tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5331156725554508589.post660434721924098743..comments2023-10-04T05:09:54.848-05:00Comments on Contra Mundum: James Bannerman on the State's Duty to Defend MarriageAndyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02908788730958708701noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5331156725554508589.post-34976675731264640012014-09-16T13:31:39.310-05:002014-09-16T13:31:39.310-05:00I am reading Bannerman for the st time, so there i...I am reading Bannerman for the st time, so there is a lot to digest. It is important to remember that he is Scottish and the ties between Church and State are closer than ours are here in the US. This quote is a small paragraph in a very long section on the relation of the Church and State. I posted this mainly because I was intrigued by his argument on a subject that Americans tend to flat ignore. <br /><br />I do agree with you on the problem of us (i.e., the Church) having abdicated our role in the transition of marriage from a religious to a civil institution. It galls me to the nth degree every time I hear a minister say, "By the power vested in me by the state of ______," as if marriage were an invention of the State.Andyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02908788730958708701noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5331156725554508589.post-48187624263399366812014-09-16T12:21:23.545-05:002014-09-16T12:21:23.545-05:00The only biblical reference to government involvem...The only biblical reference to government involvement in marriage is in Ruth 4, where Boaz INFORMS the town elders of his marriage contract with Ruth. Therefore, the role of government is included in its responsibility for the enforcement of contracts. The problem has come because of the passivity of Christians in allowing the government to move marriage from a religious institution to a civil one, which, I am sad to say, seems to be the position of Bannerman. If we hadn't given the government the power to DEFINE marriage, then it wouldn't have the power to REDEFINE it. Now, the belayed effort of Christians to stave off the collapse of the institution has become an application of salvation by government, i. e., law. Where were all these champions of marriage as the divorce rate has skyrocketed? There is the actual destruction of marriages, yet the church has been silent. I am not at all sympathetic to the conservatives who NOW have suddenly become champions of marriage.Chris Colehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08235793234791146943noreply@blogger.com