Totally agree with you, man has no right to regulate marriage. Marriage is ordained by God, not man. We have been deceived into thinking the opposite.

Really the term license itself, gives the state control over whether someone "gets" a certain right or doesn't. The think is, it can be so incredibly subjective. Say they don't like how a couple acts, they could deny them a marriage based on that. That in essence is what is wrong with the license system for a lot of things really.

What I plan to do if it ever happens, is have a private ceremony, with a few witnessses, and have papers my own (perhaps a Bible of my own too), documenting our relationship and anything else that may come later, for our own reference. I wouldn't have the state involved at all.

This is true, but couldn't it also be said that we have a responsibility to disobey any laws that infringe upon our God given rights? How can anybody in a position of power give rights that God gave us upon birth?

I am curious under what circumstance one can be denied a marriage license, beyond not meeting the basic requirements that the two not be immediately related or the same gender and that both be of age to consent,,,,,

They could just about come up with any excuse they wanted. I'll give you an example, in the UK there was a story where a couple was DENIED the right to marry, because the woman was deemed not smart not enough to do so. I mean give me a break! Then later she had her baby taken from her, as she was deemed unfit to be a mom too.

Once you get the state involved on legislating things they have no business or right to legislate you will have problems.

oh, I hadnt heard about that. certainly odd, since I was married in the UK as an american to a brit who was actually emotionally challenged, and there was no verification of how 'smart' either of us was. We just got married,,,,,,,

I would imagine those types of things are rare though,, but still tragic,,,,,,

Kind of like how doctors sometimes do negligent things during surgeries which result in someones death,, I still would see a surgeon ....as the cases of death are not the norm at all





I still prefer marriage too,, but to each their own,,,

Well so do I, but to me I feel that just cause the state says you aren't married, doesn't mean you're not. It's your hearts, and God that matters.

As for the rest, I actually think it's becoming more and more common. The state is getting so much power anymore it's ridiculous. And in some ways we are to blame to continue to allow it to happen, with so many crazy laws and regulations.

I have read those instances of Jesus attending weddings, and he also refers to Christianity as a wedding. Were these weddings regulated by the state
and needing a liciense? Shacking up to me is not a marriage, as for the most part only temporily and not fully committed. No I don't support that. Going into it permantly (what ever that is now days) and committed
is another thing. About the notion of governing athorities laws as long as they don't require us to disobey God. Isn't it by the governing athorities that they disobey God by allowing same sex partnerships/marriage, abortion, and encoraging early sexual relationships by high schools by passing out condoms and pills.

Ron

I do not remember the Bible stating you had to have a sheet of paper pronouncing your marriage. If you accept and choose your mate for life and stay together, no biggie in my opinion. Most people that have common law marriages treat there relationship as a marriage with trust, as I have noticed. The government makes you pay for the paperwork, not a religious aspect. Ceremony is just that ceremony. In old Scotland, handfasting was recognized as marriage as well.

The problem with marriage is that people get married because they view it as "the next step". It always happens like, "I love you....so marry me!!". You hear this coming from a dude when he has only dated a chick for a short while. Nobody takes the time to date anymore. And yet, the funny thing is that the majority of us want to find that special someone out there.

To me, marriage is all about meeting the one that you truly want to be with forever, and then making it official. It's not about staking claim to that person. It is about professing your undying love for that person. Sadly, we humans are so tempted that we allow adultery, or lies to creep into the marriage and (nowadays) it is much easier to just divorce and split up material possessions. Nobody wants to put in the effort to fix things in a marriage. I know. My ex wife didn't want to put in the effort while I did. Why many of us think that marriage is so easy is beyond me.

But.....but....when you do work together, and when you truly do want that marriage to work....it can be a beautiful thing. I am sure the same problems exist in common law marriages because you are talking about a relationship. Relationships take effort.


Bottom line, I think marriage is all about showing how devoted you are to your mate. It should have meaning. The ring you wear should have a HUGE meaning to both people.

and that would fall under the exceptions, being asked or mandated to disregard Gods word,,,

traditional marriage for me