Quote:
Originally Posted by aron
Neither Jesus nor Paul gave this kind of advice. Quite the opposite. I wouldn't feel so free myself. If the word "sacred" has any practical meaning at all in this world, then probably the marriage covenant is sacred.
But obviously many Christians disagree today. In the LCs, if one's spouse is attached to a different denomination (and "the local church" is a name just like any other) it's probably grounds for divorce. You know, "not being faithful to the ministry". That's probably enough, in their eyes.
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You and ZoeGrace are free to follow their advice instead mine. A number of people do with mixed results as far as I can tell. Assuming she owns a Bible, she already had access to their advice before she asked the question here.
I live in a "no-fault" divorce state, so "grounds" is little more than a formality in most cases. Marriage was quite a bit different in New Testament times. Women were often treated as chattel. To leave a marriage might not have been conducive to survival given the first century social welfare system. Jesus and Paul may have been speaking from compassion.
The same isn't necessarily true today in our society when marriage may have more to do with its impact on one's tax bracket. Anyway, no one has answered my "why" question. If it is because marriage is "sacred" then I would ask why is it sacred and what exactly that means particularly in those situations where the married couple is causing each other to suffer.