Why not ban divorce?

Question

If Christians oppose gay marriage on biblical grounds why are they not pushing to ban divorce and remarriage? In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus clearly says any man marring a divorced woman becomes a adulterer and the women becomes an adulteress.

Since adultery is banned by the 10 Commandments, why is Jerry Falwell and the like not pushing for a constitutional amendment?

I'm not trying to start a fight, I just want to understand.

Thanks for the great answers. I asked because I don't like the idea of so-called Christians beating people over the head with one part of the Bible and exempting themselves from another part. It's not fair.

Answer 1

why not just ban everything that we dont like? The reason is simple, this country may be run by the conservative Christian religious majority right now and it may seem to some that changing the Constitution to suit those ideas is important but how do we know that the people in charge will always be Christians? We dont, a Satanist or Muslim could just as easily take the White House some day and then the same freedom to change the Constitution at will to further a conservative agenda could be used to further a different kind of agenda that Christians might not like. America isnt all Evangelical Christian and it never will be no matter how much money or guns they stockpile. It is a country of Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, Native American, and on and on, How is it reasonable to enforce laws of morality based on one religion on a society so varied? It is better to stay true to the vision of our founding fathers of a varied and independent society where man's spirit is free to grow without the infingement of government. It wasnt too long ago that the Puritans were a persecuted minority, we would do well to remember where we come from.

Answer 2

Marriage is a Christian/religious idea in the first place. But the reason why divorce isn't banned is obvious. Some people stop getting along or worse, like abuse, etc. Some hard cores even stay married when they're getting beat into the ground because the believe divorce is wrong. Do you really want more deaths due to domestic violence? That would be only one of the consequences. I don't understand why gays want to do something that Religions created in the first place.

Answer 3

Good points.

as to why gay marriage is unconstitutional I have no idea, but banning divorce would only proving to be unconstitutional. We have human rights to make our own choices. I come from a family of divorced parents since I was 6. in a way my family seems happier than it was, does that mean that It is appropriate for everyone? I say no. but in some circumstances it is appropriate. In the us we spend more time trying to decide what car to buy than who we will spend the rest of our lives with. I think that it should be harder to get married and divorced than just ban it strait out.

Now as for the religious aspect, I believe the context in divorce being adultery is when you put your wife away for another, ie. divorce so you will not be having an affair. being remarried isn't the point it is why you are divorcing the person in the first place.

Answer 4

Good question.
But you cannot legislate the heart, and there is no law banning homosexuality.

The reason is, God gave the bill of divorcement, because of the hardness of men's hearts.

Men were "throwing out" their wives even if she so much as "burnt his bread", and when this happened, they became social outcasts, and no man could take them in. Even their families would not take them back in, and they would basically be left to die or move away.
God gave the Bill of Divorcement, so that women would be free to remarry, and have someone to take care of her again.

The word adultery actually means, "to make void" and this matches up with the OT teaching that if a man or woman "sleep with" another they have adulterated their marraige and can never go back. God said it was an abomination to go back.
It is NOT in Gods' perfect will for anyone to divorce and/or remarry, however, it was God who gave the bill of divorcement and He does not "create" something and then call it sin. This also lines up with the adultery meaning.

Answer 5

I'm all for starting a fight! That is an excellent question! Good Christians should also be lobbying Congress to outlaw women "not doing as they are told". They should also be lobbying for mandatory handling of snakes (Luke 10:19), execution of vegetarians (1 Timothy 4:1-3), more Christian "suicide bombers" (Judges 16:29-30), and the abolition of "modern medicine" (James 5:14-15).

Come on Christians, let's have some consistency!

Answer 6

Huh. Don't give crazy Jerry any ideas.
Christians don't live under the law (the ten commandments) anymore. Since Jesus came we are living under grace. God doesn't forbid divorce, He just said that he hated it. There are good reasons for divorce. Abuse, cheating, etc... If any of these things occur in a marriage, it tells me that one or both of the persons wasn't taking the vows seriously when they made them. In my mind, it makes the marriage null and void. I can't believe God would want a person to live without the love a good mate just because of this. If the person asks God's forgiveness for the mistake they made, I believe he will bless a second marriage.

Answer 7

1.Lev.21 :14,22:13 2.Num30:9 3Deut24:1&3 4.Isa50:1 5.Jer3:8 6.Mal2:16 Matt5:31 The Bible says God hates divorce but he gives instructions for it because of the hardness of man's heart however, homosexuality is always referred to as an abomination. When God says he wants everyone to come into a relationship with Him He does not say EXCEPT homosexuals....they are just people...

Answer 8

There are other reasons for divorce than adultery, for example a man/woman may physically or otherwise abuse their spouse while being faithful to them. Would you really want to stay married to a man/woman who was beating you up or something similar? And adultery can be a good reason to get divorce, it tends to ruin a couple's trust in one another and stops them from even the pretense of living happily together.

Answer 9

They aren't banning divorce because there are a lot of good reasons not to. Like sometimes men or women abuse their partners. If I was in an abusive relationship, I would want to get out as soon as possible. And divorce would help me do so. There's plenty more.

<3,

Answer 10

Well, technically, they shouldn't ban divorce until they re-allow polygamy; in biblical times, a man who really wanted a woman who wasn't his wife had some ability to marry her.

But I agree--the ones screaming about gays threatening the "sanctity of marriage" aren't doing anything to treat marriages as a sacred, lifelong commitment between men & women.