Covenantal marriage

A friend recently recounted a sad story about a mutual friend.  Someone with whom I attended high school had met someone in college and after developing a friendship into an emotional relationship, they decided to marry, but there was one problem, the man whom she had met was not a Christian.  When asking for her hand in marriage, her father told him that he would only give his blessing to do so if the young man would become a Christian.  He agreed to do so and they married.
Unfortunately, after a relatively short time, the young man filed for divorce and left.
Of course, I was saddened by this story but had a few thoughts.  The first was the naivete of the father.  This family is strongly Christian, at least in the American evangelical sense.  And a profession of Christ apparently was enough of proof for this father.  In the Orthodox worldview, a one time profession would not be enough.  Common sense would seem to dictate the necessity of a lived out profession, as well as baptism.
The second thought was the value of community.  Choosing a spouse from a well connected and well known family is of inestimable value.  This provides a level of protection and truth that can be found nowhere else.  To choose a spouse from an unknown family and background is dangerous.  A faithful marriage requires a like-mindedness and like faith that can only be found in a place of community.
The third thought is that of an arranged marriage.  While the idea of an arranged marriage is only mocked today, with no consideration at all.  But this is an American aberration.  An arranged marriage was commonplace all over the world and for most of known history.  As someone once said, "Marriage, like a pot of dinner, starts cold and warms up, but American culture has marriage start hot but then it only cools."
Marriage, relationships and the such must be understood from a Christian perspective.  Anything else will end in failure.  Our faith defines all of life and we must learn to see it.