What continues to astound me is how blind some pastors are/were to using the example of Hosea in dealing with adultery. Application moves that they would never do in other places of Scripture, they do in applying this book to every Christian marriage ravaged by adultery. It is sickening. An example of this short-sighted and destructive … Continue reading “Not Long Ago…”
Category: Theology of divorce
Grief and Divorce
Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep. – Romans 12:15, KJV Recently, a tragedy struck a community to which I am connected. A young man died in a car accident while going to work. In response, people are sending card(s), flowers, and prayers to his mother plus the work community directly … Continue reading “Grief and Divorce”
Looking For Marriage Deficiencies Is “Barking Up Wrong Tree!”
People do not despise a thief if he steals to satisfy his hunger when he is starving. Yet if he is caught, he must pay sevenfold, though it costs him all the wealth of his house. -Proverbs 6:30-31, NIV These verses about a hungry thief stealing are in the midst of the passage warning the … Continue reading “Looking For Marriage Deficiencies Is “Barking Up Wrong Tree!””
Agency & Advisors After Adultery Discovery
I saw the dead, both great and small, standing before God’s throne. And the books were opened, including the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to what they had done, as recorded in the books. – Rev. 20:12, NLT This past week I viewed a YouTube video of a former megachurch pastor … Continue reading “Agency & Advisors After Adultery Discovery”
How Did the Church Get To This Place?
While I was going through my divorce and subsequent ecclesiastical trial, I looked at a variety of theologically conservative denominations searching out how they handled divorced pastors/priests. What I found in the evangelical landscape was discouraging to put it bluntly. Plus, I experienced much of the problem in my very personal and humiliating trial to … Continue reading “How Did the Church Get To This Place?”
When Supporting Divorce Is Viewed As Worse Than…
Today, I am responding to an write-in article posted on RELEVANT Magazine. This is an explicitly cutting edge evangelical Christian magazine designed to engage culture from a Biblical Christian perspective. Here is the link to the article: I’m Getting Divorced. Why Won’t My Church Help Me? | RELEVANT Magazine. This exchange between a man, Marc, and … Continue reading “When Supporting Divorce Is Viewed As Worse Than…”
Truth as Punishment
“But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”-Matthew 12:36-37, NIV When reconstructing one’s narrative, truth can be both freeing and punishing. It is punishing … Continue reading “Truth as Punishment”
Top Three Texts Used To Abuse Faithful Spouses
Having started Divorce Minister: Taking Adultery Seriously just last summer, I have had the opportunity to read and hear a variety of faithful spouses’ horror stories with the church. Literally thousands of individuals visit this website monthly from over 110 unique countries around the globe. Themes are starting to emerge. The following are the top 3 most … Continue reading “Top Three Texts Used To Abuse Faithful Spouses”
What if the church treated widows like faithful divorced spouses?
Can you imagine church leaders (or simply other Christians) treating a widow/widower in the same way they treat a faithful spouse who is now divorced from the adulterous one? And before anyone cries “Foul!” on this analogy suggesting that its too strained, I will point out this is the state Old Testament spouses would find … Continue reading “What if the church treated widows like faithful divorced spouses?”
Evangelical Divorce Blame-Game
Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord… Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her…. -Ephesians 5:22,25, NIV I’m going to be transparent here: This passage from Ephesians 5 bothers me. It does not bother me that it is in the Bible. I thank God … Continue reading “Evangelical Divorce Blame-Game”