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Saint Kitts and Nevis
114 Posts |
 Posted - 29 Aug 2001 : 18:55:08
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There's a difference between a civil (legalistic) Marriage and the ecclesiastical sacrament of Holy Matrimony. Without the Lord as the head of a man and woman, there is no actual Matrimony to complete the union. Written by an Australian, here are some statistics about man's legal marriage outside of Christ Jesus, with it's Marriage Certificate issued by the government, showing why it does not work:
1. If you're not married yet. Despite a tiny rise in the number of marriages last year (114,300 - up 3per cent on 1998), the bureau estimates that 28 per cent of men and 23 per cent of women will never marry. Australia's marriage rate (six per 1,000 people) puts us behind the Americans (8.8) and ahead of the Brits (5.5). The bureau estimates that 8.3 million Australians over 15 are living in a married relationship, 1.1 million are divorced, 930,200 are widowed, 861,800 are in a long-term de facto relationship, and 4.8million have never married.
2. If you've just passed your "tin" wedding anniversary. Divorces rose 2 per cent last year (to 52,600). The bureau says 46 per cent of marriages are likely to end in divorce, with the most common length of marriage being 11 years and 3 months. But let's look on the bright side: we are sticking together longer before we split. Back in 1989, the median length of marriage was 10.2 years. Our divorce rate (2.8 per 1,000) puts us behind the Americans (4.3) and equal with the Brits (2.9).
3. If you got married without living together first. You're just not normal. The bureau says that in 1999 "69 per cent of all registered marriages were preceded by cohabitation, compared with around 23 per cent of marriages in 1979". More than two-thirds of those who cohabited before marriage were aged under 35.
4. If you married young. Divorce is most likely to happen to couples who married when both were under 20. The median age of marriage is rising fast - 30.1 for men and 27.9 for women (compared with 28.0 and 25.7 in 1989).
5. If you're over 38. The age at which divorce is most likely to occur is 40.9 for men and 38.2 for women.
6. If you have kids. In 1999, 1.13 per 100 Australian children aged under 18 had been involved in divorce (up from 0.95 in 1989). Some 54 per cent of divorces now involve children.
7. If you're religious. In 1999, for the first time, marriages performed by civil celebrants outnumbered marriages performed by ministers of religion (civil ceremonies accounted for 51.3 per cent of marriages in 1999).
8. If you're a married man. More divorces were initiated by women (50 per cent) than men (31 per cent), with 19 per cent being joint applications.
9. If you're of Chinese background. The highest divorce rates were among people born in China (26 per 1,000 couples), Vietnam (25) and New Zealand (20), while the lowest were among Greeks (4) and Italians (3). When both partners were Australian-born, the divorce rate was 14.
10. If you're on your second or third marriage. The bureau says "the probability of divorce is slightly lower for first marriages and much lower for remarriages following widowhood", while "remarriages following divorce have the highest risk of divorce".
He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living: ye therefore do greatly err. - Mark 12:27 |
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