[kidd]

It seems to me that separating the legal element from the ecclesiastical element would be in line with rendering unto Caesar that which is Caesar's and unto God that which is God's

This works both ways. Kind of difficult to avoid interacting with "Caesar" unless you're completely off the grid. Jesus wasn't advocating living off the grid either...he was cleverly avoiding a trap that questioner was trying to set; establishing how one can live as a Godly person in a government ran by men.

See Post #19.

Without a civil marriage license you have to hope your spouse has a will for themselves, never has to be put on life support, or never commits a crime that you know about.

[Pecos]

Oh, I understood the trap. Jesus was advocating that people pay their Roman taxes, but that a person's heart belonged to God. A godly person can get a civil marriage and also have a religious ceremony, as proven in many countries that do not recognize a religious ceremony for legal purposes, like France.

As an aside, I know that France's anti-clerical stance was big during Napoleon's rein. Has it continued, from a legal stance, ever since, or was their a period in which that was reversed? Anyone out there know for sure?