Soulmate vs. Helper

When a priest is asked to witness the wedding of a couple he can usually guess on the spot which passages from the Scriptures the couple will choose to have read at the wedding.  Certain readings have - I think sadly - become rather standard, the reading from Genesis and the reading from I Corinthians, in particular.

Writing On the Square today, Joe Carter takes a close look at the creation of woman whom God created because it was not good for man to be alone.  Carter says:

I had probably read that verse hundreds of times without grasping its full significance. Almost every time, I read my own preconceived meaning into the text, rather than trying to grasp what is actually said. Now it seems rather clear, even obvious. Adam didnt need a soulmate," for he already had the most perfect lover of his soul already in his Creator. What he needed was a helper," someone like himself who could share his burdens, his joys, his humanity. Gods immanent nature was a presence that provided all the love that Adam needed. But Gods transcendent nature prevented him from being the type of companion that the first man would need to fulfill his role in the Garden. Adam needed someone both enough like himself to share a mutual understanding and different enough to provide a degree of uniqueness and mystery.

 Be sure to read what he means by a helper.