What Is Marriage?

Well, it’s time to get back to work. I got out of the hospital yesterday. Now my illness is primarily from watching the news.

I just saw a clergyman claim that god defined marriage for us. It may make him feel good to spout such nonsense, but it’s still nonsense.

It amazes me that people are so ready to fight to the death based on such obvious ignorance. Is marriage strictly the purview of god? Not really.

While some refuse to accept same-sex marriage under any circumstances, others are so willing, if only they are called civil unions. Someway, that is supposed to make a difference.

The first question that comes to mind is: were Adam and Eve married? Who cares?

It may seem difficult for some to understand but there are other sources of information on a large variety of subjects that are not the Bible. Sorry, but I had no idea how to break it gently.

Marriage is mentioned, praised, cursed, described and otherwise cited in many, many sources. There are law books that speak to it. They also cover divorce.

There are magazines from which you can select your victim for god’s holy institution from a bevy of wannabe American citizens living in the Philippines, or perhaps even some atheists in the Ukraine.

I was wondering how god, the Christian one, obviously, was able to get people of other religions and no religion to create this particular institution. They were able to do this even without access to the holy writ, or e-mail, or texting. God works in mysterious ways. From all of this, we must assume that god blesses even these unsolemnized unions.

So, just why is there such an institution? We don’t require the chanting of a holy incantation for the purchase of that new flat-screen television, a new computer or another mule. They are merely property. But, so, until recently, was a wife. While we engaged in a silly, expensive ritual only for one type of property, it still involved the acquisition of property.

Why the different treatment? Because the ownership of a crypto-human being is somewhat more complex and involves more people than that Lazy-Boy recliner.

Taking on that wife involves her family. It involves your extended family. It may involve a dowry.

While Best Buy and LG will forswear any connection with that flat-screen as soon as it is opportune, the connection of the young lady to her original family quite frequently remains strong. But, there are two unique, very special considerations that come with this type of property.

First, is the special consideration of the children. They are going to carry his name. He needs a way of assuring they are actually his. He must bind his new piece of property to himself as securely as possible. Making a public show, involving both families and the community, is all intended to put a very obvious brand on her. It is a way of getting the public involved in helping ensure his property isn’t tainted.

Then, there are the inheritances of the children. He certainly doesn’t want the bounty of his life to go to another man’s brood.

Back in the day, few people had any property of their own; not their shelter, not even their bed. They were serfs. It was the property of their lord. About the 13^th Century, serfdom was ending. People began to actually own a pitiful bit of property. Passing it around or down required records. The number of people involved required a more elaborate way of specifying who was doing the transferring. From this came the appearance of the surname.

The government needed to keep records. It needed to tax property of far more people than before. The church, really as part of the government, also began keeping vital records: births, marriages and deaths.

Oops. The creators of marriage forgot to let god define it for them. Really, it wouldn’t be fair to god to burden him with all of the details of property transfers.

Spouses are no longer considered property; at least for most Westerners. So, an important part of the original purpose of marriage no longer obtains. We have, however, complicated it in some ways. We now accept that rights and obligations are tied together.

Now, marriage is, in the minds of most of its participants, based on love, on caring for each other. This brings certain rights, such as making health decisions for your loved one. Since marriage is really a relationship recognized, facilitated and made official by government, the government must define marriage. It must define it as the people are actually involved in it. As our concept is one of government of, by and for the people, the government must address the needs and desires of the people involved in these relationships.

This is not a realm where the government rules. It is an area where the government must keep up with the society. There are property and other relationships that the government must be able to arbitrate, when necessary. It must recognize same-sex marriages for it to play its proper role.

It is strange that the most vociferous opponents of same-sex marriage want to discard and disregard matters that they claim to hold dear.

They claim to abhor the very thought of government intrusion in their lives. In fact, they only honor that idea when they see it as useful to their immediate goals. They also demand small government. Again, their adherence to that imperative is situational. In reality, these opponents are ignorant. They are bigots, liars and false in their claims of allegiance to Christianity.