Render Unto Gay Marriage: Caesar's what is Caesar's, and unto God, what is God's (legal, state)

[VTHokieFan]

There are (loosely) two marriages in this country: legal marriage and religious ceremonies.

Where then, is the theological basis for preventing gays from marrying at a civil, legal level?

I was taught that this quote provided (1) the theological establishment of the lawful authority of the state and (2) the separation of the Laws of God from the Laws of Man in certain realms exist.

If no one's forcing religious instutions to wed homosexual couples, I don't understand why we can't have gay civil marriage in this country, that gays get the legal rights.

It's like women becoming priests, they have the right to undergo a ceremony ordaining themselves under our Constitution, where the Church has the right to not recognize them at all.

[VTHokieFan]

I really messed up the title of this thread: oh well.

[ovcatto]

Oh, this will be a quiet thread...

Nicely thought out proposition though.

[h0tmess]

That's the problem. People scream and shout about religion how it's against God and blah blah blah -- well that's fine! But if 2 men or women would like a legal document + a ceremony in a public place or rent out a hall or a nonreligious wedding chapel, then there's really nothing religious about it.. So how can they get upset? Well, they do. It's really stupid.

The only thing I wouldn't support is a law FORCING churches and places of worship to perform same sex weddings. They have their beliefs and we shouldn't tell them how to run their church. This is coming from someone who is very anti-religion, too.