Developing An Opinion About Divorce

What is divorce in the most basic terms?

Dictionary.com says it is "...a judicial declaration dissolving a marriage in whole or in part, esp. one that releases the husband and wife from all matrimonial obligations."

Wikipedia says that "...divorce or dissolution of marriage is a legal process that leads to the termination of a marriage."

The Bible says these things about divorce:

Old Testiment

• Malachi 2:16a: “I hate divorce, says the Lord God of Israel.”



• Deuteronomy 24:1-4: "If a man marries a woman who becomes displeasing to him because he finds something indecent about her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce, gives it to her and sends her from his house, 2 and if after she leaves his house she becomes the wife of another man, 3 and her second husband dislikes her and writes her a certificate of divorce, gives it to her and sends her from his house, or if he dies, 4 then her first husband, who divorced her, is not allowed to marry her again after she has been defiled. That would be detestable in the eyes of the Lord. Do not bring sin upon the land the Lordyour God is giving you as an inheritance."

New Testiment

• Matthew 5:32: "But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, causes her to become an adulteress, and anyone who marries the divorced woman commits adultery. "



• Matthew 19:6: “So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate"



• Matthew 19:8-9: "Jesus replied, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning. I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, and marries another woman commits adultery"



• 1 Corinthians 7:15: "But if the unbeliever leaves, let him do so. A believing man or woman is not bound in such circumstances; God has called us to live in peace."

Alrighty, so there's all that information... what is my opinion?

*ponders*

Well, it's obvious to me that God intends for marriage to be a lifetime commitment. The bible does say in several places that there are two basic exceptions to the rule against divorce, unfaithfulness, and if your spouse is an unbeliever and they choose to leave you. The phrase “and marries another” in Matthew 19:9 indicates that divorce and remarriage are allowed in an instance of the exception clause for unfaithfulness. I think it's important to point out that only the innocent party is allowed to remarry according to the text.

Here is a direct quote from gotquestions.org (I couldn't say it any better.):

"Some understand 1 Corinthians 7:15 as another “exception,” allowing remarriage if an unbelieving spouse divorces a believer. However, the context does not mention remarriage, but only says a believer is not bound to continue a marriage if an unbelieving spouse wants to leave. Others claim that abuse (spousal or child) are valid reasons for divorce even though they are not listed as such in the Bible. While this may very well be the case, it is never wise to presume upon the Word of God."

So, marital unfaithfulness is an allowence for divorce but difinitly not a requirement. Just because your husband "cheats" on you doesn't mean that you should or that you have to get a divorce. I think even if an infraction in the marriage life this occurs, through God's grace a couple can learn to forgive and rebuild their marriage. Christians, especially need to follow the example of Jesus Christ and think about how God has forgiven us so much, surely we can learn and work to forgive our brothers and sisters, and spouses.

Also, while I'm on the subject of remarriage... I really think that alot of people look too quickly for new relationships and remarriage after a divorce when it's possible that God may want them to remain single. And as gotquestions.org says "Remarriage after a divorce may be an option in some circumstances, but that does not mean it is the only option."

So, I that's my opinion! I realize that my opinion really is focused on how a Christian should act in this situation. That would be because I am a Christian so my beliefs are impacting my opinion; as they should.