The Life and Death of Mr. Badman

Wise. Yes: There is the Law of God, that forbiddeth marriage with unbelievers. These kind of marriages also are condemned even by irrational creatures. 1. It is forbidden by the Law of God both in the Old Testament and in the New. 1. In the Old.¹ Thou shalt not make Marriages with them; Thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son, Deut. 7. 4, 5. 2. In the New Testament it is forbidden.² Be not unequally yoked together with unbelievers; ³Let them marry to whom they will, ⁴only in the Lord. Here now is a prohibition, plainly forbidding the Believer to marry with the Unbeliever, therefore they should not do it. Again, these unwarrantable Marriages, are, as I may so say, condemned by irrational creatures, who will not couple but with their own sort: Will the ⟨p. 137⟩Sheep couple with a Dog, the Partridge with a Crow, or the Feasant with an Owl? No, they will strictly tie up themselves to those of their own sort only: Yea, it sets all the world a wondering, when they see or hear the contrary. Man only is most subject to wink at, and allow of these unlawful mixtures of men and women; Because man only is a sinful Beast, a sinful Bird, therefore he, above all, will take upon him by rebellious actions to answer, or rather to oppose and violate the Law of his God and Creator; nor shall these, or other Interrogatories, [What fellowship? what concord? what agreement? what communion can there be in such Marriages?] be counted of weight, or thought worth the answering by him. But further.⁵ The dangers that such do commonly run themselves into, should be to others a dissuasive argument to stop them from doing the like: for besides the distresses of Mr. Badmans wife, many that have had very hopeful beginnings for heaven, have by virtue of the mischiefs that have attended these unlawful ⟨p. 138⟩