# How do Protestant literalists reconcile divorce? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [December 5, 2009, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-protestant-literalists-reconcile-divorce/520071 "2009-12-05T04:54:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2009, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-protestant-literalists-reconcile-divorce/520071/21 "2009-12-05T20:09:08Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > There are plenty of literalists out there. They tend to not make a lot of noise in public about it. I hear this a lot, but I never see any direct links as such. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2009, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-protestant-literalists-reconcile-divorce/520071/22 "2009-12-05T20:13:19Z")
Start with the Mennonites, the Hutterites, the Dukhabors, and the Amish. Not all literalists and fundamentalists are right-wing activists. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2009, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-protestant-literalists-reconcile-divorce/520071/23 "2009-12-05T20:39:40Z")
My husband has a very close friend who is a biblical literalist; he is miserable in his marriage, but will not seek divorce because he believes it is a sin. Don’t know how he reconciles all this with his recreational marijuana usage. . .but whatever. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2009, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-protestant-literalists-reconcile-divorce/520071/24 "2009-12-05T21:47:52Z")
> [@norinew](#): > > Don’t know how he reconciles all this with his recreational marijuana usage. . .but whatever. Does the bible say you can’t use marijuana? ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2009, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-protestant-literalists-reconcile-divorce/520071/25 "2009-12-05T22:31:34Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > So how do conservative Christian literalists reconcile accepting divorce with Jesus’ prohibition? “I’m sure Jesus will understand that if I don’t get the fuck out of here, thou gonna murder this bitch/asshole!” ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2009, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-protestant-literalists-reconcile-divorce/520071/26 "2009-12-05T22:47:11Z")
One easy way around it is the Pauline principle, which allows you to divorce a non-believer if they willingly leave. All one then needs to do is declare their spouse a non-Christian because of certain sin, and then give them an ultimatum. For a good example of such usage: Wife is in a physically abusive relationship. Wife argues that the husband is not a Christian because he is not following the commandment to treat one’s wife with respect and love. Wife then tells husband that if he does not stop hitting her, he is saying he no longer wants to be married. Thus, by using the literal rules, one comes up with an interpretation that allows one to divorce to get out of an abusive relationship, something the Bible does not explicitly allow. Literalists are very often rules lawyers. Note that an easier way out is practiced more often, at least in my experience. Divorce and remarriage may be a sin, but God forgives all sin, so it doesn’t matter. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2009, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-protestant-literalists-reconcile-divorce/520071/27 "2009-12-05T23:07:32Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > Does the bible say you can’t use marijuana? Honestly, I don’t know the bible well enough to say. I asked a good friend of mine who is a hard-core Evangelical Christian, and she said maybe the passages about the body being a temple, and stuff like that. It just amuses me that he won’t dissolve his marriage, which is a totally legal thing to do, but he will absolutely toke up at any given opportunity, which is a totally _illegal_ thing to do. Needless to say, I think the illegality of it is stupid beyond belief, but it _is_ illegal. Also, Jesus strikes me as a genuinely mellow kind of dude, wouldn’t surprise me _at all_ if he turned out to be a stoner. . . ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2009, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-protestant-literalists-reconcile-divorce/520071/28 "2009-12-05T23:22:24Z")
Well, its not like Jesus never ran afoul of the law. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2009, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-protestant-literalists-reconcile-divorce/520071/29 "2009-12-05T23:51:45Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > Well, its not like Jesus never ran afoul of the law. True, true. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2009, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-protestant-literalists-reconcile-divorce/520071/30 "2009-12-06T03:00:12Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > “Attaboy, Phinehas” **why** , exactly? For being considerate enough to wait until they were through? If my interpretation is correct, the Israelite chieftan was publically indulging in betrayal of The Covenant, treason against God & the community of Israel, and the Midianite priestess was a knowing party to it.\* God sent a plague upon the community for its tolerance of said treason & so it was up to a priest, specifically Phinehas, to put an end to it. \*Every tribe in the area knew who the Israelites were & that some really powerful Mojo was happening with them. So anyone who either tried to lead them into idolatry or take them on in battle got what was coming to them. ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2009, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-protestant-literalists-reconcile-divorce/520071/31 "2009-12-06T03:14:57Z")
I Corinthians 7:15-16 (NIV): > [@](#): > > But if the unbeliever leaves let him do so. A believing man or woman is not bound in such circumstances; God has called us to live in peace. How do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or, how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife? And according to Jesus Himself allowed divorce for adultery. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2009, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-protestant-literalists-reconcile-divorce/520071/32 "2009-12-06T04:43:21Z")
> [@](#): > > Not all literalists and fundamentalists are right-wing activists. True. Check out the Red Letter Christians. > [@](#): > > Believing that Jesus is neither a Republican nor a Democrat, we want to unite Christians who are concerned about what is happening in America. We are evangelicals who are troubled by what is happening to poor people in America; who are disturbed over environmental policies that are contributing to global warming; who are dismayed over the increasing arrogance of power shown in our country’s militarism; who are outraged because government funding is being reduced for schools where students, often from impoverished and dysfunctional homes, are testing poorly; who are upset with the fact that of the 22 industrialized nations America is next to last in the proportion of its national budget (less than two-tenths of 1 percent) that is designated to help the poor of third-world countries; and who are broken-hearted over discrimination against women, people of color, and those who suffer because of their sexual orientation. [cite](http://www.beliefnet.com/Faiths/Christianity/2006/02/Whats-A-Red-Letter-Christian.aspx) ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2009, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-protestant-literalists-reconcile-divorce/520071/33 "2009-12-06T06:32:53Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > Does the bible say you can’t use marijuana? Someone once said the bible prohibits the use of the Greek ‘Pharmakia’ which is usually translated sorcery, but could mean drug use as well. I couldn’t point it to you, this is just something someone told me. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2009, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-protestant-literalists-reconcile-divorce/520071/34 "2009-12-06T13:25:06Z")
There is a passage in the OT about a tribe of Israel that was commanded by God to divorce their wives (who were involved in other gods). Adultery (marital unfaithfulness), would also include spiritual adultery, which is the worship of other gods by one’s spouse. So if the spouse is worshiping anything over God, such as sports pools, porno, money, power and control through abuse, or work that would be grounds as this is spiritual adultery. [QUOTE=Matthew 19:8] Jesus replied, "Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning. [/QUOTE] IMHO the hardness of heart is that Jesus speaks of is not that you are divorcing, but that your heart was hard to God at the time of the marriage, and that marriage was not the person God wanted. This allows for God to hook one up with the person God always wanted, and get one out of a marriage that will only lead to pain. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2009, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-protestant-literalists-reconcile-divorce/520071/35 "2009-12-06T13:31:34Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > Does the bible say you can’t use marijuana? I don’t believe so, and don’t think it would be prohibited. IMHO as for anything it would be the condition and intent of the heart when it is smoked, and if pot was one’s master or if the person mastered it. If it is used to reach God’s people with His Love, I don’t think there is anything prohibited under grace. Not reaching those people, once God has given one grace, would be the ‘sin’. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2009, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-protestant-literalists-reconcile-divorce/520071/36 "2009-12-06T14:08:19Z")
> [@Jesus](#): > > The disciples said to Him, “If the relationship of the man with his wife is like this, it is better not to marry.” > > But He said to them, "Not all men can accept this statement, but only those to whom it has been given. > > “For there are eunuchs who were born that way from their mother’s womb; and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men; and there are also eunuchs who made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. He who is able to accept this, let him accept it.” Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2009, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-protestant-literalists-reconcile-divorce/520071/37 "2009-12-06T16:31:43Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I wanted to make the distinction from the Catholic Church which does not need to reconcile this issue. Catholic doctrine holds that divorce is wrong so they have no need for any theological justification otherwise. Except that they allow pretty large exemptions for \*annulments \*, many of which today are legally divorces, but recognized by the RCC as a annulment. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2009, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-protestant-literalists-reconcile-divorce/520071/38 "2009-12-06T16:32:51Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I’ve never heard of anyone being kicked out of the Baptist or Lutheran or Presbytrian Church for getting divorced. Certainly there’s no policy I’ve ever heard of that you can’t get divorced - most Protestant denominations may frown on divorce but they accept that it can happen. There are few sins that get you kicked out of a Church. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2009, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-protestant-literalists-reconcile-divorce/520071/39 "2009-12-06T16:41:25Z")
Here’s the take on the subject by a Lutheran Bishop: [What Jesus said about divorce and remarriage](http://www.marriagedivorce.com/rudvin.pdf) In Brief: Marriage entered into legitimately is indissoluble. Period. He goes on at great lengths about how Matthew is mis-interpreted. ---
**Author:** ![coffeecat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/coffeecat/32/3405_2.png) [@coffeecat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coffeecat)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2009, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-protestant-literalists-reconcile-divorce/520071/40 "2009-12-06T17:36:48Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > Does the bible say you can’t use marijuana? "And God said, ‘Let the earth bring forth grass’ " (Gen 1:11) "And God said, ‘Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth’ " (Gen 1:29) I have a pipe that’s decorated with those passages. In the original Hebrew. 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-protestant-literalists-reconcile-divorce/520071.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-protestant-literalists-reconcile-divorce/520071.md?page=3)