The Morality of Divorce - Research Paper Example

? 2 March The Morality of Divorce and its Effect on the Determination of True Believers The morality of divorceis often called into question in Christianity, though through a closer examination, it could be said that the morality of divorce will not be a determining factor that will influence the judgment of the Christian God on whether or not a person is a true believer. In the past, one of the beliefs present in Christianity was that due to the moral issues, divorce was considered to be sinful; biblical quotes were given as a way to prove this point, however, upon closer examination, it can be shown that the reverse is in fact the case. Morals are rules or habits of conduct, especially sexual conduct, with reference to standards of right and wrong. They are concerned with the judgment of the goodness or badness of a human action, or the character of the individual in question. The issue arises from the fact that different people, and different organizations, have different definitions of what is right or wrong, good or bad, and the way that they interpret and act upon those definitions. Of the many great social issues in our time, one of the most often debated is the prevalence of divorce in society today; due to the immense influence of Christianity throughout history, with special reference into its heavy influences upon Western culture, this is doubly true, as the predominant views on the institution of marriage itself are due to the views provided in the Bible itself. The influences of Christianity on marriage may be seen in the vows themselves, as evidenced by the sample vows provided here: “With deepest joy I receive you into my life that together we may be one. As is Christ to His body, the church, so I will be to you a loving and faithful husband. Always will I perform my headship over you even as Christ does over me” (Bible.org,. 1995). These influences are due to the views of marriage as portrayed in the Bible itself. In Matthew 19:4-6, the Bible states “‘Haven’t you read,’ he replied, ‘that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate’” (New English Bible, 1963). Ephesians 5:22 states “Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything” (New English Bible, 1963). The concept of marriage is discussed so frequently, and so in depth in the Bible itself, that it is not surprising that in a country founded by Christians who were looking for an escape from religious persecution, the idea of divorce has become a hotly debated one. The traditional teachings of Christianity believed that divorce was wrong; according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, “divorce is a grave offense against the natural law. It claims to break the contract, to which the spouses freely consented, to live with each other till death. Divorce does injury to the covenant of salvation; of which sacramental marriage is the sign…divorce is immoral also because it introduces disorder into the family and into society” (Abbott, 2012). It was, and is, not just the Catholic Church that advocated for the immorality of divorce, for many Christians will also quote Matthew 19:9, which states “And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery” (New English Bible, 1963); another commonly quoted verse is Luke 16:18, “Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery” (New English Bible, 1963). While it is true that the teachings of Jesus allow for divorce under certain conditions, it is often stated that divorce was never the intention, or the will of the Christian God for people who follow his teachings. Though in spite of the traditional teachings of the Christian church on divorce, a shift in the way divorce is viewed has been occurring, and with it, a shift in the way that divorce is viewed in relation to the church itself can be seen. “Over time, religious groups, who often divorce at rates similar to the broader American population, gradually accommodated the rising tide of marital breakup with new Biblical interpretations and a more flexible stance toward divorce and remarriage within the church” (Smith, 2008). The Christian Churches now recognize that we do not live in a perfect world, and they have not only developed different methods of attempting to assist those who are faced with a broken marriage, but have also adopted different viewpoints in regards to divorce itself; primarily the concept that though divorce is wrong, Jesus taught others to show forgiveness to others, and the Church recognizes that a marriage cannot always work out the way the couple in question originally intended it to. Essentially, the Church is now willing to state that while divorce may be considered a sin, there are certain cases wherein a divorce is an acceptable course of action, and regardless of whether or not the particular events that led up to the divorce itself make the divorce acceptable, for the sin of divorce, like any other, forgiveness may be asked, for Jesus never taught that divorce was an unpardonable sin. Deuteronomy 24:1 states, in part, “If a man take a wife, and have her, and she find not favor in his eyes, for some uncleanness: he shall write a bill of divorce, and shall give it in her hand, and send her out of his house” (New English Bible, 1963), with the rest of this particular passage discussing that the divorce was understood as free from penalty, as the husband granted her what amounted to an annulment, meaning that the first marriage did not occur in the eyes of the church itself. Mark 10:4 shows how “They said, ‘Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce and to send her away” (New English Bible, 1963). Through Bible quotes such as those, and the interpretations thereof, it is shown how the Church is taking a less stringent view on the practice of divorce itself, but how does the idea that divorce may be an understood practice relate to the idea of whether or not it will influence the Christian God’s determination on who is a true believer and who is not? Now that a good grasp of what morality is, what the traditional views of marriage and divorce were as they relate to Christianity and what the current views on divorce are, as pertaining to the Christian Church, a look at what makes up a true believer can be addressed. There are several key verses that explain what a true believer is, many of them from Romans, John, 2 Corinthians, and Revelations. There are nine biblical verses that may be strung together to get a good idea of what makes up a true believer. In order, they are: Romans 3:23, Romans 5:8, John 3:16, Romans 10:9-10, John 3:3, John 14:6, 2 Corintians 5:15 and Revelations 3:20. When these verses are strung together, they state: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” “For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He gave up His only begotten Son, so that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” “Because if you acknowledge and confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and in your heart believe that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart a person believes and so is justified, and with the mouth he confesses and confirms his salvation.” “Jesus answered him, I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, that unless a person is born again, he cannot ever see the kingdom of God.” Jesus said to him, I am the Way and the Truth and the Life; no one comes to the Father except by Me.” “And He died for all, so that all those who live might live no longer to and for themselves, but to and for Him Who Died and was raised again for their sake.” “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears and listens to and heeds My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will eat with him and he with Me” (New English Bible, 1963). In essence, as long as the divorced party continues to live their life in a godly fashion, they may request and receive forgiveness for the act of divorce, and as such, it would not influence the judgment of the Christian God on whether or not a person is a true believer, for the concept of divorce does not factor into whether or not a person is a true believer, and divorce does not discredit the idea that the person themselves is not a true believer, simply that they were not able to work out, or work through the issues that were present in the marriage. The reason for divorce could have been anything from irreconcilable differences, to the two parties growing apart and becoming different people than they were when they chose to get married, or something more sinister, such as the need of a woman or man to get out of an abusive situation. While some pastors, such as Peter Yoder, may attempt to state that “the practice of divorce is becoming increasingly mundane… (and) divorce has become increasingly predominant” (2005), studies actually show that due to the shift in the family model to the two income family, divorce “rates have fallen as couples marry later, and, some say, are better managing the two income life that may have been a stress point for past unions” (Milstead, 2012). The Centers for Disease Control, in a National Survey of Family Growth, showed that the divorce rate per 1,000 members of the population was only 3.4 in 2012. This has several different implications; first, that though the church would attempt to have its members believe that divorce is rampant, it is no longer equal to the numbers of the 1950s wherein one in every two marriages ended in divorce, and secondly, that divorce is not the threat that the church would like it to believe. With the “certain confusion in the public mind as to …the moralist in regard to marriage and divorce the authority of the Church is rapidly disappearing; the Church claimed the ethical sanction which the modern moralist claims though on different grounds” (Haynes, p. 87). The views on divorce itself are becoming more in line with the modern approaches to marriage and divorce, and these views are being backed up with quotations from the very same book, the Bible, that was first used to denounce the very same practice. Regardless of the fact that the views have shifted from a hellfire and brimstone outlook on divorce to a kinder, gentler, more forgiving outlook, the main premise is essentially the same; divorce is not an unpardonable sin, and as such, forgiveness for the act of divorcing one’s spouse may be requested and received. By receiving forgiveness for the particular act, the sinner is cleansed of their sins. The concept of divorce as having an effect on the true believer never enters the picture itself, for the true believer is determined by how good of a life they lead, whether or not they recognize the bad that they have done, and are truly repentant for the mistakes they have made, and the commandments they have broken. If the believer adheres to these particular concepts, it can be shown that the morality of divorce does not enter at all into the question of whether or not it affects or influences the Christian God’s judgment on who may be considered a true believer or not. Works Cited Abbott, Matt. "Tackling the 'taboo': Catholicism and Divorce." Renew America. Renew America, 24 Feb. 2012. Web. 03 Mar. 2013. . Bible.org. "Wedding Vows Samples." Sample Marriage Vows, Sample Wedding Vows. Bible.org, 1995. Web. 03 Mar. 2013. . Center for Disease Control, National Survey of Family Growth. "U.S. Divorce Rate Statistics." Statistic Brain RSS. Statistic Brain, 11 July 2012. Web. 03 Mar. 2013. . Haynes, E. S. P. "Divorce and Morality." International Journal of Ethics 25.1 (1914): 87-93. JSTOR. Web. 3 Mar. 2013. . Milstead, David. "As Two-Income Family Model Matures, Divorce Rate Falls." CNBC.com. NBC, 7 May 2012. Web. 03 Mar. 2013. . Smith, Mark A. "Religion, Divorce, And The Missing Culture War In America." Conference Papers -- Midwestern Political Science Association (2008): 1-49. Academic Search Premier. Web. 3 Mar. 2013. The New Testament in Four Versions: King James, Revised Standard, Phillips Modern English, New English Bible. Washington: Christianity Today, 1963. Print. Yonder, Peter. "Http://www.founders.org/journal/fj59/article2.html." Committed to Historic Baptist Principles. Founders Ministries, 2005. Web. 3 Mar. 2013. . Read More