Divorce

Divorce

The breakdown of a marriage involves breaking promises made before God during the marriage ceremony and it's seen by all Christians as a tragedy.
Not all Christians agree whether divorce is permissible or even possible.
Jesus talked about divorce in the Gospels - he was anti-divorce, but pro-forgiveness.
1. In Mark 10:2-12 Jesus says that Moses allowed divorce because of people's "hardness of heart". But he says that the creation of manking marriages were meant to last for life, and if a divorcee remarries it's he same as adultery.
2. Matthew 5:31-32 and 19:8-9 say the same thing - except that divorce is permitted to someone whose partner has already been unfaithful.
3. In John 8:1-11, Jesus freely forgives a woman caught in he act of adultery. But tells her, "Go now and leave your life of sin".
Nonconformist Churches (e.g. Baptists and Methodists) will generally remarry divorcees, but an individual minister can refuse to do so if this goes against his or her own conscience.
The Church of England says that divorce is acceptable, but that divorced people can only remarry in church if they can find a minister willing to marry them.
The Roman Catholic Church states that it is actually impossible to divorce. Marriage is a sacrament - God has made the couple into one flesh, and this can't be undone.
However, a marriage can be anulled - annulment means that it was never a true marriage in the first place.
1. This can happen if: either partner did not consent to the marriage or didn't understand what marriage is about; the couple didn't or couldn't have sex, or one partner refused to have children.

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	Created by Becca Westwell over 9 years ago