so if divorce is still a sin, why are there so many divorces?

Question

i recently asked about divorces and sinning. apparently you can only divorce if there was cheating. many marriages end without cheating. one answer said that if you divorce you need to repent. but wouldn't that be premeditating sin? how would that be any different then premeditating murder with plans to repent afterwards so you can still get into heaven.

ya know, maybe i should become christian, it seems to be that you can do anything you want - good and bad - and just repent it all away! that's not too bad a deal if you ask me (which you didn't)

please dont' answer with "god knows what's in your heart" because if i truly repent, then god is in my heart (until the next time i sin, but then i can just do the whole thing over again)

Answer 1

Here is the thing. And yes, I am looking at it from a catholic perspective (sorry I can't help it!)

In the Catholic church, we are taught, that you have to get married in the church by a priest or have your marriage blessed by a priest.

So if you decide to elope and run down to vegas on a friday night and pull a fast one... then the church doesn't recognize that marriage. And techinally you are living in sin. So you must go through the steps to have that marriage blessed.

But say you don't. And three weeks later you realized, hey I was on one hell of a drunk when I went to vegas and married joe bob, I need to get that divorce. So you call up your friendly divorce attorney and presto now your divorced.

Is it a sin? Well, technically the church didn't recognize your marriage to start with and you were already sinning cause you were living with a man you weren't married to in the eyes of the church.

Now you have to go through the process of getting your marriage annulled. But lucky for you, it will be easy since you eloped.

I guess the point that I am trying to make is, and getting back to your question -- there are so many divorces because it is so easy to get married.

If I want to get married, i can. But if i want to get married in my church with my priests blessings, then I have to wait and go through premarital counseling.

Maybe that is the ticket. Maybe everyone should have to go through some type of premarital counseling before they are allowed to get married.

Answer 2

for a set of rules written thousands of years ago, something that was taboo then is out dated now. Divorce isn't a big deal anymore, it's a shame that so many poeple marry when they are in the infatuation stage and don't give it time, and then in five years half of all marriages have ended, but it's still not a big deal. And only divorce with cheating? what if it turns into an abusive relastionship? Do they get to go then?
and for the repenting thing? yeah that concept was so that people could act like themselves six days of the week and wish it all away on the seventh.

Answer 3

wrong, it doesn't work that way. People get divorces because many don't care what the Bible says, or don't care enough to try to make marriage work. The idea of doing whatever you want and then ask forgiveness doesn't work, it's not how God intended things to be. Just because you repent doesn't mean God is in your heart. You have to ask him to be there. And if he's in your heart you shouldn't want to do bad things over and over again. You are supposed to be like new, starting over, living for Christ. So if you sin, you should have remorse about it and you won't want to sin and sin and sin.

Answer 4

The Bible says that all will sin and fall short of the glory. Indeed God is a forgiving God and a grace giver, however it is dangerous to take that grace for granted. God is a judger of the heart but he is also a God of wrath. You can't be a Christian and do anything you want and just repent later...that is not true repentance. In order to be repented one must as forgiveness and change, for each time you continue to recommit that same sin you are proving that you have not fully repented. Every time you sin with no repentance it is like you are creating a wall between God and yourself. The higher the wall gets the harder it becomes to talk to God (pray) the easier it is to be led by your flesh and not your spirit. The further and further you drift away from the things of God. God does not just require Christians to believe but to also live lives of holiness working hard to be more like Him on a daily basis. It is more than going to Church. In regards to divorce, it within itself is not considered a sin. The Bible outlines some grounds of divorce. Now divorce is not pleasing to God because God is a God of covenant, and divorce is broken covenant, however within the grounds of divorce He will extend grace. Now why do people continue to get divorced, free will.

All will face judgement and some will profess to know the Father, however the Father my not know who you are. It takes a relationship, spending time communicating with God. You can meet someone one time, image and fantasize about a relationship with them, you can watch them from a far and say that you know them, but when they are asked if they know you...they won't be able to recall ever meeting you, never mind knowing your name...the same goes with God

Answer 5

There are so many divorces now because people have grown increasingly lazy and selfish.

"Back in the day" (as near as 50 years ago) people were expected to stand up and go for the long haul - adulterous spouses or not. These days we're wimps. We (oftentimes) turn and run at the slightest hint of uncomfortability.

For most people it is easier to quit and run away than it is to stick it out and figure it out. Couple that with a solemn desire to "get mine" and it's a wonder anything gets accomplished - let alone last.

Answer 6

Divorce is not necessarily a sin, Jesus said except for adultry one should not set aside their spouse. Not sure if Jesus would view things differently today, but at the same time it's an easy COP OUT to divorce rather than correct a bad or abusive spouse.

Answer 7

For Cali to have a high divorce rate would require marriages and I know a lot of people who don't feel the need to marry.

To the question though: for the same reason so many other things the Bible says is sin (lies, robbery, murder) happen, we're an imperfect race.

Answer 8

Because christians are so busy worrying about other peoples supposed sins they never take the time to have a good look at their own. I'm speaking in the collective sense here.

Answer 9

Do you know WHICH states have the HIGHEST divorce rates according to the US Census?

TEXAS and ALABAMA isn't too far behind.

I was shocked, I thought for SURE California and New York would lead the pack with all their liberal values. LOL.

Answer 10

Probably because most of the people who identify themselves as Christians dismiss out of hand any rule that is inconvenient or problematic to them. Sorta how Christianity itself did with most of Mosaic law.