Evangelical Christians reputedly favor “limited government” (I haven’t yet seen evidence that such a beast exists, but whatever), yet they support the State’s control of marriage—or did: hopefully, Leviathan’s promotion of sodomy has disillusioned a great many such folks. That provides us with an opportunity to persuade them that government should never have interfered with or supervised this sacrament in the first place. David Jones offers some provocative questions to help clarify the thinking on this topic:

Would you as a Christian recognize the validity of a marriage that is performed in church by a church official without a state license? To people who respond with a “no” I will say….”So you believe that the state is the final arbiter of what marriage is and not the church and God?” To those that say “yes” I say….”So why do you care what the state says about marriage?”

Would you as a Christian recognize the validity of a marriage that is performed at city hall with a state license but not sanctified in a church by a church official?

Would you as a Christian recognize the validity of a marriage that is performed by a lay person who is licensed by the state to perform marriage but who has no church affiliation? Should Christians recognize the legitimacy of a marriage between a male and female conducted by a civil authority not in a church? What if that civil authority is an atheist?

Would you as a Christian recognize the validity of a marriage that is performed in a non Christian church (Unitarian as an example) or environment with a state issued license?

Would you as a Christian support legislation that strengthens the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) by nullifying any government benefits for people who divorce? (This one gets a lot of no’s)

Should Christians recognize the legitimacy of a marriage between a male and female conducted in a church by a Christian minister but not registered with the state via marriage license?

Should Christians recognize the legitimacy of a marriage conducted by someone licensed through Universal Life Church or some other internet ordination entity?

Oh, what a tangled web we weave when first we depart from the Bible’s emphatic commandment to have no other gods, including the State, before Jehovah!

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