Marriage, Divorce and Celibacy

The prominent glaring topic that has to be dealt with is the teaching that wives should submit to their husbands. Many husbands today have taken this teaching too literally and have caused heartache in their marital relationships by demanding that the wives do everything that they say. The one thing that is left out in this way of thinking is that husbands should love their wives as Christ loved the church. Christ loved the church so much that he sacrificed himself for her. The husband should do the same thing. As Manfred T. Brauch has pointed out, “Paul is actually saying that when a wife who is a Christian submits herself to Christ and lets Him be the Lord of her life she will have no problem

any man has been loved by his wife, her husband has been. (2). As stated

Summary: Dr. Hawkins has done a wonderful job in presenting the essential elements of what it takes to have a Biblically sound intimate and committed marriage. In Strengthening Marital Intimacy (1991), he has captured the two foundational truths, intimacy and commitment, makes a good marriage into a great marriage. It is not enough to know the Word of God intellectually there must be a real surrendering to the sovereign will of God. To do it will transform a life of commitment to God and to the marriage. The key concepts presented in this book cover marital intimacy, commitment, wisdom, reality, God’s sovereignty, the person, sexuality,

“Marriage is the way in which a man and a woman establish between themselves a partnership of the whole of life, is by its nature ordered toward the good of the spouses and the procreation and education of offspring; this covenant between baptized persons has been raised by Christ the Lord to the dignity of a sacrament.” (Vatican) In today’s world divorce has become a rather recurring theme. Men and women marry younger and younger, and in many cases it has nothing to do with love. In these cases people marry for selfish reasons such as sexual desires, pride, or principal. These reasons have nothing to do with love and marriage should not be built upon them.

God created marriage as a union between man and woman. A woman, while still having a mind of her own and control over her own life, is under the authority of her husband. This frightens some women, who fear oppression at the hands of their husbands. While it is true that some men abuse the system that God set up for man and woman, not all men act as such. The Bible states monogamy is what God laid down as a foundational law of marriage,

Divorce is a practice that is essential in the religions of Christianity and Islam. There is acceptance, although under certain specific conditions, for divorce to be engaged by the people according to the two religions. Nonetheless, divorce is practiced in both Christianity and Islam, even with the strong teachings against it as showed by the First Letter to the Corinthians. According to Paul, there are aspects of human life that indicate that divorce is an acceptable activity, however, it is written “And to those who are married, I command; no, not I, but the Lord: that a wife should not separate from her husband; and if she does separate herself, she must remain single or else be reconciled with her husband; and a man should not divorce his wife.” (Lattimore 367) Christianity, according to the first letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians, has strong words of advice that come from accepting divorce. For instance, St. Paul is against divorce that happens under grounds that are uncertain and not within what has been written in the law. For example, any divorce that happens in a way that one of the members of the responsibility is trying to be against the laws of marriage. Paul himself says “If any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she consents to live with him, he should not divorce her; and a woman who has a husband who is an unbeliever and who consents to live with her should not divorce him. For the unbelieving husband is hallowed by his wife, and the

Usually in today’s society many couples place their definition of divorce in what men from the Old Testament placed their definition and circumstances. Lack of growth with each other, falling out of love, meeting other people, financial issues and lacking to maintain a home are only a few samples of the circumstances used today and in the Old Testament. None circumstance are those that Christ gives in the New Testament. Unfaithfulness and spousal abuse (although not mentioned in the New Testament, but indicated)

The first lesson that we can learn is that sex before marriage is wrong. This is supported by a multitude of verses such as Hebrews 13:4 (NIV) which says, “Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.” Sexual immorality is obviously applicable in the context of marriage and Paul actually single out sexual immorality as completely different from all other sins, so it is nothing that we should treat lightly. He says in 1 Corinthians 6:18-20, “Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body. Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your

The Ten Laws of Boundaries to Marriage compelled me to think about marriage at a different angle. It intrigued my views to learning more about these laws, which selfishness was definitely an action seen many times in my childhood after reading this. Furthermore, marriage has always been a term that as been misused throughout my childhood. “For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her” (Ephesians 5:25 NLT). Although this was quoted throughout my life, the similarities were not visible when marriage was displayed before me. The attraction to love everything more than your relationship can be a dangerous action, because it goes against the will of God concerning marriage. Moreover, the Ten Laws of Boundaries to Marriage talked about this very thing, which teaches one to observe their own relationship with an unselfish heart.

I believe that divorce is derived from many different reasons that may be controllable and uncontrollable. Although I do not believe, divorce is the only options for a couple I think they should weigh their options very clearly for a lengthened period to make sure that they have not made a mistake. I also believe that Christian laws for divorce are very detrimental, they do not allow for many other reason that cause divorce. Furthermore, I believe that one can only be held accountable for their own actions and that is why marriage is depicted off faith. However, I think Christianity should broaden their thoughts on divorce, as I do not believe that God would command that his followers live an unhappy life.

Paul’s purpose was to prepare believers for the second coming of Christ. He believed that the end of time on Earth was coming soon and the dead shall rise. Paul focused was that all Christian should be prepared for Christ resurrection at any given moment. By preparing, every human being should remain unmarried. He explained that the single life allows Christians the freedom and the flexibility to serve God without discretion. However, his expectations of the imminent Parousia affected his advice regarding marriage and living a single life greatly (Harris, 2014). Paul strongly believed that everyone should remain in their present state not because sex is dirty or wrong, but until the end of times. Paul dissected how human inequality can be developed

The imminent return of Christ was a topic of extreme importance to Paul, and significantly influenced numerous of Paul’s letters. Also, various Bible scholars believe that the Parousia directly influenced Paul’s stance on marriage (Harris, 2014). However, the question remains did this affect his views on marriage and the Christian life? Although the certain scholars believe this is the case, I Corinthians chapter seven may depict a different reason for this belief. Consequently, Paul’s premise regarding his aversion to marriage was that a spouse, children, household responsibilities, and sexual tension averted time and energy from pursuing Christ and his work. Moreover, while I Corinthians 7:5 deals with sexual abstinence within marriage it

I for one believe what scripture says about divorce, which is that, it’s permissible in certain cases but the first reaction shouldn’t be divorce. I have friends and some pastors that I know who say that divorce is not allowed no matter what and they will use Luke 16:18 which says “Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery.” If divorce had not legitimate grounds, Luke gave an abbreviated record of Jesus’ teaching on divorce, emphasizing

Saint Paul interpreted the word of Christ on divorce and wrote “To the married I give charge, not I but the Lord, that the wife should not separate from her husband, but if she does, let her remain single or else be

Biblical writing tends to have strict laws about sex and sexuality and how it was expressed and universally accepted. The Pauline Epistles, or Paul’s views, had unique views on sex because he completely distrusted gender as a whole and because he believed that there would be an apocalypse. Many of Paul’s ideas were widely accepted back than because they explained may things that people could not, for instance it explains homosexuality. Today, the laws are seen differently and in some cases interpreted much more literally than they were back then. It is likely that ideas have changed either because people have become more understanding and accepting of others or because we no longer view sex and sexuality as a thing to be ashamed of. This new age of interpretation is seen in the way homosexuality is accepted today, submission of the wife to the husband in some religious dominations, and the ideal of marriage and its sexual implications.