Modern Love: The Wedding Toast I'll Never Give

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Brian Rea

I have a Modern Love in the New York Times this weekend about wedding vows, religion, and airline policy. Here's an excerpt:d

One thing I love about marriage (and I love a lot of things about marriage) is that you can have a bad day or even a bad few years, full of doubt and fights and confusion and storming out of the house. But as long as you don’t get divorced, you are no less married than couples who never have a hint of trouble (I am told such people exist). You can be bad at a religion and still be 100 percent that religion. Just because you take the Lord’s name in vain doesn’t make you suddenly a non-Christian. You can be a sinner. In fact, I think it’s good theology that no matter how hard you try, you are sure to be a sinner, just as you are sure to be lousy, at least sometimes, at being married. There is perfection only in death. Read the whole thing here.

UPDATE: The piece went viral, and the New York Times did a follow-up on the response. You can read that here.