Gays and marriage

[frpeter]

Actually, this is not true. I think most protestants would argue
strongly against this idea, because it implies that marriage
was created by the Church, mediated by the Church, and therefore
could be tied to one denomination. "Only a marriage performed
by our church is valid"

The context of this is when marriage required licenses, which didn't occur until the Roman empire. Before that, no license was needed and "marriage" was religious in nature by historical evidence. To the Roman Empire, no marriage was valid, only "civil unions". The historical context shows that a marriage was more like a contract then anything else.

Modern day church ideaology really has no bearing on the fundamental flaws that were created by the Roman Empire that modern day marriages have inheirited.