I dont understand this verse from the bible, (as quoted by a y/a user)?

Question

It has been said, 'Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.' 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 5:27-32


I dont understand that passage from the bible, It would seem that that passage gives no room for common sense,

what about abuse,incest, irresponsibility, and so on
and if thats true then isnt it wrong for a preacher or preist to marry a couple made up of divorcees ???

Answer 1

I dont think God would want you to stay in relationships like that ,you can be forgiven for divorce.I am a christian and I would not stay in an abusive relationship,the incest,id be in jail cause Id kill him.

Answer 2

if I'm not mistaking it also says then be reconciled with your wife it means that god doesn't like divorce an if you can work it out but at the same time if your in a marriage an you have no peace an that means if you spend more time worrying or arguing an you cant work it out then you should separate from her an you should give her a divorce an if you don't then you will make her an adulteress from that an when all else fails then just pray on it an ask god the question of what does that mean that's why marriage is such a serious matter for the world an not to be played with.

Answer 3

In the OT, God allowed men to divorce women at the drop of a hat....or by simply handing over a piece of paper indicating that they wanted a divorce.

Jesus clearly states that this "easy out" was because of their hardness of heart: "Jesus replied, "Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning" (MT 19:8)

Marital unfaithful is the only reason allowed for divorce -- but incest does come under the category of unfaithfulness.

Irresponsibility is not a reason for divorce

Abuse is now accepted as a reason for divorce.

Outside of unfaithfulness and/or abuse, divorce is not allowed. If a man still divorces his wife -- even though Jesus clearly states "Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate. (MT 19:6)" -- he makes her an adulteress....if she dates anyone else. A man divorcing a woman in Jesus' time was breaking a covenant between three people....the man, the woman and God. Marriage is NOT to be taken lightly. Notice there is nothing said about a woman divorcing a man....women in those days were culturally not allowed by law to initiate a divorce or to ask for one. On the other hand a man could divorce a woman simply because he didn't like his supper.

Answer 4

Yeah, this is a tough one. Prior to this was the teaching of : you have divorce through Moses; but, I am changing the rules.

It used to be that a man wrote 'I divorce thee' three times and that was it, i.e. the certificate.

This issue goes to: the two become one flesh, and the binding of the marriage was almost inviolable. Thus, if she was faithful, then you can't divorce her. Obviously, not many are adhering to this ideal.

And, I am not sure that it's such a great ideal. I think God really wanted to build stronger man/woman relationships and saw this as how to do it, i.e. forbid divorce.

But, man/ woman relationships and baggage are so decayed and contaminated that many times that first or even second marriage is just to work through some of the garbage. I am not sure what God thinks about this, now. Jesus did say there would be a lot of divorcing and hanky panky in the latter days. So, He can't be too surprised about what we're doing to each other (and for ourselves).

Maranantha

Answer 5

That verse was meant for the men who abused divorce laws by looking for loop holes. As in Arab countries today, the male has almost exclusive control when filing for divorce leaving the ex wife in limbo for protection or rights and even child custody rights.
So Jesus acted in behalf of the wives so that no husband should divorce his wife on a whim. The only real justification for divorce left is adultery. But just as equally the wife's now had legal ground to divorce. Jesus does not sanction for anyone to remain in an abusive relationship.
What Jesus acted on was to prevent divorce and marriage based on what side of the bed you wake up on in the morning.

Answer 6

Is Divorce the Wise Course?

Jesus provided a principle by which we can weigh the value of our actions when he said: “Wisdom is proved righteous by its works.” (Matthew 11:19) What do the results of today’s plethora of frivolous divorces indicate?

“The benefits of divorce have been oversold,” says University of Chicago sociologist Professor Linda Waite, who headed a team of scholars studying unhappy marriages. Similarly, after spending 11 years analyzing the responses of thousands of people, Oxford Professor Michael Argyle found that “the least happy in society were those who are divorced or separated.” Why might that be?

While divorce may eliminate some problems, it can also unleash a series of traumatic events over which you may have little control. Indeed, research shows that divorce usually does not reduce symptoms of depression or raise one’s self-esteem.

Even if you do not have the “perfect marriage,” sticking to your mate can bring benefits. Many who are determined to do so find happiness. Professor Waite states: “A lot of problems resolve over time, and married people tend to get happier.” In fact, one study shows that almost 8 out of 10 who were “very unhappy” with their marriage but avoided divorce found themselves “happily married” five years later. Even when there are grave problems, then, couples do well not to divorce hastily.
The Christian congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses respects an innocent mate’s right to decide whether or not to divorce an adulterous spouse

Answer 7

Oh for heavens sake.
Anybody with an ounce of sense could see that it just means when you divorce a woman who does not want to be divorced from you and still wants you, then you are forcing her to be with a man she doesn't want as a husband, and that's what he was calling adultery.
Honestly people, use your heads.

Answer 8

I actually read that verse and the first thing in my mind was that that was a bunch of crap. It leaves no room for any gray areas, plus there is no way you could commit adultery if you are not married.
On another note:
The bible also indicates that there is such thing as 'the wrath of God'. How could God have wrath if he is all loving an compassionate?

Answer 9

The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy . . . For He knoweth our frame; He remembereth that we are dust" (Psalm 103:8, 14). "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins" (I John 1:9). This promise is specifically for Christians, and includes even the sin of adultery, if there is genuine repentance. The Lord made this very clear in His dealing with the woman who "was taken in adultery, in the very act" (John 8:4). He reminded her accusers that they also were sinners and had no warrant to punish her. Then He told the woman: "Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more" (John 8:11).


He in no way condoned her sin, but He did forgive her sin, when she gave evidence of godly sorrow and determination not to sin again in this way. Under such conditions, His followers would do well to follow His example. At least in this particular context, He put no further conditions on her freedom, either to return to her husband if he would have her, or to marry another if she were already divorced.

Answer 10

this is how bible contradics and give rights to women....n e ways....there are 50,000 errors in Bible...
FIFTY THOUSAND ERRORS (?)
The Jehovah's Witnesses in their "AWAKE!" Magazine dated 8 September, 1957, carried this startling headline - "50000 ERRORS IN THE BIBLE?" (See below for the reproduction).
While I was still formulating the theme of this booklet, I heard a knock at my door one Sunday morning. I opened the door. A European gentleman stood there, grinning broadly. "Good morning'" he said. "Good morning" I replied. He was offering me his "Awake" and "Watchtower" magazines. Yes, a Jehovah's Witness! If a few had knocked at your door previously, you will recognize them immediately. The most supercilious lot of people who ever knocked at people's doors! I invited him in.
As soon as he settled down, I produced the full reproduction of what you see below. Pointing to the monograph at the top of the page, I asked, "Is this your's?" He readily recognised his own. I said, "It says: 50 000 Errors in the Bible, is it true?" "What's that!" he exclaimed. I repeated, "I said, that it says, that there are 50 000 errors in your Bible." "Where did you get that?" He asked. (This was published 23 years ago, when he was perhaps a little nipper) I said, "Leave the fancy talk aside - is this your's?" pointing again to the monograph - "Awake!" He said, "Can I have a look?" "Of course," I said. I handed him the page. He started perusing. They (the Jehovah's Witnesses) are trained. They attend classes five times a week in their "Kingdom Halls." Naturally, they are the fittest missionaries among the thousand -and - one - sects - and - denominations of Christendom. They are taught that when cornered, do not commit yourself to anything, do not open your mouths. Wait for the Holy Ghost to inspire you with what to say.


I silently kept watching him, while he browsed the page. Suddenly he looked up. He had found it. The "Holy Ghost" had tickled him. He began, "The article says that "most of those errors have been eliminated." I asked "If MOST are eliminated, how many remain out of 50000? 5000? 500? 50? Even if 50 remain, do you attribute those errors to God?" He was speechless. He excused himself by suggesting that he will come again with some senior member of his Church. That will be the day!
If I had this booklet ready, I would have offered him, saying - "I would like to do you a favour, give me your name and address, and your telephone number. I will lend you this booklet - IS THE BIBLE GOD'S WORD?" for 90 days. I want a written reply!" If you do this, And a few other Muslims do the same. They and the other missionaries will never darken your doors again. I believe that this publication will prove the most effective talisman to date. Insha-Allah!
This "cult" of Jehovah's Witnesses which is so strong in its condemnation of the orthodox Trinitarians, for playing with the "Word of God," is itself playing the same game of semantic gymnastics. In the article under review - "50000 ERRORS IN THE BIBLE?" - they say: "there are probably 50 000 errors . . . errors that have crept into the Bible text . . . 50000 such serious (?) errors… most of those so-called errors... as a whole the Bible is accurate." (?)
We do not have the time and space to go into the tens of thousands of - grave or minor - defects that the authors of the Revised Standard Version (RSV) have attempted to revise. We leave that privilege to the Christian scholars of the Bible. Here I will endeavour to cast just a cursory glance at a "half-a-dozen" or so of those "minor" changes.
1. "Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign: Behold, a VIRGIN shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel."
(Isaiah 7:14 - AV)
The indispensable "VIRGIN" in the above verse has now been replaced in the RSV with the phrase "a young woman," which is the correct translation of the Hebrew word almah. Almah is the word which has occurred all along in the Hebrew text and NOT bethulah which means VIRGIN. This correction is only to be found in the English language translation, as the RSV is only published in this tongue. For the African and the Afrikaner, the Arab and the Zulu, in fact, in the 1 500 other languages of the world, Christians are made to continue to swallow the misnomer "VIRGIN."

Answer 11

Jesus was castigating the religious leaders for using any menial reason as a basis for divorce (such as burning the husband's food).

God intended for one man and one woman to remain together for life, but he allowed men to have multiple wives and divorce (and other things of that nature) because they didn't directly conflict with his purpose at the time. When Jesus was on the earth, he restored God's original standard for marriage. Infidelity was the only valid reason for DIVORCE that would allow for remarriage. Those other conditions that you listed would allow for SEPARATION, but not divorce and remarriage.