Franklin Sanders Christ our Hope R.E. Mission,Westpoint, Tennessee wrote: ><snip> > > The state gains jurisdiction over marriage ONLY because people apply for and get that license. Without the license, the state has no jurisdiction over the marriage. Of course, marriage is an inalienable common law right, and those who are "competent" can marry without the state's permission, within the church's jurisdiction. > Once Christian people stop asking the state for permission to do what they are already free to do, in other words, top entering into state marriages, then the whole homosexual marriage issue > slides into the sea. It appears in all its innate ridiculousness. > Yours in the bonds of Christ, Franklin Sanders Christ our Hope R.E. Mission,Westpoint, Tennessee >"----------------------------------------- Sounds right to me, but there is of course property rights, inheritance rights, etc to be considered. By having the state do the civil marriage, property rights and all the other legalities would be taken care of. The Church then could witness the Covenantal union and administer the Sacrament without being embroiled in needless controversy. The Church's stance and definition of marriage would be clear. I don't see how the Church can witness marriage in our culture and advise that people ignore the state's jurisidiction. The state does have a proper role to play. I just don't see why the Church should be involved at all in the state's role. An attorney commented that he was tempted at times to advise elderly couples to not marry for tax and other legal reasons. We have all heard stories of elderly couples divorcing for financial reasons, while still living together. It would hardly be a becoming thing for the Church to be in a position of encouraging divorce for reasons of inheritance, to save tax dollars or to qualify for some government benefit. That said, I still think it would be beneficial to not have clergy serve as civil servants doing marriages for the state. Charles+ Church of the Good Shepherd, Indianapolis