Friday, September 14, 2007

Legal Marriage, From Your Point Of View

I've already shared my thoughts on marriage, both legally and biblically. The following list of questions are to survey your opinion on marriage. It's not mandatory that you have an answer for every question, but hopefully you will carefully consider each one. Whether you're planning on marrying soon, whether you've been married for years, whether you're divorced or whether you never intend to marry, your opinion is welcome here. Even if you don't choose to answer them out loud here, at the very least, I hope these questions will cause you to pause and think about the ways in which you view the process of becoming married. And, if you're planning on legally marrying soon, my greatest hope is that you will do so with the full knowledge of what the paperwork you'll file means and the purpose it all serves.

Ready?

Here we go:


1. What is a marriage license?


2. How did marriage licenses originate in the United States and why?


3. If you're planning marriage soon, why are you applying for a marriage license (or if you've already been married, why
did you apply for one)?

4. Does having a marriage certificate affect any children you and your spouse have together? If so, how?


5. Do you know what Parens Patriae means? Please briefly define it in your own words.


6. Does your state recognize Elohim (God) in your marriage (i.e. is He mentioned anywhere on the license or on the certificate)?


7. Do you believe you need a marriage license in order to be married according to Elohim's (God's) definition of marriage
(See Genesis 2:24, Matthew 19:5 and Ephesians 5:31 for His definition)?

8. How do a man and a woman become "one flesh"? (Specifically, what is the process?)


9. Did Yahushua (Jesus) ever perform a wedding ceremony? Did any priests ever perform a wedding ceremony in the bible?


10. Who has the power to pronounce you and your spouse "husband and wife"?


11. Who gave this person the authority to pronounce you "married"? If you believe Elohim (God) gave this person authority over pronouncing marriage, please cite where this appears in the bible. (or, if it's just your opinion, that's fine too, but please be specific)


12. When Yahushua (Jesus) turned water into wine, was Yahushua at a wedding or was He at a wedding
celebration? Is there a difference?

13. Is an example of wedding vows in the bible? If your answer is yes, please cite the book, chapter and verse where they appear.


14. What does your bible say about divorce?


15. Does your state allow divorce?


16. What does your bible say about remarriage?


17. Does your state allow remarriage? If so, how many times is a person allowed to remarry?


18. What does your bible say about adultery?


19. How does your state deal with adultery?


20. In your opinion, is your state governing marriage in the same way that the bible does?


21. If two people are married in a church, but without a marriage license, will your state recognize this couple as married?


22. If two people are married with a license, but without mention of Elohim (God) in their ceremony (Or if they're complete atheists), will your state recognize this couple as married?


23. How was a covenant (marriage or otherwise) made in the bible?


24. How did Adam, Abram (Abraham), Isaac, Jacob or any other biblical persons marry their spouses?


25. Romans 13:1 says "Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of Elohim: the powers that be are ordained of Elohim." Do you believe the government is always right? Or, to phrase this another way, do you believe that the United States Government has ever enforced ungodly laws?


26. If ever the government oversteps its boundaries or ever seeks to replace Elohim (God) as ultimate authority, do you believe you should follow their direction without question or protest?


27. Are there instances in the bible where Elohim's people did not follow the government's laws or traditions of their day (please cite them if you can)?


28. Were Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego wrong for not following the king's orders?


29. Were early Christians wrong for spreading the gospel despite orders by the ruling authorities to cease doing so?


30. Is there a law which states two people must marry?


31. Is there a law which states two people
must marry with a marriage license?

32. If people were to marry without a license, would they be breaking a law (and please state exactly which law they'd be breaking if you believe this) or would they be infringing upon a man-made tradition? Or both?


33. Who created marriage?


34. Who is the ultimate head of marriage?


35. Which existed first, marriage or your state?


36. How and when was your state given authority over marriage?


37. Do you believe in prenuptial agreements? Why or why not?


38. In your opinion, does a marriage license offer any added security to a marriage, especially in the event of divorce? If so, what security does it add?


39. For you, is marriage a biblical covenant or a legal contract or both?


40. In your opinion, when two atheists marry legally, do you believe they are recognized by Our Father as married? Why or why not?


41. Assuming your state recognizes or allows gay marriages (or will do so in the future), do you (or will you) acknowledge and respect gay couples with legal marriage certificates as being married? Why or why not?

42. Do you have the right to accept or reject two people as being married? Does your state have that right? Why or why not? And, if so, to what extent? (can they deny rights and benefits to marriages they protest?)

Now that you've come to the end of this survey, read what one person discovered about marriage licenses in their state. Please do not accept as truth anyone's opinion on this topic. Instead, I encourage all of you to investigate, on your own, what marriage is, its history and all that a marriage license entails. You are also invited to share that information here as it is discovered.
Thanks for your time and your opinions!

~Free

5 comments:

Josie said...

Great post! I've been thinking about this alot as I just recently got engaged. There is just so much to think and pray about, the whole issue can be rather frightening.

You have a very interesting blog, thanks again!!

Josie

FreeIndeed said...

Congratulations on your engagement and thanks for stopping by, Josie!

Yes, there is a lot to think and pray about. Don't be frightened, sis, just be aware. My hope in posting this is that, whether folk agree or disagree with my thoughts presented on this blog, they will at least think and be aware of what they're doing. It pleases me to hear you are doing this. We should never, ever, ever enter contracts that we don't thoroughly question and understand.

Yours, I'm sure, will be a happy, meaningful, long-lasting covenant!

My prayers are with you and thank you again for commenting.

~Free

Unknown said...

thanks for this post. i am recently engaged and living with the man that i intend to marry. the issue is that i have been asked to step down from my leadership positions at my church since i am living with him and not done a legal ceremony yet. what is your imput?

FreeIndeed said...

Hi Kristi and congratulations to you! :)

I can relate to your experience at church because I experienced something similar at a former church I belonged to and was very active in. I would only say that if the church doesn't want you in your position, it's their prerogative to ask you to resign and that request should be honored.

I don't know if you and your fiance are living together platonically or are sharing a bed together, so I won't make any assumptions one way or the other. However, the church has a right to run their organization in the way they choose. It can feel crummy to be asked to resign a loved position, but these are the things we have to consider when we become a part of the organization.

How do you feel about this and what other choices, if any, do you see as available to you?

Thanks so much for stopping by and feel free to visit and post as much as you like.

Warmly,

Free

Anonymous said...

Hey Free

I haven't seen anyone post in awhile, I hope you're still here. I agree with alot you have to say about the matter. It is kinda frightening to think about, you know, the possible implications of the license(legally and especially spiritually) and the possible persecution that can come for not"submitting to the ordinance of the king" what a joke!

But anyway, I was wondering if you knew a way to get ahold of one of those christian marriage sovereignty books without going through the SEDM website. The terms and conditions agreement just seemed to legal and worldly to me. I appreciate your assistance

God bless
KJ