Saying the government has been involved in marriage for “more than 2,000 years” is like saying the DMV has been around since the invention of the wheel. No, not even close. For most of history, governments weren’t running the marriage counter at all. They might have recorded who was married—like you might write down who owns which cow—but they didn’t create, define, or preside over marriage.
Civil governments didn’t start inserting themselves into the actual regulation of marriage until much later, often for reasons like controlling property, inheritance, and—let’s be honest—tax revenue. In the United States, the real intrusion didn’t ramp up until the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and even then it was often more about social engineering than biblical principles.
So no, the state hasn’t been the matchmaker for two millennia. They’ve been more like the nosy neighbor who wandered into the backyard wedding, grabbed the guest book, and started telling everyone where to sit. Marriage is God’s institution, and history shows the state is the latecomer who thinks showing up to one party means they invented the whole thing.
Except, I didn't say they were a 'matchmaker,. I said they've been 'involved in'. Often under the same reasons you cite for 'regulation' - taxes, property, and inheritance.
You dismiss the earliest involvements because they aren't as destructive or intrusive as the West has been in the last 50 to 100 years. You even ignore the church's long secular regulation of marriages - including "proper" ways to have your marriage officiated, how to divide your estate to your heirs (only recognized if you were in the church, otherwise your assets were seized), and how much tithing you should render based on how much if God's blessing you received via sons.
Any of that sound familiar? It sounds like property, inheritance, and taxes to me. By a secular and (eventually) supranational government of corrupt men seeking power, money, and control no less.
We have been so far separated from the original natural, Godly concept of marriage that many "religious marriage only" notions still consider it only valid if a man pretending to be holy tells you it's so.
😂
Are you serious? Bro please tell me that was a typo and you're not that ignorant.
And what ignorance do you suggest I possess?
Saying the government has been involved in marriage for “more than 2,000 years” is like saying the DMV has been around since the invention of the wheel. No, not even close. For most of history, governments weren’t running the marriage counter at all. They might have recorded who was married—like you might write down who owns which cow—but they didn’t create, define, or preside over marriage.
Civil governments didn’t start inserting themselves into the actual regulation of marriage until much later, often for reasons like controlling property, inheritance, and—let’s be honest—tax revenue. In the United States, the real intrusion didn’t ramp up until the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and even then it was often more about social engineering than biblical principles.
So no, the state hasn’t been the matchmaker for two millennia. They’ve been more like the nosy neighbor who wandered into the backyard wedding, grabbed the guest book, and started telling everyone where to sit. Marriage is God’s institution, and history shows the state is the latecomer who thinks showing up to one party means they invented the whole thing.
Except, I didn't say they were a 'matchmaker,. I said they've been 'involved in'. Often under the same reasons you cite for 'regulation' - taxes, property, and inheritance.
You dismiss the earliest involvements because they aren't as destructive or intrusive as the West has been in the last 50 to 100 years. You even ignore the church's long secular regulation of marriages - including "proper" ways to have your marriage officiated, how to divide your estate to your heirs (only recognized if you were in the church, otherwise your assets were seized), and how much tithing you should render based on how much if God's blessing you received via sons.
Any of that sound familiar? It sounds like property, inheritance, and taxes to me. By a secular and (eventually) supranational government of corrupt men seeking power, money, and control no less.
We have been so far separated from the original natural, Godly concept of marriage that many "religious marriage only" notions still consider it only valid if a man pretending to be holy tells you it's so.