AND MARRIES ANOTHER Divorce and Remarriage in th e Teaching o f th e NewTestament

Abstract

Why still another book on divorce and remarriage for the Chris tian market? Because the issue is a pressing one that much of the church of Jesus Christ has failed to address responsibly. On the one hand, it has become all too easy to cite several proof-texts and so pass judgment on other people’s lives or ministry. On the other hand, it is convenient to ignore certain texts and to pass over the horribly tragic character of divorce, thus blending into the false values of modern North American society. When I began my Bible college training, I met brothers and sisters who had been divorced before their conversion but had felt called to ministry after their conversion. Although most of the students I knew seemed to sympathize with them, these prospec tive ministers were told by certain professors that they may as well give up on their calling altogether, because this very conservative denomination would not license them. They were caught in a fix: most districts did not want single ministers, but the denomination forbade divorced ministers to remarry under any circumstances.