Re: [TruthTalk] Marriage, divorce, remarriage, continued

[Terry Clifton]

[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Well, I have to admit, I jsut learned something knew (to me).   The history on the death penalty for the Jewish people gives a meaningful perspective to the teaching of Jesus on the issue of divorce and remarriage.   Very interesting.   What about physical abuse.   You mary a man or a woman (depending, of course, as to whether you are a woman or a man  -- counter to popular opinion  --  and you "realize" that your new partner is physically abusive  -- perhaps dagerously so.   Don't get me wrong, here.   I am not arguing for any one point  -- just asking your opinion.  JD -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I don't think the Lord designed wives to be punching bags, but I cannot find anything definite concerning this situation in the Bible. Evidently it was not a big problem in Biblical times.  Women were less vocal and men were better behaved.  About the closest thing I could find was Paul's instructions to the Corinthians.  In Paul's day, you would say that a person like Bill Clinton had the morals of a Corinthian.  The Corinthian believers were former idol worshipers who committed adultery as part of their idol  worship .  One temple there had a thousand priestesses who were nothing more than temple prostitutes. These people, like all people, were saved one at a time.  Some whole families would be saved, but others would not.  It would not be unusual for a wife to turn to Christ while her husband chose to keep worshiping where the prostitutes were.  The result was a marriage where one spouse was saved and one was lost.  Paul addresses just such a situation in 1 Cor. 7:12-16.  He basically says that if you can live together and get along, do it, but if the unbeliever won't stay with a Christian, let him or her hit the road.  Then Paul says something that I do not understand completely and can only guess at.  He says that the believer is not under bondage in this situation.  Some very prominent pastors have said that this meant that the believer is free to divorce and remarry, but I cannot accept that as it would directly  contradict what Jesus taught in Matt. 5:32.   I assume that it means rather that the believer is free to divorce, but not to remarry and live in adultery.  I also assume that the same thing would apply to a spouse who had withstood all the abuse they could take. Waddayathink? Terry