Love and marriage

[Sanford Levinson]

What follows is a genuine question and not an argument:

I was under the impression that one of the breakthroughs of at least one
version of the Protestant reformation was the critique of the Catholic view
of marriage as a sacrament and the replacement of a view that was at once
more contractual *and* more focused on whether or not genuine love exists
between the parties.  I may be overestimating the importance of John Milton
here.  It seems to me that beneath Rick Duncan's postings lurks a view that
the Catholic Church might have been right after all in its view of marriage.
At the very least, it seems that Rick's view plays down the importance of
love in marriage.  Obviously, he (and others) make very important points
about the consequences for easy divorce upon children.  Maybe the state does
have a role to play in monitoring such divorces.  But why should the state
not stick with no-fault divorce in the case at least of childless couples
(or where the children are grown up), simply on the grounds that people who
no longer love each other should not be forced to remain together?

Sandy Levinson