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5 Reasons Why Christians Should Not Obtain a State Marriage License
by Pastor Matt Trewhella
Every year thousands of Christians amble down to their local county
courthouse and obtain a marriage license from the State in order to
marry their future spouse. They do this unquestioningly. They do it
because their pastor has told them to go get one, and besides,
"everybody else gets one." This pamphlet attempts to answer the question
- why should we not get one?
1. The definition of a "license" demands that we not obtain one to
marry. Black’s Law Dictionary defines "license" as, "The permission by
competent authority to do an act which without such permission, would be
illegal." We need to ask ourselves- why should it be illegal to marry
without the State’s permission? More importantly, why should we need the
State’s permission to participate in something which God instituted
(Gen. 2:18-24)? We should not need the State’s permission to marry nor
should we grovel before state officials to seek it. What if you apply
and the State says "no"? You must understand that the authority to
license implies the power to prohibit. A license by definition "confers
a right" to do something. The State cannot grant the right to marry. It
is a God-given right.
2. When you marry with a marriage license, you grant the State
jurisdiction over your marriage. When you marry with a marriage license,
your marriage is a creature of the State. It is a corporation of the
State! Therefore, they have jurisdiction over your marriage including
the fruit to of your marriage. What is the fruit of your marriage? Your
children and every piece of property you own. There is plenty of case
law in American jurisprudence which declares this to be true.
In 1993, parents were upset here in Wisconsin because a test was being
administered to their children in the government schools which was very
invasive of the family’s privacy. When parents complained, they were
shocked by the school bureaucrats who informed them that their children
were required to take the test by law and that they would have to take
the test because they (the government school) had jurisdiction over
their children. When parents asked the bureaucrats what gave them
jurisdiction, the bureaucrats answered, "your marriage license and their
birth certificates." Judicially, and in increasing fashion, practically,
your state marriage license has far-reaching implications.
3. When you marry with a marriage license, you place yourself under a
body of law which is immoral. By obtaining a marriage license, you place
yourself under the jurisdiction of Family Court which is governed by
unbiblical and immoral laws. Under these laws, you can divorce for any
reason. Often, the courts side with the spouse who is in rebellion to
God, and castigates the spouse who remains faithful by ordering him or
her not to speak about the Bible or other matters of faith when present
with the children.
As a minister, I cannot in good conscience perform a marriage which
would place people under this immoral body of laws. I also cannot marry
someone with a marriage license because to do so I have to act as an
agent of the State! I would have to sign the marriage license, and I
would have to mail it into the State. Given the State’s demand to usurp
the place of God and family regarding marriage, and given it’s
unbiblical, immoral laws to govern marriage, it would be an act of
treason for me to do so.
4 . The marriage license invades and removes God-given parental
authority. When you read the Bible, you see that God intended for
children to have their father’s blessing regarding whom they married.
Daughters were to be given in marriage by their fathers (Dt. 22:16; Ex.
22:17; I Cor. 7:38). We have a vestige of this in our culture today in
that the father takes his daughter to the front of the altar and the
minister asks, "Who gives this woman to be married to this man?"
Historically, there was no requirement to obtain a marriage license in
colonial America. When you read the laws of the colonies and then the
states, you see only two requirements for marriage. First, you had to
obtain your parents permission to marry, and second, you had to post
public notice of the marriage 5-15 days before the ceremony.
Notice you had to obtain your parents permission. Back then you saw
godly government displayed in that the State recognize the parents
authority by demanding that the parents permission be obtained. Today,
the all-encompassing ungodly State demands that their permission be
obtained to marry.
By issuing marriage licenses, the State is saying, "You don’t need your
parents permission, you need our permission." If parents are opposed to
their child’s marrying a certain person and refuse to give their
permission, the child can do an end run around the parents authority by
obtaining the State’s permission, and marry anyway. This is an invasion
and removal of God-given parental authority by the State.
5. When you marry with a marriage license, you are like a polygamist.
From the State’s point of view, when you marry with a marriage license,
you are not just marrying your spouse, but you are also marrying the State.
The most blatant declaration of this fact that I have ever found is a
brochure entitled "With This Ring I Thee Wed." It is found in county
courthouses across Ohio where people go to obtain their marriage
licenses. It is published by the Ohio State Bar Association. The opening
paragraph under the subtitle "Marriage Vows" states, "Actually, when you
repeat your marriage vows you enter into a legal contract. There are
three parties to that contract. 1.You; 2. Your husband or wife, as the
case may be; and 3. the State of Ohio."
See, the State and the lawyers know that when you marry with a marriage
license, you are not just marrying your spouse, you are marrying the
State! You are like a polygamist! You are not just making a vow to your
spouse, but you are making a vow to the State and your spouse. You are
also giving undue jurisdiction to the State.
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