V.

Teachings on the Church on Such Issues

Pregnant, Child Out Of Wedlock. Mistake Pregnancy. Unwed Mothers and Fathers.
Being pregnant and not married, having a child out of wedlock does not dictate God's will for
marriage. If your parents have told you that you were a "mistake pregnancy" it is not true because God
Has No Mistakes.
God's Will for Marriage Is Not Based On Having a Baby
Being pregnant and having a child outside of wedlock does not dictate Gods will for marriage. Many
have gotten married for this reason. Nearly all of those who have married did so because they were
taught by the religious system or by their parents that they had to marry the father of the child. Some
women were raped; other women were reaching out to a male for the affection they never received
from their own fathers. Sadly, they discovered that along with the affection they found, came the
requirement for them to have sex. Some women found themselves pregnant and their life of sex was
exposed. It didnt matter if they had sex with one or many; you HAD to marry the male who supposedly
got you pregnant.
Forcing a pregnant woman to marry may be very commendable for the unborn child, but its not
totally Gods heart. Even though God desires for every child to have a father, He gave that discretion to
the father of the family.
For If a man seduces a virgin who is not betrothed and lies with her, he shall give the bride-price[b]
for her and make her his wife. 17 If her father utterly refuses to give her to him, he shall pay money
equal to the bride-price for virgins Exodus 22:16, 17 ESV.
Notice that God did not take into consideration at all the fact that the woman got pregnant. The
consideration for marriage was based upon the fornication, not on getting pregnant from the sexual
acts. The discretion is left up to the father of the woman, even if she is pregnant. God knows that every
situation is different.
Because of the authority given to the father to allow his daughter to marry or not to marry, the
consequences or blessings rest upon the daughter. Some fathers have made wise choices in allowing
their daughters to marry, and some have not. Marrying a person primarily because a baby is involved
can remove one further from Gods will and may actually be jumping from the frying pan into the fire.
Two wrongs do not make a right.
God Has No "Mistakes
Some may feel like you were a mistake in life whether it was by a conception that was not wanted,
neglect, rape, and incest, having been a throw-away child or whatever, but you arent. God did not
plan the future from a point of everyone being perfect. Instead, He looked into the future and saw all
the mistakes of life, weighed the attitudes and motives of peoples hearts.

In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out
everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, Ephesians 1:11, 1
26 Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by
human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose the foolish
things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28
God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised thingsand the things that are notto nullify
the things that are, Corinthians 1:26-28
Often, when someone is a victim of someone elses selfish choice, they feel theyre a lost part of
Gods perfect order. But its the order thats out of order that God has chosen. Be encouraged! God
Himself has chosen you. And what a wonderful God He is
Singleness
We turn now to a discussion of singleness and the unmarried state. In Old Testament times,
singleness was rare among individuals old enough to marry. Those unmarried were therefore limited to
widows, eunuchs, those who could not marry due to diseases such as leprosy or severe economic
difficulties, those who did not marry because of some type of divine call, those who had undergone a
divorce, or unmarried young men and women. Thus marriage was the overwhelming norm in Old
Testament times, in keeping with the foundational creation narrative in Genesis 1 and 2.
In the New Testament, a somewhat different picture emerges. Major figures such as John the
Baptist, Jesus, Paul, and Timothy were unmarried. Jesus spoke favorably about "eunuchs for the sake of
the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 19:12), and Paul even called celibacy a "gift from God" (1 Corinthians
7:7). He further suggested that married people's interests were divided while the unmarried could
devote themselves wholly to the Lord (1 Corinthians 7:32-35). What is more, Jesus taught that in the
eternal state, there will be no more marriage, but all will be "like angels in heaven" (Matthew 22:29-30).
Thus we see in the sweep of biblical history a trend from marriage as the norm (with singleness
being limited to exceptional cases), to a place where the advantages and disadvantages of both
marriage and singleness are affirmed (in Jesus and Paul), to a marriage-less state in heaven where the
only "marriage" will be that of Jesus, the heavenly bridegroom, to the church as his spiritual "bride."

Whether Children Born Out of True Marriage are Illegitimate? According to The Summa
Theologica by St. Thomas Aquias
Case 1: It would seem that children born out of true marriage are legitimate. For he that is born
according to law is called a legitimate son. Now everyone is born according to law, at least the law of
nature, which has more force than any other. Therefore every child is to be called legitimate.
Case 2: Further, it is the common saying that a legitimate child is one born of a legitimate marriage,
or of a marriage that is deemed legitimate in the eyes of the Church. Now it happens sometimes that a
marriage is deemed legitimate in the eyes of the Church, whereas there is some impediment affecting

its validity; which impediment may be known to the parties who marry in the presence of the Church: or
they may marry in secret and be ignorant of the impediment, in which case their marriage would seem
legitimate in the eyes of the Church, for the very reason that it is not prevented by the Church.
Therefore children born out of true marriage are not illegitimate.
On the contrary, Illegitimate is that which is against the law. Now those who are born out of
wedlock are born contrary to the law. Therefore they are illegitimate.
I answer that, Children are of four conditions. Some are natural and legitimate, for instance those
who are born of a true and lawful marriage; some are natural and illegitimate, as those who are born of
fornication; some are legitimate and not natural, as adopted children; some are neither legitimate nor
natural; such are those born of adultery or incest, for these are born not only against the positive law,
but against the express natural law. Hence we must grant that some children are illegitimate.
Reply to Case 1: Although those who are born of an unlawful intercourse are born according to the
nature common to man and all animals, they are born contrary to the law of nature which is proper to
man: since fornication, adultery, and the like are contrary to the law of nature. Hence the like are not
legitimate by any law.
Reply to Case 2: Ignorance, unless it be affected, excuses unlawful intercourse from sin. Wherefore
those who contract together in good faith in the presence of the Church, although there be an
impediment, of which however they are ignorant, sin not, nor are their children illegitimate. If, however,
they know of the impediment, although the Church upholds their marriage because she knows not of
the impediment, they are not excused from sin, nor do their children avoid being illegitimate. Neither
are they excused if they know not of the impediment and marry secretly, because such ignorance would
appear to be affected.