Marriage, Braveheart Style

Remember in the movie "Braveheart", where William Wallace and his young love were married in a clandestine, late-night ceremony, involving only themselves and a clergyman?

Wallace wasn't about to abide by the laws of the land, which at that time meant that the English lord (read: leader of the occupying army) got to have sex with his bride on the first night of their marriage. So, Wallace and his fiance snuck into the forest late one night, and met a priest who prayed a private blessing on their marriage, in the eyes of God.

"Legally", they weren't recognized as being married, because the law of the land was abhorrent to them, and Wallace wasn't about to agree to stand by and watch his bride get raped on her wedding night. At the same time, it was important to them that God -- as represented by the priest -- gave His blessing on their marriage.

One of my profs at Providence Seminary had an interesting idea this semester:

"If 'gay marriage' is such a threat, and the churches are afraid of being eventually forced to marry people against their beliefs and conscience, why don't we beat the courts to the cake, and get the church out of the 'marriage business'?

"We talk about being 'legally' married, but that means getting the state's blessing, not the church's. Maybe the real reason people are afraid of being forced to marry same-sex couples is because churches have already allowed the state to dictate the norms of marriage to the church.

"What if churches stopped getting licensed to perform marriages, and simply had wedding celebrations to bless, in God's name, couples that wish to commit their lives to each other? If they also want the state's recognition of their marriage, for legal purposes, they can get that at a local J.P..."

What do you think? Let the revolution begin?