Divorce And Remarriage The Other Side

Seventy now-adult children of divorce give their candid and often heart-wrenching answers to eight questions (arranged in eight chapters, by question), including: What were the main effects of your parents' divorce on your life? What do you say to those who claim that "children are resilient" and "children are happy when their parents are happy"? What would you like to tell your parents then and now? What do you want adults in our culture to know about divorce? What role has your faith played in your healing? Their simple and poignant responses are difficult to read and yet not without hope. Most of the contributors--women and men, young and old, single and married--have never spoken of the pain and consequences of their parents' divorce until now. They have often never been asked, and they believe that no one really wants to know. Despite vastly different circumstances and details, the similarities in their testimonies are striking; as the reader will discover, the death of a child's family impacts the human heart in universal ways.

Divorce is rampant in the world and in the Church. The World Health Organization has named swine flu a pandemic because of its rapid spread around the world. Divorce, because of its rapid and out of control growth in the Church should be viewed as a Christian pandemic. Divorce and Remarriage looks at three areas, the problem, the solution and how to get to the solution. Divorce in the Christian church is a result of secular thinking and a biblical ignorance. The Bible is full of illustrations of marital strife and its affects on family, children and associates. The solution is simple; the Bible also gives explicit instructions and illustrations to the Christian so they can have a meaningful and fulfilling relationship. The last step is the hardest; how to arrive at the solution. Divorce and Remarriage is not a self help book. Christians cannot help themselves. Jesus said he would send a helper; the Holy Spirit. Therein lies the solution. In the power of the Holy Spirit we find the solution; a transformed life. Divorce and Remarriage is a call to Christians to take responsibility for their actions, submit themselves under the authority of Scripture and find fulfillment in their next and last marriage. Bill became a Christian while going through his second divorce. He is a graduate of Word Of Life Bible Institute in Schroon Lake, New York. He has a bachelor of Arts degree is Church Education from Southeastern Bible College in Birmingham, Alabama. He is currently living with his wife in Sarasota, Florida.

Editor H. Wayne House introduces a lively debate on varying Christian views of divorce and remarriage. Contributors include J. Carl Laney, William Heth, Thomas Edgar and Larry Richards.

"I want to stick with what the Bible says. No compromise." The church has operated on the assumption that all divorce is always sin and disqualifies every man as serving as a pastor, elder, or deacon. Variations from that position have been viewed as compromise of the Word of God. After studying every passage in the Bible that deals with divorce and remarriage, Dave Miller has come to a different position. In Disqualified, he examines the Old Testament evidence that sets the cornerstone and lays the foundation of the biblical teaching, then looks at the framework constructed in Jesus' radical teachings. He examines the finishing touches put on by Paul, especially in 1 Corinthians 7, establishing the key biblical teachings on divorce, remarriage, and ministry. God's intent from creation was that marriage be a lifelong covenant between one man and one woman, but in a world broken by sin also granted exceptions based on the "hardness of the human heart." After surveying the biblical evidence, Dave Miller asks several key questions for individuals and churches to consider. Have those who been divorced been permanently disqualified from leadership positions in churches? What does the phrase, "husband of one wife" mean? The church cannot ignore this subject and must search the Scriptures to seek the mind of Christ on it. Simply relying on tradition or doing what pleases people is not sufficient. God's word is always right and Dave Miller is convinced that we need to take a new look at this difficult topic.

To many, the New Testament's teaching on divorce and remarriage seems to be both impractical and unfair. The "plain" meaning of the texts allows for divorce only in cases of adultery or desertion, and it does not permit remarriage until the death of one's former spouse. But are these proscriptions the final word for Christians today? Are we correctly reading the scriptures that address these issues? By looking closely at the biblical texts on divorce and remarriage in light of the first-century Jewish and Greco-Roman world, this book shows that the original audience of the New Testament heard these teachings differently. Through a careful exploration of the background literature of the Old Testament, the ancient Near East, and especially ancient Judaism, David Instone-Brewer constructs a biblical view of divorce and remarriage that is wider in scope than present-day readings. Among the important findings of the book are that both Jesus and Paul condemned divorce without valid grounds and discouraged divorce even for valid grounds; that both Jesus and Paul affirmed the Old Testament grounds for divorce; that the Old Testament allowed divorce for adultery and for neglect or abuse; and that both Jesus and Paul condemned remarriage after an invalid divorce but not after a valid divorce. Instone-Brewer shows that these principles are not only different from the traditional church interpretation of the New Testament but also directly relevant to modern relationships. Enhanced with pastoral advice on how to apply the biblical teaching in today's context, this volume will be a valuable resource for anyone seeking serious answers about married life.

Will God allow me to divorce my abusive husband? Would it be a sin if I remarried? Divorce and remarriage are major pastoral issues facing every church. Yet when we turn to Scripture for guidance, we often hear conflicting messages about its teachings. David Instone-Brewer shows how, when properly understood, the New Testament provides faithful, realistic and wise guidance for the church today.