If the Bible is true then the
inspired Bible was completed by the end of the first century.[i] So let's start at the second century and
consider what the “church leaders” have taught.
➢ PART I: WRITINGS OF
THE SECOND CENTURY
These
writings are revered by many because they "lived early enough" to
have known the apostles and what they taught. However, if they ignore or contradict the Lord and his apostles, their
teaching is not good. As Paul
told Titus: "In all things
shewing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine [shewing] uncorruptness,
gravity, sincerity, sound speech"
(Titus 2:7, 8a). There is such a thing
as "sound doctrine" (verse 1). Even the "leader", Diotrephes, knew the apostle John but he
contradicted the apostle's teaching (3 John 9) and was condemned for it. I don't believe I want to believe anything
that Diotrephes might have written if such can be found. In other words, being written concurrently
with the Scriptures do not qualify such as Holy Scriptures inspired by
God. Nor should they be held as
authoritative as the Holy Scriptures written by the apostles or NT prophets.
Generally, scholars agree that the New
Testament documents were all written before the close of the First
Century. Jesus was crucified around 30
AD so that leaves 70 years for the Scriptures to be completed as we have
them. This means there were plenty of people around when
the New Testament documents were written who could have contested any false
writings. "But, we have absolutely
no ancient documents contemporary with the First Century that contest the New
Testament texts."[ii]
➢ AD 95 - 150
* Shepherd of Hermas
(early
second century A.D.). Marriage is for
life; one can divorce for adultery but cannot remarry.
The
Shepherd of Hermas, an
"allegory" written possibly early (?) in the second century and is
sometimes included in copies of the New Testament (it is in the Sinaitic
Codex). [iii]
A narration in the text: And I said to him, "Sir, if any one has
a wife who trusts in the Lord, and if he detect her in adultery, does the man
sin if he continue to live with her?" And he said to me, "...But if
the husband know that his wife has gone astray, and if the woman does not
repent, but persists in her fornication, and yet the husband continues to live
with her, he also is guilty of her crime, and a sharer in her adultery."
And I said to him, "What then, sir, is the husband to do, if his wife
continue in her vicious practices?" And he said, "The husband
should put her away, and remain by himself. But if he put his wife away and
marry another, he also commits adultery."
“Wherefore if any one persists in
such deeds, and repents not, withdraw from him, and cease to live with him.
Otherwise you are a sharer in his sin.”[iv]
“But
the man cannot remarry because there's always the chance that the woman might
repent. And this law applies to both men and women, meaning that men can't
cheat on their wives.”[v]
Marriage
is for life regardless of how a spouse behaves or the sins committed as long as
both parties are alive. A spouse has to
persist in adulterous behavior before the innocent can terminate the
marriage. Divorcees must remain single
as long as the spouse lives. No one can
marry a divorced person while a former spouse lives. To do so is to commit adultery. God does not sever the “one flesh” except by
physical death.
The Hermas material does not quote
either Matthew 5 or Matthew 19. Yet,
the exception clause is recognized by scholars as not being an addition but
being originally in the text of Matthew. It would seem to me that if I wanted to say original manuscripts were
tampered with, I would expect the
removal of the exception.
The interesting thing about this
book is that while it contradicts what Jesus said about divorce and remarriage
in Matthew, it recognizes adultery as a cause or excepion for divorce. Where did the authors get this from? Although it accepts a divorce, it does not
permit remarriage.
*
Apocrypha: “The Story of Paul and Thecla”
(supposedly, second century)
The
author of the Apocrypha: “The Story of Paul and Thecla” does not teach marriage at all. It has Paul saying, “Blessed are they who
have kept the flesh pure, for they shall become a temple of God,” and “Blessed
are the bodies of virgins, for they shall be well pleasing to God, and shall
not lose the reward of their purity.”[vi]
The text has Paul demanding
"that one must fear only one God and live in chastity" which Paul
explains to be "virginity." The date of the writing was prior to AD 190; it was disavowed by such as
Tertullian.
Such writings appear to have been
popular with those ascetics and those who considered sex as dirty in or out of
marriage. Remember that such dedicated
men as Origen chose castration for the "kingdom of God's sake." Origen, however, later after study is thought
to have realized he'd interpreted Jesus statement in Matthew 19 erroneously.
But the genuine Scriptures
of Paul state, "Your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost"(1
Corinthians 6:19) and "Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed
undefiled" (Hebrews 13:4). And
Paul likewise condemns those that forbid or hinder marriage in
1 Timothy 4:3: "restraining to
marry"; i.e., Koluo: “Thayer's: 1. to
hinder, prevent forbid; 2. to withhold a thing from anyone; 3. to
deny or refuse one a thing).” This
apocrypha violates this passage and contradicts Paul's genuine teaching.
➢ 120
- 220 A.D.
* Justin
Martyr (AD 100-165)
“And, Whosoever shall
marry her that is from another husband, commits adultery. And, There are some
who have been made eunuchs of men, and some who were born eunuchs, and some who
have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake; but all cannot
receive this saying.”
“So
that all who, by human law, are twice married, are in the eye of our Master
sinners, and those who look upon a woman to lust after her.”[vii]
Martyr believed that marriage is a
lifelong covenant. Divorcees must remain
single as long as the spouse lives. No
one can marry a divorced person while a former spouse lives. To do so is to commit adultery. He ignores Jesus' exception although
he was aware of the first verses of Matthew 19 that include the part about the
eunuchs. Note: the passage about being
an eunuch for the kingdom of heaven states a voluntary abstinence from
marriage.
* Athenagoras (A.D. 133-190)
“Should either remain as he was
born, or be content with one marriage; for a second marriage is only a
fair-seeming adultery. 'For whosoever puts away his wife,' says He, 'and
marries another, commits adultery'; not permitting a man to send her away whose
virginity he has brought to an end, nor to marry again. ...For he who deprives himself of his first
wife, even though she be dead, is a cloaked adulterer, resisting the
hand of God, because in the beginning God made one man and one woman, and
dissolving the strictest union of flesh with flesh, formed for the intercourse
of the race” (A Plea for Christians, chapter 33).[viii]
In
his statement, Athenagoras said that he recognizes that his culture is allowing
remarriage so he called it “fair-seeming adultery.” Others have translated this
statement as, “for a second marriage is only auspicious.”[ix]
Athenagoras is understood to have
taught "no second marriage" even for a widowed man.
* Clement
of Alexandria (A.D. 194)
“Therefore
there is nothing meritorious about abstinence from marriage unless it arises
from love to God” (Stromata, book 3, chapter 6).[x]
“Now that the Scripture counsels marriage,
and allows no release from the union, is expressly contained in the law, 'Thou
shalt not put away thy wife, except for the cause of fornication;' and it
regards as fornication, the marriage of those separated while the other is
alive. ... 'He that taketh a woman that has been put away,' it is said,
'committeth adultery; and if one puts away his wife, he makes her an
adulteress,' that is, compels her to commit adultery. And not only is he who
puts her away guilty of this, but he who takes her, by giving to the woman the
opportunity of sinning; for did he not take her, she would return to her
husband” (Stromata, book
2, chapter 24).[xi]
“Clement says that Matthew 19:9 is
obviously teaching about what a man should do if his wife leaves him because of
fornication”.[xii]
A
marriage is for life. No matter what a spouse turns out to be, or how they may
act, what they do or don't do, or the sins they commit, the covenant remains
fully in effect. A remarriage while a former spouse lives is not marriage at
all, but sinful adultery. God does not divide the one flesh relationship except
by physical death. It is a serious
mistake to believe that it is simply one's right to divorce a spouse and take
another. Even though human law may permit such a thing, God strictly forbids
it, and cannot, and will not honor it.
Clement ignores Jesus' exception in
Matthew 5 and 19.
➢
PART II: WRITINGS OF
THE THIRD CENTURY
*
Tertullian (160-230)
Tertullian
believed that Jesus had changed the Law on divorce. Remarriage after the death of one's spouse
was not even allowed. Christians should
not remarry, if one of them dies.
“Here he talks about marriage and
remarriage. He isn't keen on the latter, but [initially] if she must remarry,
then it should be another Christian. (In later works he definitely regards
remarriage as serial polygamy). He
discusses the difference between a heathen woman married to a heathen who then
becomes a Christian, and a Christian woman who marries a heathen. In the
former case, the husband's conversion is likely; in the latter, the woman is
likely to be ruined.”[xiii]
Tertullian quotes the Montanist prophetess
Priscilla/Prisca (an early "Pentecostalism") with approval.[xiv]
*
Origen
(185-255)
Origen taught that Jesus did not change
the Old Testament on divorce. In the
case of God being married to Israel, Origen states that God divorced Israel
and had a second marriage to the church.
“Origen, in his Commentary on Matthew, did not seem as strict as his
contemporaries. He noted that Christ rejected "the opinion that a wife was
to be put away for every cause" (1.14.16), but he did not seem to rule out
divorce completely. Indeed, he admitted that some church leaders "have
permitted a (divorced) woman to marry, even when her husband was living,"
and he confessed that such permission was "not altogether without reason,"
being undoubtedly a lesser of evils.”[xv]
➢
PART III: WRITINGS
OF THE FOURTH CENTURY
* Early
Councils (300, 314)
Two
early church councils that affected the Roman Church's doctrine on marriage
were the “Council of Elvira” (300 A.D.) and the “Council of Aries” (314
A.D.). A couple hundred years after the
death of the apostles, leaders in power vigorously opposed remarrying. These two councils actually invalidated one another. The first council decided that all women who
remarried were to be excommunicated from the church. The second council decided that women should
not be excommunicated although remarriage was still to be frowned upon.
*
Basil (330-378)
“We
call the man who lives with another man's wife an adulterer, and do not receive
him into communion until he has ceased from his sin (church fathers: letter
199 -St. Basil). The name virgin
is given to a woman who voluntarily devotes herself to the Lord, renounces
marriage, and embraces a life of holiness.”
“If a man living with a wife is not
satisfied with his marriage and falls into fornication, I account him a
fornicator, and prolong his period of punishment. Nevertheless, we have no
canon subjecting him to the charge of adultery, if the sin be committed against
an unmarried woman.”
“Marriages contracted without the
permission of those in authority, are fornication.”
“There is no law as to trigamy: a
third marriage is not contracted by law. We look upon such things as the
defilements of the Church.”[xvi]
Whoever marries a divorced person
[regardless of cause] commits "adultery." A marriage covenant is for life no matter how
a spouse turns out to be or acts.
* Ambrose
(340-397)
Aurelius
Ambrosius was an archbishop of Milan who became one of the most influential
ecclesiastical figures of the 4th century.
All
lawmakers, in and out of the Church are warned, to their peril, to hear and
obey the Word of the Lord in regard to His commands on marriage and divorce.
Marriage
is permanent. Divorcees must remain
celibate and single as long as both spouses live. Anyone marrying a divorcee is committing the
sin of adultery.
➢ PART IV< : WRITINGS OF THE FIFTH CENTURY
*
Jerome (347-420)
Jerome
is the translator of the Latin Vulgate Bible. Jerome, a Latin priest, theologian and
historian, who became a “Doctor of the
Church”, taught that one can divorce but could not remarry as long as the “ex-spouse”
lived. Jerome clearly believed that sex
decreases holiness and spoke of the "stain" of marriage.[xvii]
"If
a spouse persists in adulterous behavior and there is no other alternative, the
marriage relationship can be terminated by the innocent party."
"Spouses
that are divorced for any reason must remain celibate and single as long as
both spouses live. Whoever marries a divorced person commits
adultery."
"The
marriage covenant between a man and a woman is permanent, as long as both
husband and wife are alive."
"As
long as the husband is alive, even though he be an adulterer ...and is deserted
by his wife for his crimes, he is still her husband, and she may not take another."
* Augustine
(354-420)
Augustine said the
only cause for divorce was adultery.
Augustine, an early Latin theologian whose writings are
very influential in the development of Western religious philosophy, said that although divorce was
permissible, there is to be no remarriage (even after the other's
death). To him, marriage was a “church
sacrament”; i.e., a religious ceremony or act of the Roman Church and Eastern
Orthodoxy that is “regarded as an outward and visible sign of inward and
spiritual divine grace.”
“It
never has been lawful, it is not now lawful, and it never will be lawful to
divorce and remarry. To say and do otherwise is to worship and adopt the
adulterous superstitions of a different God than the one to which we have to
do.” [xviii]
He is responsible for making the
indissolubility of Christian marriage, even after adultery, the standard of the
Western church.
If a spouse persists in adulterous behavior
and there is no other alternative, the marriage relationship can be terminated
by the innocent party. Spouses must
remain celibate. There are no valid
reasons for remarriage acceptable to
God.
➢ PART V: WRITINGS OF
THE MIDDLE AGES
* Thomas
Aquinas (1225-1274)
We
jump to the 13th century, when Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) agreed that
marriage was a sacrament. One could
divorce in case of adultery, but there was to be no remarriage, ever. He taught that remarriage, even after spouse's
death, was “spiritual adultery.” Aquinas
sets forth the Roman Catholic dogma on marriage. This is why divorce is not recognized by the
Catholic Church. Rather, an “annulment”,
an alternative to divorce, has been invented to replace any “divorce.” The Roman Church's annulment means that there was no official marriage in
the first place. This allows a
“legitimate” (re-)marriage by saying that the first marriage wasn't a marriage.
* Sir Thomas More (1478-1535)
During the 16th century there was Sir
Thomas More (1478-1535), declared by the Roman Catholics a saint in 1935,
was an English lawyer, social philosopher, author, statesman, and noted
Renaissance humanist. He “tried” to
bring church doctrine back to the fundamentals of Scripture. To him, marriage was for the pleasure of male
and female. He stressed marriage bond,
but permitted divorce if the two could not live together. Divorced persons should be allowed to
remarry.
* Desiderius Erasmus (1466-1536)
Erasmus was a Dutch Renaissance humanist, Catholic priest, social critic,
teacher, and theologian. Erasmus was a classical scholar who wrote in a pure
Latin style. He had the same views as
More. He criticized the Catholic Church
for having a narrow view on Christ's viewpoint on marriage.
The popular view named after Erasmus and
sometimes referred to as the "Protestant view" or the "majority
view"[xix]
interprets porneia as a reference to adultery.
* Martin Luther (1483-1546)
Decrying the Roman Catholic
hierarchy's luring people into celibacy, Martin Luther (1483-1546), a
German monk and Catholic priest, professor of theology, and a reform
leader, spoke against the belief that
Jesus was despising divorce. Luther was
flexible on what “just cause” for divorce entailed. Grounds for divorce included continual
conflict and hatred, impotency, refusal of marital relations, and
desertion. Remarriage is acceptable if
the ex-spouse did not change.
Luther
wrote, “'It is still not a good thing (to
divorce your wives); but since you are such wicked and unmanageable people, it
is better to grant you this much than to let you do worse by vexing or
murdering each other or by living together in incessant hate, discord, and
hostility.'” [xx]
* William Tyndale (1494-1536)
Tyndale was an English scholar who became a leading figure in the Reformation
and is known for his translation and publication of a large amount of the Bible
into English. He believed that adultery
was the only grounds for divorce. His
reasoning was that adultery was a capital offense under the Mosaic Law and
under the New Testament was like death. The innocent was able to remarry.
* Huldrych Zwingli (1484-1531)
Zwingli, a leader of the Reformation in
Switzerland (1484-1531), said that porneia refers to all
manner of marital immorality, including spousal
abuse and abandonment. Zwingli believed that endangerment of life and insanity were also
Scriptural reasons for a divorce.
* Martin
Bucer (1491-1551)
Martin Bucer (1491-1551) Protestant
reformer in Strasbourg influenced Lutheran,
Calvinist, and Anglican doctrines and practices. Bucer had been influenced by Luther (1518)
and consequently had his monastic vows
annulled. He would permit divorce by
mutual consent.[xxi]
* The Council of Trent of 1563
The Council of Trent was the
Roman Church's reaction to the Reformation with its “return back to the
Bible.” The council set forth as an
official Roman Catholic view on divorce and remarriage as that of Thomas
Aquinas' interpretation. They rejected
More and Erasmus' liberal interpretation. The indissolubility of marriage was added to the canon
law. Since that day Catholic doctrine has been that divorce is unacceptable,
but the separation of spouses can be permitted. The Catholic Church
maintains that divorce is wrong, but has long accepted that “invalid
marriages” can be annulled, and that in these cases a civil divorce can be
recognized. Their powers decide if
your marriage can qualify to be annulled
or not. See Western
or Roman Catholic Church below.
* John Calvin (1509-1564),
Calvin, an influential French
theologian during the Protestant Reformation, rejected the Roman Catholic
teaching of marriage being a sacrament. He claimed the Catholic Church was in error in teaching Ephesians 5:32's
word “mystery” as meaning “sacrament.” Calvin taught that since magistrates did not exist today (to punish
adultery) a man has to put away the unfaithful spouse.
* John Wesley (1703-1791)
The “father of
Methodism”, John Wesley (1703-1791) had an Anglican Church background,
felt that polygamy was forbidden and no divorced person could remarry as long
as the former spouse was alive. The
only grounds was being “cheated on.”
* E. W. Bullinger (1837-1913)
Bullinger, an Anglican
clergyman, scholar, and dispensationalist theologian, like, Huldrych Zwingli,
before him, says that porneia refers to all manner of marital
immorality, including spousal abuse and
abandonment.
* Eastern
Orthodox Church
Marriage
is a sacrament; the priest or the bishop consecrates the marriage. Marriage is
holy and indissoluble. The Church
recognizes that Jesus in the Matthew account allowed an exception and hence,
the Orthodox Church is willing to allow an exception. The violations of the marriage relationship
are (1) unfaithfulness and immoral behavior, and (2) the absence of one of the
partners.
The bishops may apply what is called
"economia" in a liberal way. The canon law permits a second and third marriage "in
economia", but strictly forbids a fourth.
*
Western or Roman Catholic Church, See Council
of Trent above.
Marriage
is a sacrament based on the word "mystery" in Ephesians 5. Their catechism states that divorce is
immoral because it introduces disorder into the family and society and it
brings grave harm to the deserted spouse, to children traumatized by the
separation of their parents, and because of its contagious effect upon
society. Nothing is admitted as to what
effect their doctrine of “annulment” has on family and society.
“The Church of the Fathers rejected
divorce and remarriage, and did so out of obedience to the Gospel. On this
question, the Fathers' testimony is unanimous,” Archbishop Müller claims in an
article for the Roman Catholic Church.[xxii] Whereas this comment shows the creed of the
Catholic Church, it contradicts the evidence of history and the Bible.
* Duth,
Hungarian (Magyar)
Duth taught that extramarital
unchastity is grounds for divorce. God
is able and willing to forgive all sins, including the sin of getting a divorce
for trivial reasons.
From the appendix of my book Marriages Designed in Heaven in which I give God's perfect plan but in addition God's remedy for sinners in a sinful world.
Whereas this is the history of the beliefs of the church in digression, what does the New Testament teach (2 Timothy 3:16,17)? I have tried to give the inspired history of marriage and divorce in my book on the subject.
[i]http://www.dts.edu/read/wallace-new-testament-manscript-first-century Accessed 5/25/2014
[ii]
http://carm.org/manuscript-evidence
[iii]http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/shepherd.html
[v] http://www.ephrataministries.org/remnant-2008-3Q-divorce-remarriage-early-church.a5w
http://jamesbradfordpate.blogspot.com/2008/10/shepherd-of-hermes-on-divorce.html
[vi]
http://calvinzelie.blogspot.com/2008/11/christian-apocrypha-story-of-paul-and.html
[viii]http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/athenagoras-plea.html
[ix]http://www.ephrataministries.org/remnant-2008-3Q-divorce-remarriage-early-church.a5w
[x]http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/clement-stromata-book3-english.html
[xi]http://gnosis.org/library/strom2.htm
[xii]
http://www.ephrataministries.org/remnant-2008-3Q-divorce-remarriage-early-church.a5w
[xiii]http://www.tertullian.org/works/ad_uxorem.htm
[xiv]http://www.tertullian.org/works/de_exhortatione_castitatis.htm
[xv]http://www.theologicalstudies.org.uk/article_divorce_snuth.html
[xvi]http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/3202199.htm
[xvii]http://abbey-roads.blogspot.com/2012/01/virgin-martyrs.html
[xviii] http://www.ephrataministries.org/remnant-2008-3Q-divorce-remarriage-early-church.a5w
[xix] David W. Jones. “The betrothal view of divorce and
remarriage.” Bibliotheca
Sacra 165, no. 657 (January 2008): quoted
by Philip R. Leinewebe in his thesis, The Greek Word Porneia in the Matthean Exception Clauses.
[xx] Luther's Works, Concordia,
v.21 p.94
[xxi] http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2000/augustweb-only/46.0c.html?start=2
[xxii]
http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/archbishop-mueller-affirms-indissolubility-of-catholic-marriage/
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