Marriage and divorce are treated as frivolous and trivial things by many in America, but it seems pretty serious in scripture. In Luke 16:8 we have:
And I'm pretty sure there are other verses in other gospels suggesting similar things. I know divorce is said to be permissible due to our own weaknesses, but remarriage following divorce seems to be clearly stated as sinful. So, some questions:
Is there some historical/cultural context attached to this teaching that I'm unaware of, or is this an explicit statement that divorced Christians ought not remarry regardless of circumstances leading to the divorce?
Are there other verses that provide for conditional circumstances where remarriage may be permissible? If one partner is dead then the "till death" commitment seems to be fulfilled, sure. But are there others?
And as a follow up question if the answer is that remarriage following divorce isn't appropriate, if you're talking to someone who is a Christian who has gone through a divorce, how might we counsel them with regards to the matter of remarriage? Is it a bit of a "sorry, marriage is serious business, you should remain unmarried for the rest of your life even if you meet a totally godly guy/girl in the future - that's just the way it works" kind of message?
This question doesn't involve me or anyone in my personal life (at the moment). I'm just looking for what scripture has to say on the subject within a proper context (that is to say, the context within which it was intended to be understood instead of whatever my modern American culture might lead me to believe).
Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery
Is there some historical/cultural context attached to this teaching that I'm unaware of, or is this an explicit statement that divorced Christians ought not remarry regardless of circumstances leading to the divorce?
Are there other verses that provide for conditional circumstances where remarriage may be permissible? If one partner is dead then the "till death" commitment seems to be fulfilled, sure. But are there others?
And as a follow up question if the answer is that remarriage following divorce isn't appropriate, if you're talking to someone who is a Christian who has gone through a divorce, how might we counsel them with regards to the matter of remarriage? Is it a bit of a "sorry, marriage is serious business, you should remain unmarried for the rest of your life even if you meet a totally godly guy/girl in the future - that's just the way it works" kind of message?
This question doesn't involve me or anyone in my personal life (at the moment). I'm just looking for what scripture has to say on the subject within a proper context (that is to say, the context within which it was intended to be understood instead of whatever my modern American culture might lead me to believe).
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