Posted on 08/06/2013 12:01:51 PM PDT by Morgana
August 6, 2013 (Breakpoint) - If I asked you to name the “hot button” social issues of concern to Christians, you’d probably cite abortion and gay marriage right away. Of course, the coarse and hyper-sexualized nature of popular culture might also come to mind.
But what probably wouldn’t come to mind is the high incidence of divorce. Given the clear biblical teaching on the subject and its impact on families and children, that is, to put it mildly, more than a little odd.
Actually, as one Christian leader rightly puts it, our lack of attention to the subject is a “scandal.”
That leader is Albert Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville. I recently came across a three-year-old podcast—better late than never, especially in this case—in which he labeled our indifference to divorce “the scandal of the Evangelical conscience.”
The podcast began with an interview of Mark A. Smith, a political scientist at the University of Washington. Smith had recently written a paper entitled “Religion, Divorce, and the Missing Culture War in America.”
As Smith studied the culture wars across the U.S., he was struck by the issue that was conspicuous by its absence: namely divorce.
For instance, during its existence, the Moral Majority “mobilized and lobbied on many political issues, including abortion, pornography, gay rights, school prayer . . . and sex education in schools.” In contrast, divorce ranked “so low on the group’s agenda that books on the Moral Majority do not even give the issue an entry in the index.”
This makes no sense. As Smith noted, “from the standpoint of simple logic, divorce fits cleanly within the category of ‘family values.’” In fact, “divorce seems to carry a more direct connection to the daily realities of families than do the bellwether culture war issues of abortion and homosexuality.”
Click "like" if you support TRADITIONAL marriage.
So Mohler asked Smith, why the silence on divorce?
Smith’s answer is that “the inclusion of divorce on the agenda of the Christian right would have risked a massive alienation of members,” so the issue went virtually unmentioned.
Or, as Mohler put it, “evangelicals allowed culture to trump Scripture.” According to him, “the church largely followed the lead of its members and accepted what might be called the ‘privatization’ of divorce. Churches simply allowed a secular culture to determine that divorce is no big deal, and that it is a purely private matter.”
This happened despite the clear scriptural teaching that marriage is the union of one man and one woman for life.
As divorce has been privatized—fenced off from Scripture, Christian teaching, and from the community—so has marriage. If marriage is merely a means to happiness or sexual fulfillment (instead of a sacrament, a life-long commitment of sacrificial love open to the creation of life), no wonder same-sex couples argue that they deserve the same happiness and fulfillment available to heterosexuals.
In addition, what Mohler calls the “real scandal”—the fact that “evangelical Protestants divorce at rates at least as high as the rest of the public”—creates a “significant credibility crisis when evangelicals then rise to speak in defense of marriage.”
No, divorce is not an unpardonable sin but, as Mohler insists, it is a sin, and our acceptance of this particular sin while inveighing against other violations of God’s plan for marriage is hypocritical.
My point here is not to pour salt on the wounds of divorced Christians—they deserve and need our compassion; but it’s to get the Church to acknowledge the beam in its own eye and, thus, end a silence that is not only conspicuous but scandalous.
Well, everyone has his own perspective.
Did you overlook that....How does she depart but divorce?
And a husband is not to divorce his wife.
Did you overlook that... a husband can't.
" But if the unbeliever leaves, let it be so...."
Now what? It's OK to 'sin' sometimes?
"I hate divorce," says the LORD God of Israel, "and I hate a man's covering himself with violence as well as with his garment," says the LORD Almighty. So guard yourself in your spirit, and do not break faith.
Did you EVER gossip in your life? He HATES that also.
**Churches simply allowed a secular culture to determine that divorce is no big deal, and that it is a purely private matter.**
Not with the Catholic Church. Once married — let nothing take them apart except death.
I know that divorces happen. As long as a divorced person does not remarry — they can still receive the Sacraments.
An anullment really isn’t that much of a hassle.
As it should be. It is between two people and God. It’s only fuel for gossipers inside the church. Who needs a sermon on divorce? Both or at least one is more than likely devastated by it. A preacher should not waste the time of a whole congregation to preach/teach on divorce when no one wants divorce but some do ‘want out’ and they/or one goes privately to the pastor for counseling.
There is no bigger black eye than annulment and by men who have never been married! Just pay up and magic happens - your marriage never happened!
And what their focus is.
Gossip isn’t connected to the word ‘commandment’. Divorce is. It sounds like you are trying to justify yourself.
It sounds like you are trying to justify yourself.
It sounds more you don't know God nor how to interpret HIS WORD.
Allow me to consign the Most Convoluted Logic Award to “Mr/Mrs/Ms presently no screen name” for having confounded others trying to make a point in the face of his bullfighter-adroit responses. It just goes to show you how far you go arguing with someone who can’t even figure out a screen name for himself.
The reason its not a crisis is evangelicals, baptists in particular, divorce at a rate higher than anyone in the nation. Much easier focusing on the other guys sins.
At least the people who stay in the Catholic Church know what sin is even if they're as guilty as anyone else of divorce, remarriage, and even contraception.
The people who leave do so because they want to go along to get along without hearing the Truth about sin and how Jesus Christ expects us to follow Him rather than society. The people who stay and defy Church Doctrine are just your run of the mill hypocrite you can find anywhere in any group but at least they still hear the Truth from time to time rather than hearing, "I was sinking deep in sin, Wheeeeeeeeee, what fun and I'm forgiven in advance".
The vast majority of those who leave the Catholic Church leave because they can't stand the heat of the Truth.
They can make up all sorts if excuses, blame individuals in he Church who fail to do as they should, or even repeat the lies about Catholicism and claim the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church Jesus Christ Himself founded is wrong but the fact remains; they won't be bothered with the whole Truth in any other Church. They join the non-Catholics who claim to be Christian because with rare exceptions those non-Catholic folks and their tens of thousands of churches all gradually adapt to whatever is socially acceptable.
As governor of CA he signed into being the no fault divorce abomination that swept across the country and caused so much emotional torture to people and children
divorce is a sin, what are you saying
Careful...I’ve had posts pulled that pointed that out. Some people are very uncomfortable when confronted with the fact that both parties have tag-teamed the institution of marriage for a very long time.
I don't agree with you here. If all the pastors thundered from their pulpits "God hates divorce" (Malachi) as much as they preach against other things they are against, abortion, same sex marriage, etc., there would not be nearly as much likely hood of their church people running off to get a divorce for the slightest reason, bored with their spouse, etc., or as Matt. 19:3 puts it, "for every cause." A lot is going to laid at the feet of preachers for not preaching against divorce.
Preachers don't have a problem bucking the trend when it comes to abortion and same sex marriage, but they, for the most part, don't want to buck the "divorce for every cause" (no fault) trend.
There is a reason society in general in Christian America in the 19th and for the first half of the 20th centuries, had very little divorce. Preachers everywhere, and their congregations since most went to church back then, preached against it, society in general knew God was against it.
I can’t believe this, on a rare thread which happens not to be Roman Catholic, here comes the Catholics pushing their advantage (advantage being they know they’ve got their backside covered, FR a Roman Catholic website), they are “the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church,” and such like. We’ve heard it a thousand times here.
For heaven’s sake, can any subject be discussed around here without Catholics using it to push their anti-Protestant agenda?
You really think those are the types INSIDE a church? If that is your experience, I suggest leave it.
A lot is going to laid at the feet of preachers for not preaching against divorce.
You know who a lot will be laid on? Those who don't teach the GOSPEL properly and those who don't teach God's Word is the FINAL authority. They are leading 'their flock' astray. But that doesn't let the flock off the hook for each one is responsible for themselves. There is no 'he made me believe that' in heaven. It's over.
There is a reason society in general in Christian America in the 19th and for the first half of the 20th centuries, had very little divorce.
Saying Christian means zilch to me. There are far too many who claim to be Christian and are not. They are people going to a church on Sunday and think they are a Christian; yet, doing the things of the world and divorce is one of them. And for a price they can get a divorce but it's called annulment. If they can't, they will get it anyway because 'What is good for the rich goose, is good for the poor unknown goose'.
Christianity is about having fellowship with The Lord where one gets to KNOW Him and learn more about Him daily and they know what pleases Him, His Way and what He hates. It's like any relationship we value - the more you spend time the more you learn and the more you know them.
We agree.
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