Comment on Love Wins by cosmicspark

"Marriages in the West were originally contracts between the families of two partners, with the Catholic Church and the state staying out of it. In 1215, the Catholic Church decreed that partners had to publicly post banns, or notices of an impending marriage in a local parish, to cut down on the frequency of invalid marriages (the Church eliminated that requirement in the 1980s). Still, until the 1500s, the Church accepted a couple's word that they had exchanged marriage vows, with no witnesses or corroborating evidence needed."

-www.livescience.com/37777-hist…

What the Bible says is just as irrelevant as what the Koran says or any other random religious text.  If marriage was based on the Bible, then polygamy would be legal everywhere. Men would have as many wives as they could afford (because women are property).

"You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor."
-Exodus 20:17

Women are property - like a house, a slave, or a donkey (notice the mention of slaves, or servants, which is also sanctioned by your friendly neighborhood war god Yahweh)

"If a man who has married a slave wife takes another wife for himself, he must not neglect the rights of the first wife to food, clothing, and sexual intimacy."
-Exodus 21:10

It is assumed by Yahweh in his law decrees that men will marry many wives.  He says "no problemo! just don't neglect the first wife!"


So we learn from this that not only "should" marriage not be based on the church, the bible, or anything religious but more importantly it "isn't" based on the church or marriage.  If it was, we would have polygamy.