I agree with most of the commenters a lot more than the author of that honeymoon article. His desire of rooting a marriage in community is laudable, but I think that honeymoons do not sabotage that, nor is the custom of spending the first intimate time surrounded by others really desirable. The first commenter made the excellent point that there are lots of opportunities in the runup to the wedding to provide the kind of community and counsel that’s envisioned, and others pointed out that just because you take one week away, that doesn’t mean that family life is going to be inherently disconnected from the community from then on. In fact, I think that’s kind of WHY you take one week away — to have some time to start things focused on one another, and then be able to bring that relationship into the community after it’s been established.

As for concerns about not blowing too much money on an elaborate honeymoon, well yeah, that’s common sense. Don’t take a honeymoon whose extravagance jeopardizes more important financial concerns at the beginning of your marriage. But that’s an argument against expensive honeymoons, not against honeymoons. Few people (in our culture) can’t afford a few days in a cabin somewhere, and those that can’t, can still metaphorically hang up a “do not disturb” sign outside their new home for a week.

Waiting until marriage to have sex is already a frustrating experience. Isn’t it awkward enough for all of your family and friends to be aware of your “first time” without having them around to bother you? It shouldn’t hurt to have some privacy in such an intimate relationship.

Yes, this idea of skipping the honeymoon makes me angry. Not just because it’s a terrible idea, but also because it’s probably going to catch on in some circles. I feel sorry for the couples that get taken in by this.

I have to agree with the assessment that a healthcare plan with 10 times as many people as Australia and Canada would be a bureaucratic nightmare. The immense size of the organization needed to run it would be incredibly inefficient.

Secondly, I tend to think of America as the innovator in healthcare technology. Much of that innovation comes from entrepreneurs looking to create wealth. If they no longer saw it as a profitable line of business they would look else where. Much of this innovation eventually makes its way to other countries. America may have expensive healthcare, but it is because of the innovation. Take that away and not only would American suffer, but the the rest of the developed world as well.

Hello, first commentor here (to the Boundless item cited) — thanks for the shout-out, Pentamom! And I do find it interesting that the blog item completely ignored the, erm, physical part of a honeymoon and the desire, even need, for a husband and wife to get into that, and get used to that, in their first days together.

That’s hard to do if you’re visiting a few “mentor couple” or whatever every evening. And I contend that for a lot of people, it would be a bad start to a marriage — and even more so, unnecessary if you’ve *already* been conducting your relationship with mostly open borders to friends/mentors all along. (My friends/mentors at my Sovereign Grace-esque Baptist church encouraged a private honeymoon by default!)

I believe some people may need to consider a more friends-and-family-oriented time during their first days of marriage. But for some people, that would *not* be advisable at all; they need this time together, if for nothing else than to be rewarded for a long time of waiting. And I’m concerned that too much emphasis on community input into a relationship will lead to extremes of community-*directed* “courtship” and such, which some Christians have bought into (and thus implied or stated that more-independent dating, even if marriage-focused, is un-Godly). Yet I am thankful that, Boundless often has good and Biblically balanced perspectives on taking the initiative in your own relationships (with God’s sovereignty and grace in mind) and desiring input from church and friends at the same time.