That's because I find no biblical mandate whatsoever that a church has any binding or authority in a marriage...The only evidence in the New Testament in the church age of a marriage taking place is the consummation of the marriage...
There's nothing magical about your religion that makes a marriage valid or not valid...If there was, it would mean the marriage was ordained Spiritually and there would be no room for a Spiritual mistake, ergo, anulment...
Iscool:
So where do you find it in the Bible that says the “Secular State has authority over Marriage” Cleary ST. Paul speaks of Christ love for the Church using the image of spousal love. For example, in 2 Cor 11: 2-3 he states “I feel a divine jealousy for you for I betrothed you to CHrist to present you as a pure bride to her one husband. In his Epistle to the Ephesians, St. Paul clearly speaks of marital love using Christ’s love for the Church. He in know way uses “secular law and a man and a woman going to the government to get a legal marriage license” (cf Ephesians 5:21-31). Jesus first miracle was performed, at the request of his Mother Mary, at the Wedding feast at Canna where water is transformed into wine (cf. John 2:2-11). Wine here prefigures Christ in many ways, including the Eucharist {See Mt, Mk and Luke Last Supper narratives and St. Paul in 1 Corinthians 10:16), joys of marital love (Song of Songs 1:2; 4:10) and it prefigures the wedding banquet in heaven foretold in the Book of Revelation 19:7-9 and the New heaven and new earth again foretold in the book of Revelation 21:2-3 again using the image of spousal love of a groom and a bride.
In summary, while it is obvious I don’t share the same theology on many questions and issues with you [Authority, Justification, sacraments, etc], one would think given the use of marriage in the Bible in so many contexts to describe God’s love for the Church, etc, one would think your theology of Marriage would be rooted in these scriptural texts [which the Catholic Church’s Sacramental Theology of Marriage is rooted in] rather than being rooted in “secular law.” In fact, I am totally surprised by your marriage theology or more so, your lack of a biblically based marriage theology and find it again totally rooted in secular law and the court system.