Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!swrinde!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!julius.cs.uiuc.edu!psuvax1!rutgers!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!christian From: brendan@batserver.cs.uq.oz.au (Brendan Mahony) Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian Subject: Re: divorce and remarriage Message-ID: Date: 9 Nov 90 05:30:34 GMT Sender: hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu Lines: 67 Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu dhosek@lucy.claremont.edu (Hosek, Donald A.) writes: >Jesus said, "Man was not made for the Sabbath, the Sabbath was made for Man." >(Mk 2:28 or somewhere thereabouts). >The same applies for the whole of any law; it was made for us not we for it. The point of this statement is that we should understand that God's Laws have a purpose which will bring benefit to those who obey them. The Sabbath is constituted so that each person might have time for rest and reflective prayer. Thus as long as we ensure we have this we are obeying the purpose of the Sabbath, even if we occasionally shift the observance around to suit other purposes. I think the problem with applying this line of reasoning to marriage is the vast variety of perceived purposes to marriage. The purpose stated in Genesis is that people have a suitable companion for their life. Then the man said, "At last here is one of my own kind- Bone taken from my bone, and flesh from my flesh. ... " That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united with his wife and they become one. >But what about the people who feel trapped in a bad marriage >because of church strictures on divorce? The fact of reality is >that people make mistakes. But God does not, no matter how harsh the burden may seem. God has created your spouse, bone from your bone, flesh from your flesh. The purpose of marriage is to formally recognise the unity bestowed by God on two people. The marriage is not the point, but rather the unity itself. And so to What God has joined let no man put assunder. which tells us that the unity bestowed by God is life long. Thus arguments about bad marriages miss the point, whilst >I'm not exactly convinced that the church's laws regarding >annullment are the best approach to the problem, but they do go >some distance to address the issue. arguments about non-marriages go directly to the point. The ceremony does not a sacred marriage make. The marriage does not exist if spouses enter the ceremony with evil intent. You may be married without the ceremony, and unmarried even with it. >And we should remember that we are called to forgive others. Yes, but not to encourage them to refuse the service asked of them by God. >However, we are still faced with the >reluctance of the church to allow remarriage, It is not a matter of any reluctance, it is a matter of inability. The church could sit around pretending that someone has remarried till it is blue in the face and it would not change the fact that the true marriage, conceived and consecrated by God is to the true spouse. Christ has specifically stated that we do not have the power to second call God on this matter. -- Brendan Mahony | brendan@batserver.cs.uq.oz Department of Computer Science | heretic: someone who disgrees with you University of Queensland | about something neither of you knows Australia | anything about.