Friday, September 10, 2004

'I HATE DIVORCE'

That's God's opinion but it seems not be shared by a majority of self-identified Christians:
Although many Christian churches attempt to dissuade congregants from getting a divorce, the research confirmed a finding identified by Barna a decade ago (and further confirmed through tracking studies conducted each year since): born again Christians have the same likelihood of divorce as do non-Christians.

Among married born again Christians, 35% have experienced a divorce. That figure is identical to the outcome among married adults who are not born again: 35%.

And apparently Jesus was wrong about that whole divorce is wrong thing:
Although Bible scholars and teachers point out that Jesus taught that divorce was a sin unless adultery was involved, few Americans buy that notion. Only one out of every seven adults (15%) strongly agreed with the statement “when a couple gets divorced without one of them having committed adultery, they are committing a sin.” A similar percentage (16%) moderately agreed with the statement. The vast majority – 66% – disagreed with the statement, most of them strongly dismissing the notion.

If a stand is going to be made on the sanctity of marriage vis a vis homosexuals, then we have to accept everything Scripture teaches us about marriage and divorce. At some point we have to accept that Christianity isn't offered a la carte.

5 comments:

Jordana said...

And so you see lots of church buildings with big "DivorceCare" signs out in front.

I do struggle a bit with -- say a woman who is abused and seeks a legal divorce from her husband. Without adultery it would be wrong for her to remarry, but was creating a legal separation sinful if she continues to recognize that her marriage was only dissolved legally not spiritually? Not that I worry about these things much, but the question has crossed my mind.

susanna in KY said...

Jordana, I talked to a preacher I respect about this quite a few years ago - Paul Earnhart, if you know of him. I asked him what would be the status of a woman whose husband is physically abusive but who hasn't committed adultery. His opinion, as I remember, was that a woman does not have to stay in such a marriage, and even has an obligation to protect herself and her children from abuse. In that situation divorcing for legal protection is appropriate. However, he said (as you did) that she would still be married to him in God's eyes, thus unable to remarry, and she would have to make it clear to him that she was ready to resume the marriage when she was sure he would not again abuse her and/or the children. Now, some men do reform and some do not. Paul wasn't advocating a woman making her life crazy by going back to an abuser every time he promises to change. It would have to be some kind of real evidence, and I can't say what that line would be. But definitely I don't think God intends for someone to live in that kind of situation. They just have to realize that it doesn't release them to remarry.

Anonymous said...

I think 1 Corinthians 7 provides an answer for this situation--basically, yes, she may separate from him, but is not at liberty to re-marry.

Anonymous said...

I keep hearing that Christians get divorced as often as non-Christians, and it is possible. However, I always wonder if these studies control for WHEN the divorce occurs and if the person was a Christian at the time. I've met a number of people, especially women, who come to church for the first time or return after years of "falling away" only after being divorced.

Alan said...

The Barna polling addresses some of the questions of when people are divorced. One thing Barna points out is that very often non-Christians live together without actually getting married. Obviously, that skews the data somewhat.