Marriage, Divorce and Remarriage
Marriage, Divorce, and Remarriage
The Present, Past, and Future Tenses of Our Lives
Marriage is possibly one of the hardest tasks that a man and a woman can try to accomplish in their life (Curran 2011). They have to bring their conflicts, needs, desires, and challenges into a melodious whole. God designed marriage to be permanent. “I hate divorce,” says the Lord God of Israel, (Mal.2:16 NIV). Tennessee Code - Volume 6A, Title 36, Sections 36-4-101 and 36-4-103 states there are fourteen reasons a man and woman can divorce. A week after a marriage begins, there will always be grounds for divorce; but finding grounds for marriage is the key to keeping everything alive. Wardle (2010) states, “Religious communities conflict with the state over marriage…between duties to God and to the powers that God has allowed to control the state. Thus marriage is one powerfully important relationship that is of profound regulatory interest to, and remains subject to, both legal and religious jurisdiction and regulation.” Since marriage and divorce are governed by both of these principles, married couples find themselves stuck in the middle between religion and the state laws. The Bible’s teachings on marriage and divorce have led to much controversy between Christians and the World’s viewpoints on marriage, divorce, and remarriage. Marriage can be defined as finding that one exclusive person you want to exasperate for the rest of your life. The Bible says in Genesis 2:24, “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh” (Gen.2:24 NIV). Jesus emphasized this in Matt.19:4-6 NIV, “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.”
The Present, Past, and Future Tenses of Our Lives
Marriage is possibly one of the hardest tasks that a man and a woman can try to accomplish in their life (Curran 2011). They have to bring their conflicts, needs, desires, and challenges into a melodious whole. God designed marriage to be permanent. “I hate divorce,” says the Lord God of Israel, (Mal.2:16 NIV). Tennessee Code - Volume 6A, Title 36, Sections 36-4-101 and 36-4-103 states there are fourteen reasons a man and woman can divorce. A week after a marriage begins, there will always be grounds for divorce; but finding grounds for marriage is the key to keeping everything alive. Wardle (2010) states, “Religious communities conflict with the state over marriage…between duties to God and to the powers that God has allowed to control the state. Thus marriage is one powerfully important relationship that is of profound regulatory interest to, and remains subject to, both legal and religious jurisdiction and regulation.” Since marriage and divorce are governed by both of these principles, married couples find themselves stuck in the middle between religion and the state laws. The Bible’s teachings on marriage and divorce have led to much controversy between Christians and the World’s viewpoints on marriage, divorce, and remarriage. Marriage can be defined as finding that one exclusive person you want to exasperate for the rest of your life. The Bible says in Genesis 2:24, “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh” (Gen.2:24 NIV). Jesus emphasized this in Matt.19:4-6 NIV, “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.”
References: Curran, M., Ogolsky, B., Hazen, N., & Bosch, L. (2011). Understanding Marital Conflict 7 Years Later From Prenatal Representations of Marriage doi:10.1111/j.1545-5300.2011.01356.x Divorce and The Christian. (2004). Retrieved from http://christiandivorce.1hwy.com/ Grounds for Divorce in Tennessee. (1996-2011). Retrieved from http://www.divorcesource.com/info/divorcelawsgr/tennessee.shtml MacArthur, J. (1984). The MacArthur New Testament Commentary: I Corinthians. Chicago, Illinois: Moody Press. McCallum, D. (1985). The Ethics of Divorce and Remarriage. Nashville, Tennessee: Abingdon Press. National Center for Health Statistics. (2010). National Vital Statistics Reports. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr58/nvsr58_12.pdf Sember McWhorter, B. (2004). The Divorce Organizer and Planner. New York, New York: McGraw Hill. Wardle, L. D. (2010). MARRIAGE AND RELIGIOUS LIBERTY: COMPARATIVE LAW PROBLEMS AND CONFLICT OF LAWS SOLUTIONS