Warning: Not Politically Correct!

I've been reading and thinking a lot on Genesis lately, specifically the first three chapters dealing with the creation of mankind. From this meditation, I'm beginning to develop strange ideas on anthropology (the study of man) and the theology of marriage. Following is a summary of the 'whats' and the 'whys' of my strange ideas. Feel free to comment and critique because I'm still working this one out in my head.
First of all, it is important that in Genesis 1 when God created Man, the narrative links male and female together. "Then God said, 'Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.' God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them." (1:26-27) Later, in Genesis 5, we read, "This is the book of the generations of Adam (man). In the day when God created man, He made him in the likeness of God. He created them male and female, and He blessed them and named them Man (adam) in the day when they were created." (5:1-2)
From these two passages I catch a hint of two things; that God created Man to be male and female united (don't get freaked out by this yet) and that the 'image of God' in man is complete only when Man is male and female united. It sounds odd, yet that is the best way I know to phrase it. Obviously, male and female together is pretty important to God.
The second thing that it is important to notice is that in Genesis 2 when the narrative takes a step back and focuses on the creation of Man, we see only the male being created. God had prepared the land for Man, complete with plants and animals. God prepared a garden in Eden for Man. Finally, God creates Man and places him into the garden. God instructs Man in the rules of the garden and gives him a job to do. Everything looks good, in fact, that is what God has been declaring throughout the creation "It is good."
But then we read, "Then the Lord God said, 'It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.'" (2:18) For the first time God declares something in His otherwise flawless creation to be "not good." What was not good? Was the man not good? No, the man was perfect. As yet, no fault or flaw had entered Man; he was without sin. So what was not good? The man was alone.
Understand that a part of the "image of God" is answered in His Tri-Unity, or what we call the Trinity. That is to say, God exists in Himself in eternal community. Aloneness is something foreign to the "image of God," yet here was Man alone. In Man's aloneness we do not see the complete "image of God" manifested.
God's solution to this problem was to create a "helper suitable for him." Here is where I get a little stuck. What does God mean by "helper"? From our perspective, a helper is needed when I cannot do something by myself. A helper relates to imperfection or inadequacy in ability to complete work. This cannot be what God intended because Adam was perfect in his nature, without sin. He had a cushy job, tending a garden in a world without weeds or destructive insects. From a human perspective, he did not need help in completing his work.
So what does the title "helper" mean? Some smarter brains than mine cannot give clear answers to that question, but I can summarize what they have said. Basically, some have said that it means the helper provided Adam with the opportunity to experience community, something that he was unable to do alone. Is that a weak answer? Maybe, but it makes sense that the "helper" was to help Adam to do those things which he absolutely could not do or experience alone.
The next thing God does is bring every kind of creature to Adam and gives him the job of naming them all. It is interesting that God did not first create the woman to 'help' Adam in his task, but then again that was not the purpose for her creation. Adam probably began to realize, "None of these animals are like me. They don't match!" Maybe Adam was beginning to feel the "not good" that God had already noticed. None of these animals could relate to Man as an equal. None could reason like Man. None could live in community with Man. The best they could offer is a relationship of trained servitude to their master Adam. This was not what God desired for him.
The next thing we see is God anesthetizing Adam and removing his rib to create the woman. God brings the woman to Adam and Adam initiates a relationship with her, even giving her his name, "She shall be called Woman because she was taken out of Man." (2:23)
Here is the critical point: Woman was a helper who was suitable for man. Another way to say it is she corresponded to him; she completed him. Adam was created perfect but Man as male was incomplete without female. Just as God in His Tri-Unity lives in Himself in eternal community, so Man as male and female dwell in community. Hence, the "image of God" is completed in Man.
This has obvious implications for anthropology. In it we can see that male and female were created for unique purposes. Man was created and placed into the garden, presumably to tend it. Woman was created and brought to man, to complete him and to provide a community of equals. Much can be said on the distinctions between male and female in this regard. Suffice it to say, men are task oriented, women are relationship oriented. This was by design.
The implications for marriage might be less obvious. Often people decide to marry because they "fall in love". This is a problem because when you "fall in love" eventually you will get up, dust yourself off and realize that it was not really love but it was infatuation. I'll say it here, never, ever follow your heart (Jeremiah 17:9). "Falling in love" is the worst excuse for marriage anyone can come up with.
Instead we should look for a 'helper corresponding to him,' that person who in their character and personality complete what is lacking in us. Certainly it is a much less romantic basis for a marriage, but if we start there and build a relationship based upon mutual dedication (a reasonable interpretation of agape love) and respect, then we have the basis of a marriage that will last a lifetime. "For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh." (2:24)