Christian Ethics on Divorce Balancing Forgiveness Verses Prudence

Abstract

The institution of marriage, originally started and blessed by God, is facing the threat of desacralization, disrepute, and collapse. Divorce is now emerging as the leading intervention to marital conflicts. A greater concern however is that among the people that choose divorce and remarriage are Christian leaders and clergymen and clergywomen. Their decision on accepting divorce is based on their understanding that Jesus and Paul gave some reasons and excuses why and how someone would take divorce and remarriage as a choice. This paper argues that the biggest factor at play, is the worldviews that people have on marriage, something which guides judgement, and determine options that someone takes when they are faced with extended family row. The people that hold the “I need you” or ‘you needed me’ mindset, would either choose divorce as the only option, or decided to endure the partners. This paper argues that both of these are ramification of entering marriage with unstable worldview. The people that enter marriage with the ‘I was wanting, I am made whole by you’ mindset, are likely to view extended marriage row as something positive, and pray for God to help them overcome the trial, in order to come out victorious.