Christian Opposition of Gay Marriage is Silly

Thank you, nleachman, for accepting my challenge. I will now present my arguments: 1. The federal and state governments are secular:The USA is not a theocracy, and neither are any of the states contained therein. Our governments are composed of humans. Many of these humans practice a variety of religions, while many are atheists or agnostics. These governments allow and/or license many things that Christians believe are "sinful" or wrong, including abortion, pornography, gambling, strip clubs, immodest dress, alcoholism, "pagan" religious gatherings, etc. Obviously, the government is not an agent of Biblical righteousness, nor does it claim to be. In fact, Constitutionally, our governments are not allowed to support any particular religion. I think we all can agree that the federal and state governments are secular organizations, and are not "Godly" in the Biblical sense. 2. Christians are not to seek support from the unbelieving world. Notes in brackets [] are mine John 15:18-20 - “If the world hates you [Christians], you know that it hated Me [Jesus] before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you." John 17:14 - "I [Jesus] have given them [Christians] Your [God's] word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world." 1 John 3:13 - "Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you." 1 John 5:19 - "We [Christians] know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one." 2 Corinthians 6:14-17 - "Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you..." Galatians 1:10 "For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ." Colossians 3:1-2 - "If then you were araised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth." James 4:4 - "Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God." Matthew 5:11-12 - "Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you." John 18:36 - "Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence." Need I go on? It seems obvious to me from the Bible passages I've listed that Christians are meant to be independent from the world as much as possible. 3. Legal marriage is a secular institution:I have already established that the federal and state governments are secular and "of the world". Marriage licenses are granted and sold by this secular government, and the application process does not require a declaration of religion. Marriage licenses are granted based on nonreligious qualifications, with absolutely no regard for the applicant's religion or spiritual status. Non-Christians and nonreligious people are granted marriage licenses all the time. Having a marriage license does not magically make a person more religious or more Christian. All measurable benefits of having a marriage license are secular, including tax breaks, custody rights, insurance, and visitation rights. There is absolutely no Biblical basis for believing that a marriage license has anything to do with Christianity, nor for believing that only a certain group of people should be granted certain rights by the government on a religious basis. 4. Religious marriage can not be granted by the government: In the traditional Christian view of marriage, marriage is a sacred covenant in which God joins together a man and a woman for life. They believe that the bond transcends a physical union and takes place on a spiritual level. Is it possible for the government to step in, take God's place, and spiritually bond a couple together? Not according to the Bible. So then, where does the idea originate that the secular government's approval is needed for religious people to have a religious marriage in which God has bound them? Obviously, a religious marriage takes place outside of the sphere of human government and law. 5. Religious marriage is not threatened by secular marriage: Something I hear often from anti-gay-marriage Christians is, "It will destroy the sanctity of marriage." They never can explain how, though. There is nothing "sanctified" about non-Christian, nonreligious, secular marriage. Do Christians believe that a Satanist, Nazi, alcoholic, coke-addicted married couple have a "sanctified" marriage? How about your non-Christian next-door neighbors who think Christianity is a weird cult? Is their marriage sanctified? If not, what does it take to have a sanctified marriage? Apparently, it takes believing in God, at the least, and being a Bible-believing, Jesus-loving Christian at the most. How does anyone, be they gay, straight, Mormon, Satanist, black, white, or whatever, getting a marriage license and having a secular marriage threaten the sanctity of a Christian, God-created and God-sustained marriage? It doesn't. In fact, nothing but death can threaten such a union, since it supposedly takes place on a spiritual level, and perhaps not even death. Thank you again, nleachman, for joining me in this debate, and I eagerly await your arguments. Please remember that round 2 is for your arguments only, and save rebuttals for the following rounds.