Remarriage After Divorce in Today's Church 3 Views

Remarriage after Divorce in Today's Church Copyright © 2006 by Mark L. Strauss, Gordon J. Wenham, William A. Heth, and Craig S. Keener Requests for information should be addressed to: Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49530 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Wenham, Gordon J. Remarriage after divorce in today's church : 3 views / Gordon J. Wenham, William A. Heth, Craig S. Keener ; Mark L. Strauss, general editor. p. cm. - (Counterpoints) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-13: 978-0-310-25553-6 ISBN-10: 0-310-25553-8 1. Remarriage - Religious aspects - Christianity. I. Heth, William A. II. Keener, Craig S., 1960 - III. Strauss, Mark L. IV. Title. V. Counterpoints (Grand Rapids, Mich.). BV838.W46 2006 241'.63 - dc22 2005034268 All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked ESV are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright © 2000, 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked TNIV are taken from the Holy Bible, Today's New International Version®. TNIV®. Copyright © 2001, 2005 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked NRSV are taken from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America, and are used by permission. All rights reserved. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means - electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other - except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher. Printed in the United States of America 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 - 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Contents Abbreviations 7 Introduction: Are Cindy and Bob in Your Church? 11 Mark L. Strauss 1. No Remarriage after Divorce 19 Gordon J. Wenham Responses Wiliam A. Heth 43 Craig S. Keener 49 2. Remarriage for Adultery or Desertion 59 Wiliam A. Heth Responses Gordon J. Wenham 85 Craig S. Keener 91 3. Remarriage for Circumstances beyond Adultery or Desertion 103 Craig S. Keener Responses Gordon J. Wenham 121 Wiliam A. Heth 127 Conclusion: Three Key Questions for You to Answer 137 Mark L. Strauss Resources for Further Study 143 About the Contributors 145 Discussion and Reflection Questions 147 Scripture Index 151 Subject Index 157 Chapter One No Remarr iage after Divorc e 19 No Remarr iage after Divorc e Gordon J. Wenham The issue of remarriage after divorce painfully divides evangelical Christians. Perhaps you have seen tension over this issue in your own family or church or among your friends. I hope to shed light on what I believe Scripture teaches about this sensitive issue. My goal is that you will become biblically informed and feel better equipped to discuss the issue. But before I set out the reasons why I think divorced Christians should not remarry, I want to set out some points about marriage with which I believe my coauthors agree. Perhaps you will agree as well. Points of Agreement about Marriage First, the Bible advocates lifelong, monogamous heterosexual marriage as best for human welfare. Jesus points to two passages in Genesis as foundational for his view of marriage (Mark 10:6 - 7; Matt. 19:4 - 5). TheWenham, Gordon J. is the author of 'Remarriage After Divorce in Today's Church 3 Views', published 2006 under ISBN 9780310255536 and ISBN 0310255538.