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From: jhpb@granjon.garage.att.com
Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian
Subject: Re: divorce and remarriage
Message-ID: <Oct.30.00.28.07.1990.7889@athos.rutgers.edu>
Date: 30 Oct 90 05:28:47 GMT
Sender: hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu
Organization: AT&T Bell Labs (Liberty Corner)
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Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu


    I have a question regarding divorce and remarriage in the Bible. I have to
    lead a bible study on it and discovered a few things while preparing that
    I could use some help on. According to the old testament and Jesus' teaching
    in the New Testament, it seems as though it is acceptable to get a divorce
    as long as there is not a remarriage, otherwise the sin of adultery is being
    committed. I understand why it would be adultery. What I do not understand
    is, if I am reading it right, then why do so many churches allow a person
    to remarry and actually assist/perform the second marriage? Wouldn't the
    church then also be sinning by not only allowing the person to sin but also
    causing them to stumble? Or is this a case where society has accepted the
    idea of a second marriage and therefore the church has also? I hope we are
    not compromising the law.
    
I had a discussion with a Southern Baptist on this once.  It came down
to one passage:

	Whosoever shall put away his wife, except for fornication, maketh
	her to commit adultery, etc. (Mt. 5:32)

He defended this as permitting divorce and remarriage.  I thought this
indefensible in light of parallel passages (Mark 10:11, Luke 16:18, I
Cor. 7:39).

The Catholic teaching -- that one cannot remarry until the other person
dies -- has been such since the Fathers of the Church wrote on the
subject, starting in the 4th century or so.  Matthew 5:32 in particular
they explained as permitting a separation in the case of adultery, but
remarriage was forbidden.

That divorce/remarriage is so widespread in this country is due to the
Reformation; in places like Ireland it is still illegal, to the best of
my knowledge.  Once the historical precedent was established, it's
obviously hard to break, especially in something that is not always
easy.

Joe Buehler