BRISBANE COLLEGE OF THEOLOGY
TRINITY THEOLOGICAL COLLEGE
Student: Paul Harbers
B5395 - Integrating Perspectives On Christian Ministry
A paper submitted to the Brisbane College of Theology
to meet, in part, the requirements of the
Degree of Bachelor of Theology
Lecturer: Rev. Prof. I. J. M. Haire
Second Reader: Rev. D. A. Pitman
© Paul Harbers 1995
email: phoopooh@gmail.com
doc format here: Divorce: Sin or Grace?
pdf format here: Divorce: Sin or Grace?
NOTE: Some of the formatting, all the page breaks and all the Greek fonts have been lost in transferring to Google Docs. format. If you want to see these you can download the original from the links above.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. INTRODUCTION............................................................................................... 3
1.1 SETTING THE SCENE .................................................................................... 3
1.2 THE CONCEPT OF MARRIAGE .................................................................... 5
1.3 THE CONCEPT OF DIVORCE........................................................................ 6
2. DIVORCE IN THE OLD TESTAMENT............................................................. 7
2.1 THE MOSAIC (or DEUTERONOMIC) LAW.................................................. 7
2.2 GOD ISSUES ISRAEL WITH A CERTIFICATE OF DIVORCE..................... 8
2.3 EZRA AND THE COMMAND TO DIVORCE................................................. 9
2.4 “I HATE DIVORCE”.......................................................................................... 9
3. NEW TESTAMENT TEACHING........................................................................10
3.1 THE GOSPELS..................................................................................................10
3.2 CONTEMPORARY JEWISH THOUGHT........................................................10
3.3 JESUS’ TEACHING..........................................................................................11
3.3.1 MATTHEW 5:31-32.......................................................................................11
3.3.2 MATTHEW 19:1-12.......................................................................................13
3.3.3 MARK 10:2-12 AND LUKE 16:18 ...............................................................14
3.3.4 MARK 10:2-12 ..............................................................................................15
3.3.5 LUKE 16:18....................................................................................................15
3.3.6 SUMMARY OF JESUS’ TEACHING...........................................................16
3.4 PAUL’S TEACHING .......................................................................................17
3.4.1 ROMANS 7:1-6.............................................................................................17
3.4.2 1 CORINTHIANS 7.......................................................................................17
4. DIVORCE THROUGHOUT HISTORY..............................................................18
4.1 THE VIEWS OF THE CHURCH FATHERS ....................................................18
4.1.1 The Shepherd of Hermas (written c. 100 or 140 A.D.) .....................................18
4.1.2 Athenagoras (c. 177 A.D.) ..............................................................................18
4.1.3 Clement of Alexandria (c. 150–215 A.D.) .......................................................19
4.1.4 Tertullian (c. 150–220 A.D.)............................................................................19
4.1.5 Origen (c. 185–254 A.D.)...............................................................................19
4.1.6 Lactantius (c. 240–320 A.D.)..........................................................................19
4.1.7 Canons of the Synod of Elvira (306 A.D.) .......................................................20
4.1.8 Basil of Caesarea (C. 300–379 A.D.).............................................................20
4.1.9 Augustine (354–430 A.D.) .............................................................................20
4.1.10 Summary......................................................................................................20
4.2 THE REFORMATION .....................................................................................21
5. A THEOLOGY OF DIVORCE...........................................................................21
5.1 PERFECTION IN AN IMPERFECT WORLD?...............................................21
5.2 SIN ..................................................................................................................22
5.3 THE DOCTRINE OF JUSTIFICATION..........................................................23
5.4 THE IMAGE OF GOD.....................................................................................23
5.5 A THEOLOGY OF FULFILMENT..................................................................24
5.6 THE GRACE OF GOD ....................................................................................25
6. PASTORAL REALITIES....................................................................................26
6.1 THE CHURCH’S ATTITUDE: LAW OR GRACE? .........................................26
6.1.1 LEGALISM....................................................................................................26
6.1.2 GRACE AND LOVE.....................................................................................27
7. CONCLUSION...................................................................................................29
8. BIBLIOGRAPHY..................................................................................................30
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 SETTING THE SCENE
Divorce is a most controversial issue which divides the Christian church. Church hierarchy,
ministers, lay persons and scholars are deeply divided on the subject. It would appear that there is
little chance of reconciling the differing opinions especially when some state dogmatically that “for
the follower of Christ, divorce is impossible and the question of remarriage does not, therefore,
arise.”1 Ellisen suggests that although marriage is “ordained to be a ‘little taste of heaven on earth,’
at times it becomes a little (sic) taste of something else.”2 How should the church deal with it when
“it becomes a little taste of something else?”
The World Council of Churches document on Sexuality and Human Relationships states that
all churches affirm that marriage is a commitment made for life. Some [churches] see it as
indissoluble, permanent. Others recognize that, although they must uphold its permanent
nature, the truth is that marriages do fail. These latter churches do not change the marriage
vow, “until death do us part” or “as long as we both shall live”, but they recognize that
commitment is a matter of honest and loving intention rather than absolute fact.3
The Roman Catholic church refuses to countenance divorce for any reason. She “recognizes
the marriage sacrament consummated by two baptized persons as completely indissoluble”4 (“no
human authority, not even the highest Church authority, can dissolve such a marriage”),5 yet has
instituted an elaborate system whereby an annulment is possible under specified circumstances.6
Remarriage in the Roman Catholic scheme of things is totally prohibited.7 Many other
denominations hold that a divorce may only be granted on the grounds of adultery because they
believe that that was what Jesus “commanded“, yet many then refuse the right to remarry. Some
denominations still require to apportion guilt before approving a couple’s divorce. Yet others have
little difficulty accepting that Christian marriages do fail, that the couples (and families) need to go
through the grieving and healing process, pick up the pieces, and carry on living life to the fullest as
God has intended. Some churches allow for couples to separate but not formally divorce or seek
new partners. Other churches refuse the right of divorcees to become pastors or ministers.
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1 Tatford, F A., Is there an Answer? Problems of the Present Day, Scarborough, Ontario: Everyday, 1983 p. 18.
2 Ellisen, S A., Divorce and Remarriage in the Church, Grand Rapids: Lamplighter, 1980, p. 41.
3 Smith, R., Living in Covenant with God and One Another, Geneva: W.C.C., 199, p. 58.
4 Smith, R., Living in Covenant with God and One Another, Geneva: W.C.C., 199, p. 61.
5 Tabbernee, W., Marriage in Australian Churches, Melbourne: Victorian Council of Churches, 1982, p. 95.
6 Gardner, E. C., Biblical Faith and Social Ethics, N.Y.: Harper and Row, 1960, p. 242; c/f Smith, Covenant, p. 61.
7 This paper cannot make a detailed study of the various denominations’ approach to marriage, divorce or remarriage. There are many works available on this subject. For concise essays on the Roman Catholic and Protestant views of marriage refer to the articles by D. L. Carmody and W. Yates in Journal of Ecumenical Studies, Vol. XXII No. 1 Winter, 1985, pp. 28-54.
Ken Crispin very succinctly notes that “the main thing which [most of] these views have in
common is that the proponents of each claim infallibility based on biblical authority”8, yet it seems
that many of these positions ignore the grace, the love, the compassion and the forgiveness of
God. For many of these positions it appears that divorce is either a greater sin than all others or the
“unforgivable sin”. They place great strain on partners enduring intolerable circumstances within a
marriage relationship or place a heavy burden of psychological guilt on the couple if divorce action
proceeds and then often offer no ministry except to urge the couple to be reconciled regardless of
the traumas which the relationship has been through or the results of such action.
In the light of these differing views one would suppose that there is a Biblical injunction for
couples to marry, yet surprisingly this is not the case. Greenburg points out that “there is not a
single explicit command to marry. Procreate? Yes. Marry? Not one commandment. Rather the
information comes to us in the form of description and recommendation”.9 We may well ask if
marriage per se is not based on a divine command, why all the fuss when an unbiblical
arrangement is dissolved?
However, it is recognised that marriage is a social rite of most human societies, and in
Christian circles is usually seen as a divine institution, therefore the problem of the breakdown of
marriages and how Christians deal with it needs to be addressed.
How, in Christian love and compassion, can a Christian church adopt the inflexible and
rigorous line that divorce is totally prohibited when some of its ministers could well be counselling
wives (or husbands) who are the victims of gross physical, emotional and sexual abuse, to the point
of being in fear for their very lives? How can a minister justify the position that the marriage bond is
inviolable until death, that the spouse must return to and live with their partner even if it means that
s/he) may be killed?10 The question may well be asked: “Is there a moral obligation to continue in
relationships which are destructive?”11
Divorce is today a much more common occurrence than in the past. When divorce was not
socially acceptable, and so relatively uncommon, it was not difficult for the church
to stand immovable in its position that marriage was a life-long union, and refuse to allow
divorce or the remarriage of divorcees . . .but today the situation has changed so
dramatically . . . [that the church is] asked to acknowledge that in a fallen world, sometimes
the ideal is impossible – and forgiveness is available for those who fail.”12
Australia in the twentieth century is a liberal democracy in which no single group of persons,
including the church, has the right to impose their philosophy on the rest of society. Whereas in a
nation which has a state church (e.g. Ireland, Samoa et al) it is possible for the church to impose
her views, this is not possible or even desirable in Australia.13
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8 Crispin, K., Divorce: The Unforgivable Sin?, Sydney: Hodder and Stoughton, 1988, p. 4
9 Greenburg, B., “Marriage in the Jewish Tradition”, Journal of Ecumenical Studies, Vol. XXII, No. 1 Winter, 1985, p. 4.
10 Refer Crispin, K., Divorce Chapter 1 The Problem of Oversimplification for some other examples of what some ministers expect some spouses to endure within a marriage in order to maintain the sanctity of the “indissoluble” bond of matrimony.
11 Higgins, G. C., Twelve Theological Dilemmas, New York: Paulist, 1991, p. 103.
12 Giles, K., “For Any Cause? Jesus’ Attitude to Divorce”, On Being Vol. 10, No. 6, July, 1983, p. 7.
13 Note Paul’s injunction to refrain from judging the world, that is God’s prerogative - 1 Cor. 5:12f.
