[TruthTalk] Marriage, divorce, remarriage, continued]

[Judy Taylor]

This is an interesting discussion - and an ongoing topic in Church circles. Slade, I appreciate your gentle spirit as well as the sincerity of Terry's desire to obey the Lord. I've had occasion to give this question a lot of prayer and thought since I have believing friends with broken marriages and I have walked through some of their anguish with them.  In these kinds of situations only that person can know how much they are able to endure and as Izzy's testimony demonstrates each individual is different.  What strengthens one may spiritually annihilate another and Court TV confirms that some women stay in these situations for too long eventually losing their physical life.  Jesus does not extinguish a flickering wick and neither should we (the Church).  Jesus told his questioners that God gave his Old Covenant people a bill of divorcement under the Law of Moses because of the hardness of men's hearts and sadly not a whole lot has changed since then. As for the wayward women Jesus gave the woman caught in the act of adultery opportunity to repent.  Presently I have a well meaning but misguided friend with a daughter whose husband has left her for another woman; it is a sad situation as there are two children involved and these are professing Christians.  The husband just gave the other woman and engagement ring and the daughter is involved in an adulterous affair - My friend believes this is all wrong and she is interceding for this fellow and praying for her daughter's marriage to be restored.  What about this??  judyt The abusers in the Community of Faith really love this [i.e, "I see no scriptural backing for �emotional damage"] because they can terrorize their families and belittle their wives and they [the family] must submit to it since we no longer live in a nation where we can take the abusive husband/father to the elders in the community for judgment and possible expulsion from the Community for his behavior.   This concept of "legal separation" is unbiblical if taken too far and too long. A man is to leave his wife and give her a Get (bill of divorcement) so that she's free to find another source of comfort. Legal separation merely enslaves the person to a failed marriage.   By hard-lining yourselves against divorce, you make divorce/remarriage the unforgivable sin. What do you do with someone who divorced after their acceptance of the gift of Eternal Life via Messiah yet remarried? Do you throw them out of your church? Some do. Do you banish them to Hell? Some do. Do you belittle them, say harsh things against them, and embarrass them by using them as an example of aberrant behavior? Most do. What do you tell a woman who is battered? Stay with him... just have him arrested and jailed for 10-15 years so she can be miserable, lonely, and a single parent?   I take a bit gentler stance with divorce. However, if I divorce my wife in order to marry someone else, it is disgusting and this leads to adultery.   -- slade   Have you really considered the words of our Savior recorded in Matthew 5:32 Slade?  Jesus did not speak simply to make noise.  His instructions are not to be ignored, or discounted, or modified.  He means exactly what He says.  His sheep hear His voice, and obey.  We have no choice but to live as He instructs us to live.  We must have a hard line against divorce, simply because our God has a hard line against divorce.  That does not make us callous or uncaring or cruel.  It makes us obedient. I hope you can see that. Terry