"Conversations with God" would better be titled "metaphysical masturbation..." since it's basically just some guy talking to himself and telling himself what he wants to hear.

Anyhooo.... marriage can be either a religious institution, purely legal or a mixture of both.

As for God accepting us the way we are.. well, sure. But the heart of the teachings of Christ and God's other messengers isn't "Hey, God accepts you... so, sit around and feel good about yourself."

No, the messengers all call for repentance, change, sacrifice.

One of the most profound statments I've seen in summing this up was posted by somebody in another debate forum. It went like this:

"God loves you just the way you are, but He also loves you too much to let you simply stay that way."