It is lawful for all sorts of people to marry, who are able with judgment to give their consent. Yet it is the duty of Christians to marry only in the Lord. And therefore such as profess the true reformed religion should not marry with infidels, papists, or other idolaters: neither should such as are godly be unequally yoked, by marrying with such as are notoriously wicked in their life, or maintain damnable heresies.
Marriage is lawful for anyone, including unbelievers, who can properly give consent. It is good to support civil laws that encourage marriage according to the laws of God, to decrease the sins even of unbelievers. Society as a whole benefits from a healthy respect for and support for the institution of marriage.
But when it comes to Christians and marriage there are restrictions. A Christian may not marry just anybody, even with mutual consent. Firstly, Christians must marry within the Lord--see 2 Corinthians 6:14-18 for a most clear statement to that effect. The Confession then supplies us with a list of unqualified candidates. This list is definitely not politically correct! It includes infidels, "papists," idolators, heretics, and the infamously ungodly. I'm sure Roman Catholics are quite unhappy to be listed here and would condemn the Westminster divines as anti-Catholic bigots. I have commented elsewhere on the flavor of the times respecting the English/Scots Puritans and their views on Roman Catholicism so will not repeat that here. Clearly they felt strongly that marriage with a Roman Catholic was unsuitable. From our perspective, it may suffice to observe that American Protestants generally don't give due consideration to the spiritual appropriateness of their romantic relationships. Frequently a couple first falls in love and then one or the other may or may not deal with the consequences of unequal yoking. This gets the cart before the horse, but it reflects deeper issues regarding our contemporary views on what marriage is.
Tomorrow: Other restrictions on marriage.
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