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Fingers in Pagan history

Rings in Christian history

Rings in Seventh Day Adventist Church
 

Origins of the wedding ring - Fingers in pagan history - Implications of Ring’s Pagan Origin

The few examples cited above about the various superstitious and idolatrous use of finger rings are far from being exhaustive. The major encyclopedias I have consulted have lengthy articles describing the superstitious use of finger rings as charms, amulets, talismans, and as aids to the worship of various pagan gods.13 What has been mentioned should suffice to show that the origin of the finger ring is to be found in pagan superstitions and idolatrous practices.

The pagan origin and meanings of the finger ring raise questions about the legitimacy of its adoption by Christians to represents marital commitment. In the Bible the value of symbols is determined by their origin and meaning. The Sabbath, the Passover lamb and blood, the Lord’s Supper, baptism, and footwashing are all valuable symbols, because they have been established by God to help us conceptualize and internalize spiritual realities. Their value is derived from their divine origin, meaning, and function. By contrast, the meaning of the wedding ring as a symbol of marital commitment finds its origin not in Scripture, but in pagan mythology and superstitions. To invest a pagan symbol with a sacred Christian meaning, can easily lead to a secularization of the symbol itself. As we shall see, this is exactly what has happened with the use of the wedding ring.

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A case in point is the adoption of Sundaykeeping in early Christianity. As I have shown elsewhere,14 an important contributory factor to the Christian adoption of Sunday was the pagan veneration of the Sun god on its Sun-day. The attempt that Christians made to transform Sunday from a pagan holiday into a Christian Holy Day, was never successful. In spite of all the attempts that have been made throughout the centuries by church councils, popes, and Puritans to make Sunday into a holy day, the historical reality is that Sunday has largely remained a holiday, a day in which most people seek for personal pleasure and profit rather than for the presence and peace of God.

To a large extent the same has been true of the wedding ring. As we shall now see, in spite of the attempts made by church leaders to restrict the use of rings only to one plain marital ring, the historical reality is that many Christians throughout the centuries have given in to the temptation of wearing all sort of rings to adorn themselves rather than to express their marital commitment.