My understanding is Stanley was not the one who sought this and in fact did much to prevent his wife from leaving....years later even family members admitted that “something” changed her and why Stanley sought counsel for them both many times.
HE had done everything humanly possible to save that union..but as is said...if the unbelieving depart let them depart, a sister or brother is not in bondage in such cases....and he never did remarry.
He did not put such qualifications on his remarks.
So what does the Bible say about divorce? The Old Testament allowed the Jews to divorce, or so they thought.
But Jesus brought out a new—actually old— command: No divorce.
Some say infidelity is the only reason you can get a divorce. Others, like the Catholics, forbid it, and thus have to have the marriage declared false, through the technical mumbo-jumbo logic of annulment, even though every one saw the marriage performed, and the husband and wife, now joined as one person, may have consummated it. So if a priest or minister says, Under the power of God, you are NOW married, can another man or men simply take that away?
Jesus says marriage is for your entire life.
To most folks, Divorce is okay for wide variety of reasons. I’ve seen pastors tell abused women to seek a divorce. I do believe they’re not following the Bible, and especially Jesus’s commentary on the Bible—or Scripture of His day—in regards to divorce.
It’s a huge theological trap-hole for those who profess to follow the Bible to the letter.
The best thing the senior Stanley can do is remain celebrate until death.