News-Record.com

i'm not sure about 'soul mate' but a very unusual thing happens when a man and woman marry "and they two shall be one flesh". this apparently is very important to God, for nowhere else in scripture are two flesh becoming one, not even with your children. so the union between husband and wife could possibly go far beyond a soul mate !

It would seem that God indeed brings a man a woman together in the same dynamic way that he brought Eve to Adam. There is a right man for a right woman. As they each seek Him, and wait upon Him, he is faithful to bring them together at the right time and right place. Just as Adam did, the man says (not in so many words necessarily) "this is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh": that is, this is now what was made out of the bone (rib) that was taken from my bones - or, This is now the one that fits or conforms to my soul and body in such a way as to provide maximum happiness for us both.

Even unbelievers can meet their right mate. In either case, it just clicks: rapport, physical attraction, the works. But the spiritual is only possible in union with the Holy Spirit, who is given only to regenerate believers. As sex becomes the dominant element in modern male-female encounters, finding a compatible mate becomes more and more difficult becuase the essence of that relationship is indeed in the soul, not the body alone.

I agree with Eric that the term, "soul mate" has all kinds of ramonticized baggage, and only approximates the glorious union God has ordained to take place between one man and one woman.

Men or women can have wonderful friendship and rapport with one another, but the sexual aspect cannot be a part of their relationship without being sin in God's eyes. The biblical argument against homosexuality is most clearly and forcefully drawn in Genesis 2, and in Eph. 5 in the NT.

No soul, thus no soul mate.

But if one means even just "one perfect match for each of us", the answer is still no. The odds are astronomically against that. Perfect is an illusion, to be sure. And the number of combinations of the many variables which might create a very satisfying match (not to mention the sheer phereomonal attraction) is astounding. Hence, any of avast number may have been "right".

The factors that whittle these options down often come to locality, willingness or ability to spend money and time "looking", etc. The rest is chance.

Now, sticking together after the initial attraction is harder work, and entails weighing constantly one's chances if one left the pairing, versus how well one is adapted by then and what prospects await in one's planned future...all of which can change rapidly or slowly over time...being utterly contigent.

Romance is an invention to steer people toward what may be less-than-optimum decisions...until perhaps better conditions arise withon the relationshipo or eventually wither and one leaves for other opportunities.

Children are a factor, obviously, in creating more powerful evolutionary bonds. One seeks to help one's progeny flourish, as an extension of one's own DNA. Therefore, it is incumbent upon one to foster emotional ties and fed the romance and/or sense of obligation to the spouse & family unit. But many societies in many times have defined the boundaries of these terms within varied degrees of relation and number.

None of it requires a god.

Everything requires God; as the creator and sustainer of the universal order. What a come-down to see the glorious union of man and woman as images of God to big-brained keepers of the DNA. But even those who reject God and His essential part in all of life, ACT like marriage and romance is thoroughly wonderful; because it is ingrained in the very nature of all people, everywhere. Yes, it is greatly influenced by genes, hormones and attraction, but the purpose and meaning of it can only be understood in relation to God and the value and meaning He places on it, revealed in His Word.

Hebrews 13.4 says that “Marriage is honorable in all, and the bed undelifled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge” – mostly by just allowing them to taste the fruits of their actions: STDs, AIDS, divorce, infertility (some STD’s affect it), rebellious and disobedient children, etc. depending on a number of variables, of course. Even Christians who are ignorant of the scriptural principles that go into making a great marriage experience trouble and disappointment. As with everything else, all depends on conformity to God’s guidelines

Simply saying everything requires a god, despite clear examples of many people living their daily lives otherwise, does not make it true. Give us one irrefutable bit of evidence that human physical relations and the contracts built around them cannot be entered into recourse to deity. You may not perosnally approve of such "unconsecrated unions", as you might call them, but it is sheer rhetoric to claim all things depend on conformity to your and your fellow believers' notions of divine guidelines.

that's "without recourse to a deity"