Biblical Worldview On Divorce

Danni Hang
Professor Fletcher
GENE 100
November 8, 2014
The Biblical Worldview on Divorce In the book, A Study of the Biblical Worldview of K—12 Christian School Educators, Wood defines a worldview as a set of fundamentals beliefs through which we see the world considering our call and future in it. Reality is managed and pursued through it, as well as interpreting and integrating the framework for judging order and disorder in a standard way (Wood 21). Although different denominations have varying interpretation of worldviews, it forms a frame in which all Christians interpret the world. This vision should be articulated, internalized, developed explicitly into a methodical conception, as well as deepened into philosophy. The secularizing
force of the modern society over the past two centuries has rendered Christianity’s scope forgotten. The theistic perspective squeezed out of public life whereas faith reduced to personal devoutness. Biblical worldview is greatly used by Christians today to interpret the contemporary social problems. This article focuses on the application of the biblical worldview on divorce. Divorce is described as a judicial affirmation dissolving marriage, in consideration of the fact that marriage partners have been released from all matrimonial obligations. Most Christians view marriage as a gift from God and therefore a sacred institution. The main contributing factor to divorce in the modern society is the increasing acceptance of the alternate view of marriage as a social contract. Marriage in the contemporary society is governed by civil laws rather than God’s covenant. Marriage is driven more by love between partners as opposed to the commitment of keeping the vows (Bacchiocchi). In the society today, paralegals advertize representation on dissolution of marriage services on media implying that marriage a commodity on traded. In the modern society, having a clear understanding of marriage being important to our society from a Christian perspective redefines marriage to fit particular social and political agendas in the society. In order to analyze the application of the biblical worldview on divorce, we first look at the development of the biblical worldview in the Christian society. Worldview is the vital element of all cultures and for good reason change can occur in the lives of people until it has touched deeply on the people’s worldview. In the modern society, understanding its culture is becoming a great task and is no longer a luxury since culture provides a stepping-stone towards understanding the worldview. Understanding the worldview is of crucial importance to our personal, family, Christian, and community life because God can answer the worldview issues that pose questions of critical reality. God requires that we live our lives in Christian ways He wants our foundations to be squarely laid on Christian grounds (Weerstra). When our foundations and worldview are biblical, all our beliefs are right and produce good virtues. Jesus in the gospel of Luke develops in disciples a biblical worldview that gives them true fundamentals. “And they said one to another, Did not our heart burns within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?” (Luke 24: 32, King James Version). Contrary to people’s opinion, the concept of divorce is biblically used and referred many times in the bible.
Therefore, Christians must do their best to understand it, gain God’s teachings about it, and consequently apply to actual cases the biblical scriptures regarding divorce. Although many conclude that the bible does not address divorce but rather denounce and condemn poses a wrong perception of divorce. It, therefore, calls for a wide understanding of the biblical view in addressing this issue. In the book of Malachi, God emphatically gets involved in the divorce proceedings against Israel. “I hate divorce,” says the lord of Israel “and I hate a man covering himself with violence as well as with his garment,” says the lord almighty. So guard yourself in the spirit, and do not break faith (Malachi 2:19, the New International Version). It is a fact that God does not like divorce but He neither does hate all divorces since in some circumstances it could be proper. The consequence of divorce is what makes it a bad practice because it affects children the
most. According to Mosaic Law, a man could divorce his wife and by so doing issue her with a certificate of divorce. The certificate acted as a protective mechanism to ensure that the man does not claim the dowry. It further acted a license to prove the freedom of a previously married woman. (Deut. 24:1-4). In the gospel according to St. Mathew, Jesus precisely abolished the Mosaic Law that allowed divorce (Alexander and ALEXANDER). The practice was viewed as an act that violated women’s integrity. Jesus discarded the right to disregard their wives by men and advocated for the lifelong union of ‘one flesh’ (Matt. 5:31-32, New International Version). The New Testament allows divorce only to as an exception to protect spouses who have been wronged in cases of dissertation and immorality (Carpenter). The teachings embed in the mentality of the disciples and opted celibacy as a lifelong, monogamous marriage. In the first letter of Paul to the Corinthians, the scripture says that any person who is bound to a marriage is free to remarry (1Cor. 7:39, King James Version). The above scripture provides room for divorced victims to remarry. In conclusion, the fact God did not provide a specific law to prohibit divorce shows His realistic approach to the contemporary human life.
It illustrates God’s will to work with redemption on behalf of those who do not live up to His desires. Considering the effects of God’s attitude towards divorce in the Old and New, testaments it dawns to us that the biblical worldview analyzes critically the issues we face in the modern society. The original plan of marriage was lifelong union between spouses although divorce came to defy this fundamental principle. In the light of this principle, Christians should solve marital issues in an amicable way to avoid violation of God plan. Developing a clear understanding of the biblical world is a major step towards addressing the contemporary issue of the society. The key to dynamic foundation of obedience among Christians is the development of a solid Christian worldview. Obedience is a necessary tool for Christians to live in a mature and complete way. Thus, the biblical worldview is of great importance in dealing with the alternate
worldview.

Works Cited
Alexander, Samuel and Joseph ALEXANDER. The Gospel According to Matthew, Explained by Joseph Addison Alexander. London: J. Nisbet & Company, 1861.
Bacchiocchi, Samuele. The Marriage Covenant: A Biblical Study on Marriage, Divorce, and Remarriage. Michigan: Biblical Perspectives, 1994.
Carpenter, Eugene. Holman Treasury of Key Bible Words: 200 Greek and 200 Hebrew Words Explained and Defined. Nashville, Tennessee: B&H Publishing Group, 2000.
Weerstra, Hans. "Christian Worldview Development." INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF FRONTIER MISSIONS (1997): 2-11.
Wood, Mark.K. A Study of the Biblical Worldview of K--12 Christian School Educators. Ann Arbor, Michigan: ProQuest, 2008.