s/o The Pearls......

[Peek a Boo]

I disagree. God does allow divorce when one spouse has broken their vows.

 

31"It has been said, 'Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.'[f] 32But 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.

 

He is not saying that divorce is OK. he is clarifying what the full consequence of a divorce can be. He clarifies:

 

7"Why then," they asked, "did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?"

 

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

 

again: He does not speak to divorce being a Godly or righteous action: He is clarifying liberal use of the divorce laws.

 

God gives us plenty of examples in the OT about the importance of marriage --even in the face of infidelity. Hosea is a perfect example. As imitators of Christ, we are called to Be Like Him, even in these extreme circumstances.

 

He died for His bride even as we denied Him and Killed Him.

God kept Israel even after issuing her a certificate of divorce in Jeremiah 3.

 

So yes, i understand that many take one statement from Christ and interpret it a certain way, i simply disagree that the entire counsel of scripture supports that popular interpretation.

eta: and if you go back and read my posts about MY divorce, you can see more about my own views of using the legal system as a protective tool but acknowledging the spiritual responsibility to consider myself married regardless what man's law says. I don't judge anyone for seeking a legal divorce-- but I do think scripture reveals a higher purpose as a Christian.

Edited March 3, 2010 by Peek a Boo

[Peek a Boo]

Rebel, you are not being selfish- HE is the selfish one- putting his illegal desires at the top of his priority list, etc.

Don't even THINK anything negative about yourself, you did not cause him to make the choices he made. You did not cause him to be a pedophile, and if you had known that to begin with you would not have married him. :grouphug: I won't sit here and let you 'blame' yourself in ANY way with ANY words for this man's behavior.

 

ftr, NOBODY in this thread is suggesting that person A is responsible for person B's *actions.* We are discussing what SCRIPTURE has to say about marriage and divorce, regardless what us fallible humans want to think about it.

 

and sometimes that hurts.

[Rebel]

If I knew my dh was a child molester that was getting out of jail, the best way I could keep an eye on him would BE to stay close to him. Since I am pretty keen to his thoughts and patterns [since it was I that reported him in the first place], it would be much easier for ME to watch and see if anyone is at risk than for some other new chick that might not know his full history. Ditto w/ other forms of abuse. I am not required to stay with him in such a way that I am UNSAFE [even the whacked-out Pearls acknowledge that] but I should be close enough somehow to know what's going on so I can report him again if need be.

 

Or I can justifiably cut him loose and let some other future victim fall prey to his ways after he has "duly served his time."

 

I was responding to this quote which I interpreted as your opinion and not something scriptural. It's been many years since I last read the Bible through so it's entirely possible I have forgotten the part about staying with a child molester to make sure he doesn't molest someone else. I suppose it could be a really loose interpretation of, "Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth," or the part about being my brother's keeper... Lucky for me, I'm not Christian so I don't have to live my life based on stories from the ancient Hebrews.

 

I understand that you would do things differently which is fine by me. I was just trying to present another view.

[Peek a Boo]

I was responding to this quote which I interpreted as your opinion and not something scriptural. It's been many years since I last read the Bible through so it's entirely possible I have forgotten the part about staying with a child molester to make sure he doesn't molest someone else. I suppose it could be a really loose interpretation of, "Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth," or the part about being my brother's keeper... Lucky for me, I'm not Christian so I don't have to live my life based on stories from the ancient Hebrews.

 

I understand that you would do things differently which is fine by me. I was just trying to present another view.

 

I understand that.

Yes, the example is certainly my opinion based on numerous texts from scripture. As i shared above, it's not a "really loose" interpretation of being meek, it is a very concise extrapolation from what Christ has said about the intent of marriage and what God has specifically revealed about even unfaithfulness in a marriage.

 

If you are not a Christian, then i would not be basing my decisions about divorce based on your specific case or opinions, and I wouldn't expect you to consider what Scripture says.

But since we were specifically discussing a Christian view of marriage and divorce and Biblical interpretations of what Christ says, THAT is what i find relevant in this thread.

 

I do wish you well, tho.

[secular_mom]

forgetaboutit

Edited March 4, 2010 by secular_mom

[secular_mom]

forgetaboutit

Edited March 4, 2010 by secular_mom