Quote:
Originally Posted by Bradley
After six years of a miserable, grueling marriage I decided - rather than committing suicide - to leave my wife. The church who I had served for a decade turned on me and treated me terribly. A leading brother told me I could not be a Christian anymore, I could never again partake of the bread and wine for the rest of my life if I did not return to my wife. He even said that abuse is irrelevant, I need to 'take the cross'. If a sister was physically beaten by her husband, she also should remain with him and simply pray for his repentance, because only adultery is grounds for divorce, nothing else. That was the beginning of my doubts about the church, as you can imagine.
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Yet, where I live, the brothers were quick to help some sisters become divorced from their husbands just because they weren't coming to the meetings or didn't want them to come. Quite a double standard.
As for the politics, I agree with the sentiment that it is a hornet's nest to get into politics. And there are many places that the people presume that God votes Republican (or Democrat), or that everyone in their assembly agrees with their position. It is a shame. Always presume that your audience is mixed. And that not agreeing with you (or me) is not a mental defect. There are reasons for both conservative and liberal positions on many issues. Even on the same issues. Which should indicate that it is not about polar positions. And in the context of church and Christians, it really should be about our interaction (in love) with everyone — even those who do not agree with us on particular issues of politics, fiscal policy, and even morality.