Divorce and Remarriage: Biblical and Church Perspectives

Introduction

The divisive issue of divorce and remarriage has been a source of contention within the Church for many years, and there is no clear consensus on what the biblical stance on the matter should be. On one side of the debate are those who believe that divorce should only be allowed in cases of infidelity, while on the other side are those who believe that any divorce, regardless of the reason, is a sin. The fact that there is such division on this issue highlights the complex nature of divorce and its implications for both individuals and families. As Bertrand Russell points out, "there may be all kinds of differences as regards divorce, from the Catholic extreme, which permits no divorce, to the law of old China, which permitted a man to divorce his wife for being a chatterbox."¹

Despite the lack of clarity on the biblical stance, a few principles can be gleaned from Scripture. First and foremost, marriage is a sacred covenant between two people and should be treated as such. Secondly, divorce should always be a last resort after all other avenues have been exhausted. And thirdly, in cases where divorce does occur, both parties should remain committed to working toward reconciliation. By understanding and applying these principles, the Church can provide much-needed support and guidance to those affected by divorce.

However, some proponents of divorce and remarriage within the Church have argued that Jewish law provides a set of conditions or stipulations that would allow divorce and remarriage, so long as those conditions were met. Traditionally, divorce in the eyes of the Church is considered a sin because it is regarded as contrary to the will of God. The goal of this paper is to explore what factors might permit individuals to remarry and maintain good standing in the Church. Some biblical scholars argue that the Bible does permit remarriage, while others oppose it and consider it an act of adultery. This paper will discuss three conditions of permitted divorce and remarriage in order to understand more deeply the implications of this issue for Christians today.

Initial Challenges: Marriage as Sacrament and Covenant

Not all Christians view marriage as a sacrament. The Catholic Church views it as a sacrament, but many Protestant denominations view marriage as a relationship that can be dissolved despite its certain covenantal characteristics. In the Catholic Church, there are seven recognized sacraments: Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist, Penance, Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders, and Matrimony.

Each sacrament is believed to be an outward sign of an inward grace, instituted by Christ to bestow that grace upon those who participate in it. For many Protestants, there is only one sacrament — Baptism — and this is an important consideration when thinking about whether marriage is something the Church should view as indissoluble. The word "sacrament" comes from the Latin sacramentum, which originally referred to a soldier's oath of allegiance to the emperor (from sacer, "sacred," and facere, "to make"). In Christian usage, it came to refer to anything considered sacred or holy. As Cooke points out, sacraments are for people.²

Whether marriage is viewed as a sacrament or not, most Christians view it as having at least some covenantal character. The term "covenant" comes from the Latin word for "promise." A marriage covenant is a sacred promise between a man and woman to remain faithful to each other until death. This covenant is not merely a piece of paper; it is a public declaration of love and commitment before God and witnesses. From the perspective of the Catholic Church, the sacrament of marriage is a sign of Christ's love for the Church. Christ gave himself up for her, dying on the cross to cleanse her from sin. In the same way, a husband is called to lay down his life for his wife, and a wife is called to submit herself to her husband out of love and respect (Ephesians 5:25). The marriage covenant is a sacred institution that requires selfless love, sacrificial giving, and lifelong fidelity. It is not a relationship one enters into thinking that if things do not work out one can simply try again with another partner. It is not to be taken lightly, but rather entered into with prayer and forethought.³ Those who enter into this covenant should do so with the understanding that it is for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do they part.

However, in modern times — and especially since the end of the High Middle Ages, when Protestantism spread — divorce has become more common. It began to enter the mainstream in the twentieth century, and today it is an accepted practice in secular culture; it is common knowledge that roughly half of all marriages end in divorce.⁴ Divorce is so common today that many young people do not even see the point of marriage, choosing instead to live in common-law relationships, as the spiritual, sacramental, and covenantal character of matrimony has been degraded by secular lifestyles devoid of higher vision. What is the Church to do in such situations? What is the Christian to do, living in such a world?

To some extent the Church is not ignorant of the situation. As Peter Toon points out:

"The Roman Catholic Church, which still teaches that marriage is indissoluble, has faced the great increase in divorce in the United States among its 60-million members through a variety of marriage-saving and enriching programs and also through the granting of annulments. Thus many thousands of Roman Catholics, whose marriages are terminated by the courts of this country, then go through a process by which it is declared by the Church that their first marriage was not a true marriage because of this or that impediment, and an annulment is given. Then they are free to receive Holy Communion and to marry again."⁵

In the eyes of the Church, an annulment is simply a formal declaration noting that a true marriage never took place — which neatly resolves the problem of divorce, since if there was no real marriage in the first place there is no divorce to end it. However, the question of divorce itself still remains. What if divorce occurs and there are no grounds for annulment? Toon suggests that all Christians who enter into marriage are called to respect the covenantal quality of marriage as decreed by God — and thus indissoluble except by the death of one spouse.⁶ Not everyone agrees with this interpretation, and some argue that exception clauses exist in Scripture and can be used to justify divorce today.

Using Jewish Law as a Framework

While the Christian law of the New Testament is rather clear on the matter of marriage and its indissolubility — as in 1 Corinthians 7:10–11, for instance — the Jewish law of the Old Testament does seem to present some exceptions, as in Deuteronomy 24:1. In fact, some commentators argue that these exceptions appear even in the New Testament. Matthew 5:32 states: "But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except for the reason of unchastity, makes her commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery." This verse resonates with Deuteronomy 24, yet stands in contrast to 1 Corinthians 7:10–11, which holds: "But to the married I give instructions, not I, but the Lord, that the wife should not leave her husband (but if she does leave, she must remain unmarried, or else be reconciled to her husband), and that the husband should not divorce his wife." Clearly there is some contrast in the messaging, and it is this contrast that makes the matter of divorce so complicated. Nonetheless, examining some exceptions to divorce as rooted in the Scriptures can bring some clarity and balance to the issue.

Three Exceptions to the Rule of Divorce

Under Jewish law, divorce is only permissible in certain circumstances. One such circumstance is if the husband finds something indecent in his wife. This exception is based on Deuteronomy 24:1, which states: "If a man takes a wife and she does not please him because he finds some indecency in her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce and sends her out of his house." According to this verse, if the husband finds some indecency in his wife, he has the right to divorce her. The term "indecency" is not further defined in the Bible, so it is left to the interpretation of the rabbis to determine what qualifies. Some rabbis have interpreted this to mean physical infidelity, while others have interpreted it more broadly to include any behavior the husband finds offensive. However, this exception is not without its critics; many argue that it gives husbands too much power and can be abused.⁷ Nonetheless, it remains a recognized exception under Jewish law, and those who argue that divorce is therefore permitted under Christian law often appeal to this Jewish law perspective.

Another exception to the rule against divorce concerns a wife found to have been unchaste before marriage. Deuteronomy 22 stipulates that if it was proven a wife was not a virgin when she married her husband, he would be allowed to divorce her, and the wife would face punishment. While this may seem a harsh rule, it is important to remember the context in which it was written. At that time, marriage was considered a contract between two families; if the bride was not a virgin, it was seen as a breach of contract and grounds for divorce. In modern society, marriage is no longer viewed as a family contract in this sense, and virginity is no longer treated as a legal prerequisite for marriage. Consequently, this particular exception no longer applies — at least not in the eyes of the Church.

While Paul does not provide exceptions to divorce in his epistles to the Greco-Roman world generally, he does articulate one exception known as the Pauline Privilege — "the dissolution of a non-sacramental marriage when one spouse has converted to Christianity [1 Cor. 7:12, 15]."⁸ The Pauline Privilege allows a couple to be divorced and remarried if they were not validly married in the first place. Named after Saint Paul, who wrote about it in his First Epistle to the Corinthians, the privilege applies when one or both parties were not baptized Christians at the time of the marriage. The Pauline Privilege is important because it allows couples who were not validly married to divorce and remarry without undergoing the full annulment process. This can be helpful in situations where one party has already remarried or where there are children from the first union. It is important to note that the Pauline Privilege does not apply in cases of adultery or desertion in a valid marriage; in those cases, an annulment is still necessary.⁹

Conclusion

Although divorce is common today, the Church does not and cannot condone it. The Church believes that marriage is a sacred covenant between a man and a woman, and that divorce goes against God's will. The Church also teaches that marriage is for life, and that divorced couples should not remarry. Divorce can be devastating for both spouses and children, and the Church wants to do everything possible to prevent it. However, the Church also recognizes that sometimes divorce is unavoidable, and in those cases it offers compassion and support. The Church does not condone divorce, but it does point the way to healing for those who have been affected by it. That healing does not come through approval of remarriage, but rather through direction to the Cross, where all can set down their burdens in hopes of finding peace in the salvation ransomed by Christ through His sacrifice.