It always amazes me how good, God-fearing people who love the Lord with all their hearts can come to such different conclusions about so many issues regarding doctrine and biblical interpretation. While good people can differ, I think it is always good to consider the different points of view posed by believers on controversial issues. Obviously, when opinions differ, we can't all be right. We may all be wrong, or all partly right. And even among our differences we can often find common ground. But we need to be "prayerfully careful" that we examine everything in light of the scriptures, properly interpreted.
Divorce and remarriage is one of those issues that needs some careful examination, as the opinions by evangelical writers and teacher vary greatly, with great ramifications, no matter what conclusions are determined. There are good, Godly men and women who believe that divorce and remarriage are permitted for any number of good reasons; there are those who believe divorce and remarriage are permitted only in the case of adultery by a spouse or be desertion of a believer by an unbeliever; there are those who believe that divorce is allowed in these situations, but remarriage is not. And then there are those who believe that any remarriage is adultery and must be repented of by ending the subsequent, adulterous marriage and returning, if possible, to the original one, or remaining single while the original spouse is still alive; and there are yet others, such as John Piper and Voddie Baucham, who believe that any divorce is wrong, including divorcing the "adulterous" spouse to return to the first - their thought is that two wrongs don't make a right.
I have read many dozens of websites, books, blogs and the like on this issue. Some offer opinions that seem more informed than others (on all sides of the various fences, by the way). And although my position has been changing on this issue somewhat over both the past years, and recently in the past few months, I am still trying to discern what God's heart is about the issue. There are many points that are raised on all sides of the debate. There are also many questions which are raised by one side which don't always seem to be addressed by the others (and visa-versa). There is good and bad logic; there is good and flimsy handling of the original languages and the cultural contexts which need to be considered. There are often times where ideas are read into the texts used to prove or disprove positions when the text doesn't HAVE to be saying any of those things at all.
I am undecided on the issue. But my intent here is to start a blog and perhaps a "dialog" with some of you who may read it - as iron sharpens iron, perhaps we can bounce some ideas around about what God's heart is in this matter. I don't expect that everyone will see it the same way; but my intention here is to try to spark some honest discussion about these issues with like-minded Christians who are trying to discern what God's heart is on this issue. I will be posting ideas as I have opportunity to do so, regarding the different aspects of this puzzle. Perhaps between us, we can all come to a clearer understanding of God's heart and mind on this issue.
I will be posting more pages and the like, but in the meantime, any general (thoughtful, honest) comments are welcome.
