Koehl on Marriage and the Church

Stuart Koehl, at First Things, suggests the Church should stop having anything to do with state marriage:

We are reverting to the pre-Constantinian situation, where the Church has no legal standing and its doctrines are considered to be private matters (when they are not considered to be seditious). The solution is a return to the pre-Constantinian practice of the Church in which a Church marriage is a purely sacramental matter, subject to the doctrine and disciplines of the Church, but without legal standing.

Worth reading the whole thing.

One reality that he did not cover; currently the Church requires us to get married civilly, but if it were to end that requirement, men would find themselves in a better situation. The divorce industry would be at a bit of a loss, given that they derive much of their power from turning the marriage contract into a tool of oppression in the courts.

Well, I'm hoping those that actually can change the procedure are reading First Things...