Which is another good point..what IS the reasoning ?
Some brethren, myself included, are against licensing (aka 'permission') because marriage belongs to God and HE is the one who gives man 'right' to marry. Its like giving our right to breath air over to the government. That is God given and cannot be revoked by man in the way government has overstepped its authority as they have.
That said, we do have a license, not to define our marriage, but simply because we know the protections it offers. My wife cannot get my death benefits in case I die without it.
Because of the way our legal system is set up a marriage license is the only way to really protect our spouse when we die, and for that reason we should have the license as the law currently stands.
Of course, there may come a point where its just not worth it to have one and we'll have to take a stand of some sort.
If a man and woman dont want a license because they dont want to give their marriage over to the government, more power to them. But if its just to make an easy getaway in case things dont work out, then they really need to re-examine their reasons for being with this person to begin with.
Sad thing is that a marriage license, in the end, doesnt do any good for those marriages where its doomed to failure.
They dont stop anyone from cheating.
They dont stop the spouse from leaving.
The dont stop them from moving in with someone else.
For those marriages where both are honorable people, a license is a very good tool for insuring the protection of our spouse.
For those marriages where one person has a treacherous heart, the license becomes a noose around the neck of the other spouse because it causes them to have to spend money they often dont having trying to break free of this person bent on tearing them down.
Frankly Im all for easy divorce where one person wants to leave.
Paul himself concurs in 1 Cor 7.
*IF* the unbeliever leaves....LET THEM LEAVE....we as believers are called to peace and have no authority to fight them in the matter.
Letting them leave means allowing them to divorce or depart the marriage unhindered.
The alternative is to fight them and make a huge mess of things and make us as believers seem to be more hostile than we ought to be.
If the unbeliever wishes to depart the marriage, we let them. WE are called to live in peace.
In both of my previous marriages it became clear that all my fighting against my ex's was in vain. They wanted out of the marriage and there was nothing I could do to change their hearts. I finally, after fighting them and trying to save the marriage, had to do what PAUL tells us to do....let them depart. (course, I got stuck with the tab)
Absolutely agree.
My wedding was less than $300 and we had it in a big church. Just kept it simple.
Or even in a back yard, your house, a park, etc....