Radix Fidem and Weddings

I’ve said this before: We are the New Israel, not the Old Israel. Some of what the Old Testament commands is not valid in Christ. Fortunately, Jesus and His Apostles did a fairly good job of helping us understand the difference. For example, the single biggest item is the entire body of OT ritual law. It’s dead. The symbolism still matters, but we are not bound by that stuff.

Short answer: I do not recommend any kind of ceremony for weddings. In moral terms, there is one core issue — Your faith and obedience to Christ and His Covenant. The second issue should be obvious. However much of a community you belong to needs to know who is being joined in matrimony. They are the only ones who might really care enough to lend any kind of support. In general, I do not officiate at weddings any more, except as community leader acting as close as possible to a tribal elder and/or priest.

1. It is flatly illegal to attempt to reconstruct an Ancient Near Eastern tribal feudal society. You might get away with some elements of it in private, but no government these days will take it seriously. So your tribe cannot be your government, and the secular government will darn sure stick its nose in your private business. Even if you hate that, you still have to account for it.

2. Most churches, those based on any religious organization or institution that arose after AD 300, are compromised with pagan/secular government. Yes, an organized church may still be useful, but it does not represent what God had in mind. Thus, when it comes to weddings, the business of officiating and blessing means nothing. It does not represent Scripture nor the will of God. When churches start toeing the line on Biblical Law, then we’ll talk.

3. Society at large is approximately as hostile as government to any tribal feudal social structure. If you really feel obliged to take non-covenant society seriously for any reason, then you must accommodate their expectations in some way. A wedding ceremony will mean something to them.

But a wedding ceremony means nothing to God, nor do rings and vows. His attitude has always been that you should do what it takes for you to get your head in the right place. That’s what rituals do; the ritual itself means nothing otherwise. So I let the couples decide what they want and try to accommodate according to my own conscience. Personally, I do not recommend a church wedding. I recommend that you give consideration to the implications of secular law and act according to your conscience.

I see nothing wrong with a secular ceremony for the sake of the state. It’s okay to have a church wedding if you need the support of that community. With neither of these would you get my involvement. There are plenty who will do that for you. What I will do is ensure I feel comfortable getting involved in a private faith ceremony, by discussing it with the couple and everyone else who should and does have an interest in how the marriage turns out. The ceremony is just a public announcement to what society needs to know.