Reply #103: In most cases, it's not necessary for the person to be there for life.

[Arugula Latte]

In fact, I think that's a ridiculous proposition in most cases. Most people were not meant to be together for life. Nothing wrong with sex in the meantime, IMO, as long as protection is used.

Religion always boils down to a form of social control.

edited to add: I am in a long-term, monogamous marriage, and I have two children. I would NEVER tell my kids to only sleep with the person they marry. In fact, I would delicately tell them the opposite, that jumping into marriage without any experience makes zero sense to me. I do not begrudge my husband his former girlfriends, and he does not begrudge me my former boyfriends. It's better to experience many things -- travel, relationships, different jobs, artistic pursuits, etc., before committing to a long-term marriage. Both of us did that, and we are all the happier for it.

Okay, another random thought. The Bible is only several centuries old. It is not divine. It was written by humans telling stories, like any other collection of mythology. Our species Homo sapiens stretch back into the eons, and our ancesters before that go so far back in time it almost indescribable. I put my faith in nature and time, not a silly, violent, contradictory johnny-come-lately book.