Do Christians feel that divorce is just as bad to marriage as gay marriage?

Question

The most popular argument against gay marriage seems to be that it is against God, nature, and society. But isn't divorce seen as just as bad from a religious perspective? Maybe I am wrong on this, but it seems like Christians should be wanting divorce to be illegal, just like Gay marriage.

It is hard for me to understand Christian positions on marriage, so I am looking for some help here.

Answer 1

the biblical grounds for divorce are sexual immorality and abandonment. are there additional grounds for divorce beyond these two? possibly. is divorce ever to be treated lightly or employed as the first recourse? absolutely not. God is capable of changing and reforming any person. God is capable of healing and renewing any marriage. divorce should only occur in instances of repeated and unrepentant heinous sin.

Answer 2

The Christian position should be the Biblical position and Jesus reinforced the importance of marriage when he condemned those who put away their wives for any reason. He said that fornication/adultery was the only valid reason for divorce. Some interpret that today as a serious lack of commitment, letting something else become much more important than the marriage. In effect cheating but not with a woman. All Christians should have a similar view because this is a Biblical standard.
I do believe that divorce used to be much harder to obtain and it carried a stigma. Today, due to modern pressures from people who were not Christians (and maybe some who claim to be) divorce became much easier.

Answer 3

I am a conservative that happens to be christian. For me it is not about "gay marriage". It is about the government getting involved in marriage. Marriage was initially a religious ceremony and institution before God. The government hijacked the term, and used it convey what is essentially a civil union. To the government, a marriage is nothing more than a contract between two people. This contractual obligation allows for certain benefits. I do not have an issue with states allowing this civil contract between 2 consenting adults (even more, as long as there weren't more benefits for multiple wives i.e. SSI survivor benefits) The problem that I have and have always had is, the government sanctifying the term Marriage. A Marriage is between a couple, their church and their God. It is religious in practice, and sanctified by God. My view is this. Allow the states (individually as espoused by the constitution) to allow or disallow same sex civil unions. The federal government at that point does not have a choice. Leave it up to the states as to whether the will recognize it legally or not, although I think most would. Give Marriage back to the church. If a couple wish to get married, then they find a pastor, minister, reverend or whatever, to perform the religious ceremony. Make the couple actually apply for a certification of civil Union. IMO

Answer 4

Here is where I stand...too many people enter into the bonds of marriage with the idea that there is always divorce. My parents divorced when I was six and I made it VERY clear to my husband before we married that I had been through one divorce and REFUSED to go through another one. Fortunately, he was raised in a home with loving parents that led by example and agreed with me, divorce is not an option. If you go into a marriage believing that (that divorce is not an option), you are more likely to work things out than you are to cut and run. Unless there is abuse or adultery or abandonment, I do not agree with divorce (this does not mean that I will judge or condemn those that are divorced, it is the criteria I have for myself and my husband). I agree that divorce should be more difficult to attain than it is or maybe that marriage should be more difficult to enter into, I don't know. But I don't really think it should be regulated by the government either. As far as gay marriage, call it a civil union and do it all you want. Marriage is, by definition, between a man and a woman.

Answer 5

Christians, and I'm one, should recognize that divorce has reaked havoc on our culture, ever since no-fault divorce became law in 1969, causing more pain and illness to our children than anything else there is that a parent could do to their child (I'm talking about those who leave, not those who stay, God bless them!). It is by far the number one reason why kids commit suicide. But as I will share with you, a gay marriage won't help matters, for sure. It's legalization will just exacerbate the problems that we already now have.

Yes, there are issues with the affects on marriage in itself. Divorce has played a larger part in the eventual dismantling of this great institution, and gay marriage will just make it become that much more irrelevant to the hyper-individualistic values (at the great expense of the welfare of community) that our society has come to treasure.

But the most important issue about marriage is not the marrying partners, despite what our self-serving, narcissistic culture tells us, it is rather about whether children are being raised in a traditional household or not. Family psychologists/researchers, and I am one as well, are quite aware that children do much better on average with the consistency of having their bio mother and bio father, than with single, divorced and blended family parents in their home. Gay parenting is likened mostly to the blended family issues, which involve a much greater possibility of the children experiencing physical and/or sexual abuse, that is if the couple remains committed and present throughout the children's childhood. But, another aspect is that gay coupling (2 to 6 years, and this is with extrasexual relationships within this duration of time) is known to not have even close the duration that heterosexual coupling does (22 years, with only 33% admitting to just one extrarelational affair). This means that if the longevity of gay couple is not likely to last throughout their children's childhood, then that case is also likened to the single and divorced parent family, where there is an extremely high frequency risk of mental health, school performance, criminal history; and, as I said before, even suicide childhood issues.

So, you see the problem here? It's not really as much about whether we, not just Christians, should be more focused on one negative influence and factor over another concerning the welfare of the marital institution, it is more about protecting and preserving the traditional marriage institution in any way we possibly can. One's view of how to raise children, whether a traditional religious view or not, is of importance, for sure, but children raised with both biological parents in their home would most likely be the greatest way to avoid the very precipitators of dysfunction that we sadly see today, and our still promoting with our unhealthy liberal policies concerning marriage and sex!

Answer 6

1) Supporting GAY marriage is supposrting marriage. How can a thing be what it is not?

2) And there is a social justice issue here. It is only justice to allow ANYONE (within the same framework of law) to marry the one they fall in love with. Are you against love?

3) How can gay marriage be AGAINST GOD? Marriage is a committment of love.

4) Nature -- Being gay is natural for the person who is gay. He can not go against his own nature.

5) It is hard for any logical person to understand the "traditional" view against gay marriage.

6) Remember this is a RELIGIOUS view. Why should we pass a law for any religious view? Who is going to pick the religion?

Answer 7

Well technically, Christians view divorce as the less serious of the two because of these facts.

1. Being gay is a choice. You are not born gay. Argue with me if you want but its true.

2. Divorce is a sad. But there are good reasons for divorce.
a. if your spouse is having an affair
b. abuse, sometimes divorce is the only way of getting out of abusive situations.

Answer 8

Christians are against divorce mostly because it is for the wrong reasons. The Bible says divorce is not a sin when one of the people in the relationship has committed adultery.

Matthew 19:9 (New International Version)

9I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, and marries another woman commits adultery."

Answer 9

Not all Christians view the issue equally.

The Catholics are very strict about divorce. They do not recognise divorcees getting married to others. They are also ok with having homosexual inclinations as long as one does not act on them. I would say their stance on divorce is stricter than their stance on sexual preference.

Also, Unitarian Christians are more accepting of both divorce and alternate sexuality.

Answer 10

It depends on what the couple is getting divorced over. In the Bible is says something about divorce ONLY being okay if there is unfaithfulness in the relationship.
For instance if a partner cheats, or if a partner is abusive.
But no relationship problem is impossible to fix when you have faith in God, and you pray and truly believe he will change your spouse.