tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5403232.post116308383068421339..comments2024-02-10T08:46:51.419-05:00Comments on Rude Armchair Theology: The tragedy of divorce and the protection of marriageMike Croghanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18099387827886541138noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5403232.post-1163831045989531832006-11-18T01:24:00.000-05:002006-11-18T01:24:00.000-05:00I know in Holland marriage is seen as a totally le...I know in Holland marriage is seen as a totally legal, court room thing - you get married in court. But after that you can choose to have a ceremony at a church, which is completely separate.<BR/><BR/>It makes sense to me that certain legal requirements need to be covered for a country to operate effectively. In South Africa a law was passed that anyone who had lived together for five years was seen as having a 'common law marriage' and had the same legal rights as someone who was 'officially' married. The legal implications around marriage are far reaching in terms of finances, wills, buying a house, sharing a bank account or credit card etc etc. In a country where one in four people is dying of Aids and a vast majority of people live together and never get 'officially/legally' married, one can imagine the necesity of a legal structure around all of this.<BR/><BR/>As Jayce from Rochester says, perhaps we need a separate legal system (not called 'marriage') that allows us to clarify these legal issues, and I like her idea that it doesn't need to be between two people... Perhaps that would resolve the whole gay marriage issue as well?!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5403232.post-1163691858613367982006-11-16T10:44:00.000-05:002006-11-16T10:44:00.000-05:00In my opinion, government should simply permit peo...In my opinion, government should simply permit people to set up partnerships: "I would like the following X people to have access to me in a hospital and I would like to be able to file my taxes jointly with those X people." Even "two" is irrelevant as far as the government is concerned, much less the gender of anyone involved.<BR/><BR/>The most disgusting phrase is "marriage contract" -- that you are obligated to love someone. Yuck. It smacks of the exact reason why [religious] marriage and [government] partnerships should be kept separate.Jayce from Rochesterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05766605787783546357noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5403232.post-1163468424279994452006-11-13T20:40:00.000-05:002006-11-13T20:40:00.000-05:00Great way to look at this issue. Thanks for the f...Great way to look at this issue. Thanks for the fresh insight.Ryanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08412077697834634427noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5403232.post-1163107888695064122006-11-09T16:31:00.000-05:002006-11-09T16:31:00.000-05:00Most excellent post.Most excellent post.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com