her vain attempts to resuscitate herself.

Its really sad to behold....which is why it may be necessary to look away.

Not to be in denial. Look at it. Acknowledge it IS going down....but then look away in disdain and disgust...just like you would in the red light district if you saw a ho on her knees in an alley...

That's what it's come to in the church...

It will become necessary for you to observe the practices of a prostitute to begin to understand what is happening in the church system today.

I'm not the one who originated this....

God calls the fake church the Harlot Church in His Word.

He warns His Remnant to COME OUT FROM AMONG THEM AND BE SEPARATE....

There are many references to 'the harlot' in the Word of God. Find them for yourselves!

But if you look at the life of a prostitute, a whore, or (more contemporary) a HO, you will find that a HO can be a MAN or a WOMAN that would do ANYTHING for a dollar, a meal, a place to stay...to survive basically.

They have made a life decision that they won't go about taking care of matters legally or in a way that will not put them in jeopardy. NO.

They decide to take the easy road, get on their knees, bend over or open their legs for everything that will stimulate them and give them something...

Jeremiah 3:6
....she is gone up upon every high mountain and under every green tree, and there hath played the harlot.
Jeremiah 3:1
.... thou hast played the harlot with many lovers...

Jeremiah 22:21-22

...I spake unto thee in thy prosperity; but thou said, I will not hear. This hath been thy manner from thy youth, that thou obey not my voice. The wind shall eat up all thy pastors, and thy lovers shall go into captivity: surely then shalt thou be ashamed and confounded for all thy wickedness.

Instead of working for a living, they figure they'd go the easy road and trick.

They do not care if they catch diseases, get pregnant or give birth to children and raise them in their present condition. ESPECIALLY IF THEY ARE HOOKED ON/ADDICTED TO DRUGS and trick to support their 'habit,' they will really throw caution to the wind and do whatever it takes to get that next hit!

This is the reality for many within the church system today.

It is easier for them to rely on others to 'give them a word' than it is to WAIT ON THE LORD and let Him give you a word. Or stand on the LAST WORD He gave to you (no matter HOW long of a time has passed since He gave you the Word!).

Why?

Because that would mean you would be walking BY FAITH and NOT by sight. Or feeling. Or smell. Or any of your five senses. If whatever doesn't tantalize YOUR FLESH, then you think you are hungry for God, when you are nothing more than HOOKED ON A FEELING!

HOOKED ON RELIGION. HOOKED ON BEING HIGH IN THE SPIRIT. HOOKED ON BEING IN DENIAL. HOOKED ON DECEPTION.

A church addict will do ANYTHING for their next hit.

MANY church addicts spent their LAST to go see Mega-Mess 2013 this past week. There was indeed a lot of foolishness that went on in there....but by FAR the CLIMAX of it all was when Movie Mogul and Idol Tyler Perry supposedly preached/testified at the Potter's House after donating $1 million dollars towards the Youth Center there...and then laid hands on T.D. Jakes...after spouting off 'tongues.'

Watch the video HERE.

The following is a 'testimony' of a Mega-Mess 2013 attendee:

"...The last session on megafest was today..... And I just have to thank God for real..... Like I was treated soo great there...... I felt what God says I am special..... Omg the WOD's are going to be so amazing u guys God has truly ignited my passion for me to give u what he had placed in me..... I can go on about how I have been blessed out here I mean from free close seat passes to ppl taking me out to eat.... I had ppl coming to me stressing that I come down here and do hair..... Ppl asking me what do I do and am I famous.... And for some reason I kept attracting all these first ladys of great pastors..... i mean telling me that my presence make them feel god.....This one girl after i worshiped ask me if i could please take a picture of me..... i mean the love of God I felt out in Dallas was amazing..... And I am Sooo grateful..... But Guys I am Sooo proud of me.... I mean from someone who has been counted out time and time again.... Rejected.... Mistreated..... And heck persecuted and lied on I mean it just goes on..... But I say this to say I am proud of me because I didn't quit and for the first time in my life I'm no longer depending on who is there for me or not who likes me or not who believes in me or not..... Because God believes in me and because I was driven off of how he feels about me I took a leap of faith to go to this event I planned this trip for myself by myself..... And I just feel Sooo great and Sooo on top of the world and I just thank God for showing me that I am more than a conqueror...... And I am more than qualified to go after what he has for me by any means necessary..."

I'm sure some of you know folks like this...church celebrity groupies who attend their 'concerts,' then go backstage after their 'performances' so they can sleep with their favorite preachers, or prophets or apostles. And I am NOT talking about sex either!

I'm talking about spiritual adultery. I am talking about millions of people drinking the Kool Aid. They wouldn't know sound doctrine or the voice of God if it slapped them in the face.

And I don't know if you notice the 'trend' within the church system to make preachers out of celebrities (and vice versa). But you need to understand: THIS IS NO ACCIDENT!

The more famous and popular, the more people will accept their message or doctrine. The more money can be sowed into their 'ministries/brothels.' The more they can 'grow,' or recruit more gullible souls into lies and deception.

The HARLOT CHURCH HAS TRULY MANIFESTED HERSELF AS SUCH!

She has drank the wine of those of this world so she could be prosperous.

Notice the life of high level prostitutes. High level prostitutes only 'serve' high level clients. Clients that can afford to 'pay them' after their services are done.

Tyler Perry is a high level whore. And he will 'sleep with,' go into alliance with, partner with, make films and plays with ANYONE who can 'afford' his price.

But this is not to demonize TP. There are MANY TP's within the church system, as there are MANY pimps, brothels and madams in the church. Those who FUNCTION as such!

Many don't know this, but Richard Pryor's mother was a whore. His daddy was a pimp. His uncles were pimps. His GRANDMOTHER was the madam of the house. She actually SOLD her daughter to these johns!

Richard was raised by his grandmother. He worshiped and idolized the ground his grandma walked on. In a powerful documentary, Richard Pryor: Omit The Logic, his grandmother would often allow all kinds of influences in front of Pryor as a child...and he was not allowed to talk about it or protest...or speak out on the abuse.

According to www.richardpryor.com/biography.php, "Pryor was one of four children raised in his grandmother's brothel, Richard experienced rape at the age of six (by a teenaged neighbor) and molestation by a Catholic priest during catechism. He watched his mother perform sexual acts with Peoria's mayor..."

I bring this up to give some insight into the life of a hooker and those under her influence.

Pryor's grandmother can be likened to the many so-called 'mothers of the church' who are so revered, idolized, worshiped, adored and love...but I ask FOR WHAT?

For prostituting the babes in the church?

For covering for these 'pastors,' sometimes for decades?

For perpetrating a fraud?

For funding this nonsense all their lives?

For facilitating the turning out of a generation of would-be people who came to church because they LOVED God and wanted to be saved, but only found dysfunction and abuse at the hands of those who were supposed to be their protectors?

The point is that harlots are dangerous people. They don't start out that way...they usually get in the game because it is the only way they can survive...they feel they have NO WAY OUT.

Many in the church systems are being trained to become spiritual WHORES. And once that happens, the only way for them to turn around is that THEY have to make a DECISION to COME OUT of WHOREDOMS!

They have to turn their backs on that lifestyle.

They only became a harlot because their mother was a Harlot. What else would they become?????

The 'daddies' in the Harlot Church are the pimps. They pimp anyone who will allow themselves to be pimped. Many prostitutes don't feel 'safe' on the streets, so they go and get A COVERING (i.e. a pimp) who is supposed to protect their best interests and look out for them...

Only problem with that is that most of the time, these pimps, these 'coverings,' these wolves in sheeps' clothing, are only exploiting the prostitute, running game, using them for what they can get. And then when they're done, the pimps/pastors 'spit them out.'

DO YOU SEE THE CO-RELATION TO HARLOTRY/PROSTITUTION AND THE HARLOT CHURCH SYSTEM YET????

What more evidence do you need to know that the Harlot Church has indeed manifested herself? And that it is time to COME OUT THE BROTHEL/CHURCH?

The Harlot Church has done nothing more than bred a bunch of harlot babies....

And-as is the case so many times-when you grow up in that environment, it is VERY difficult-sometimes impossible-to get that lifestyle OUT of you! (LOOK at what happened to Richard Pryor)

You grow up to become what you saw growing up...johns, tricks, hos and pimps. THAT'S your family!

Unless a harlot WANTS to get out, they won't. Church folks won't come out of the Harlot because they have become the harlot and enjoy the benefits and privileges of harlotry.

And as long as they are doing that, it probably will be necessary for those who know better to part ways with practicing harlots who don't want out...