Posted on 01/04/2005 12:24:26 PM PST by Keyes2000mt
The words were said countless thousands of times last year as a minister concluded the ceremony. "What God hath joined together, let no man put asunder." But so often man and woman do.
While gay marriage has been roundly condemned in most churches (and rightly so), you will not hear much about divorce. In many cases, if divorce is discussed in church, it's talked about as this horrible circumstance that comes upon people, listed in the same breath as automobile accidents or serious illnesses.
The Bible is quite clear on the issue of divorce. Malachi 2:16 says it clearly, "For the LORD, the God of Israel, saith that He hateth putting away (i.e. Divorce)..." Hate's a strong word and Christ reiterates this in the New Testament. Yet, in the church, even in Conservative churches, a man is more likely to feel uncomfortable with pierced ear than with a couple divorces behind him.
There's good reason why the church and conservatives are skittish about this topic. There's no one who doesn't know someone who's been divorced. They fill our church pews every Sunday. We know them to be decent folks who agree with us on a lot of cultural issues. Randall Terry, Newt Gingrich, and Rush Limbaugh have all been divorced.
We also know folks who have been victimized by their ex-spouse: abused, cheated on, and treated like dirt. Or, perhaps you dear reader have had a divorce where you weren't at fault and that you didn't choose.
On the other hand, most Christians know very few homosexuals and even less know homosexuals who'd like to get married. The odds of a pastor offending a large tither whose gay and wants to get married is quite small.
To say our current divorce rate is a national sin is not to say that all divorcees are to be condemned and treated as despicable outcasts. The church should be compassionate, but even as Christ said, "Go and sin no more," It must be proactive in dealing with divorce.
Divorce must be taught against strongly in the church. The church as a community should be dedicated to helping preserve the marriages of the church. Strengthening the marriages of believers should be considered as important if not more so than evangelism. Children of broken homes often wander spiritually and in many cases fall from faith. Thus, a large church may win 100 converts, but if it produces 40 broken homes in the same year that leads to 100 angry and embittered children, it is not truly building the Kingdom of God.
Also, church discipline should be used when appropriate for those who divorce without just cause and refuse reconciliation efforts. Watching Cornerstone Television, I saw former NFL player and Pastor of Antioch Bible Church Ken Hutcherson. He organized the Mayday for Marriage rally in Washington, DC opposing gay marriage. Call him anything you like, but don't call him a gay-hating hypocrite. Hutcherson said that in the past year, he'd censured five members of the church, including some for ending marriages without just cause.
The structure of most Protestant Churches is anti-authoritarian and the idea of church discipline is scary to most of us as we've heard horror stories about how cults have abused it. However, desperate times call for desperate measures and a biblical use of church discipline could aid in preserving marriages.
Secular Action
The devastating number of divorces is an area where the interests of church and state collide. Studies have shown that divorces lead to economic problems for states and communities, as well as the long term problems that come from children of broken marriages. It's no accident that the richest states are those with the lowest divorce rates.
The fact is that anyone who finds themselves in a bad marriage made a mistake at one time or another. Half the time, their biggest mistake was getting married in the first place. To prevent these bad matches or to help get the marriage off on a better start, marrying couples should be required to undergo several hours of marriage classes and/or marital counseling from a licensed minister or marriage counselor.
Secondly, no-fault divorce laws must be reformed. Marriage is the most important relationship a person has legally, yet it has all the force and effect of a month-to-month lease thanks to no-fault divorce laws. The laws should be reformed so a no-fault divorce can only be obtained if both parties consent. This would also reduce the court costs associated with issues of custody and division of the property as a no-fault divorce could only be obtained if both parties were agreed on it.
Those who believe in gay marriage have pointed to divorce as an argument against those who seek to protect marriage from same sex unions. I reject the argument that one evil prospering requires that we allow another blow to traditional family values. However, preserving the family is about more than one single issue and if we're going to be serious about it, we have to address all the issues that threaten the survival of the Family.
bttt for later read.
And when I was, I was staring at bones all day, not rocks.
"Putting away" a wife is NOT the same thing as a modern day divorce.
I couldn't agree with you more.
I went through the Catholic Church pre-Cana sessions in 1980 and it was a total waste of time........especially since I decided not to marry the guy after all :)
Petrified bones are rocks my lovely tattoed heavy drinker.
You can't possibly be that naive, can you?????
God in all his love, power and mercy could never possibly have restored any love in me for my ex-husband. Even God understands there are circumstances under which no one should be subjected to live.
Depends on the church!
Divorce outside of what the Bible allows is wrong.
I do think we in the Church tend to avoid discussing it for fear of "offending" other people. But like most moral issues it's laid out pretty clearly in the Bible.
Divorce is nearly as bad as homomarriage, IMNSHO.
Oh please.
And I thought you meant rocks rocks as in a geologist.
So is spousal abuse.
I don't know about your God, but my God blessed me with the common sense to get out of a bad marriage and save my life.
Just my own opinion but if I had to rate those on a scale from bad to worse, it'd go like this: divorcees, practicing homosexuals, adulterers (cheating spouses and promiscuous single people).
hey, why you picking on promiscuous single people?! This is a divirce thread!
I thought we were all sinners...isn't that why Jesus died for us?
Just happened to scroll past #240 and an urge to rank the list hit.
I guess by saying promiscuity is wrong that might "offend" a lot of folks too. Ah well. Can't say I was the one who set the moral code. :-)
I try not to speak in generalities, because they don't apply in all cases. Off the top of my head I can think of 5 cases that defy the generalities you speak of.
Of my male gay friends, not a one of them was molested as a child, and most of them all have siblings of both sexes who are not homosexual. And my gay female friends all had 2 parent families and have both brothers and sisters who are not gay.
"Amen to all you said. I was told the same thing by "Christians" while my ex-husband was knocking me around. I left anyhow. This was back in the '70s when it wasn't a topic people discussed. I left the SOB anyhow, and my name was/is Mud because of it."
Please don't think I'm trying to sit in judgement on anyone, but to comment in a general way, it seems to me that where a husband is beating his wife the men of the church should be giving him an attitude adjustment. In some cases, at least, that might work.
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