Bible writings against divorce – bishops

Mr Christopher Grech

May 23rd 2011, 11:37

BIBLE QUOTES ACCEPTING DIVORCE - PEOPLE WAKE UP TO THIS REALITY!

I am not advocating divorce, although will be voting in favour, for those that need it seriously.

Deuteronomy

24:1 When a man hath taken a wife, and married her, and it come to pass that she find no favour in his eyes, because he hath found some uncleanness in her: then let him write her a bill of divorcement, and give [it] in her hand, and send her out of HIS house.
24:2 And when she is departed out of HIS house, she may go and be another man's [wife].
24:3 And [if] the latter husband hate her, and write her a bill of divorcement, and giveth [it] in her hand, and sendeth her out of HIS house; or if the latter husband die, which took her [to be] his wife;


Wisdom:

25:25. Give the water no passage; neither a wicked woman liberty to gad about.
25:26. If she go not as thou wouldest have her, cut her off from thy flesh, and give her a bill of divorce, and let her go.

Jeremiah

3:6 The "I AM" said also unto me in the days of Josiah the king, Hast thou seen [that] which backsliding Israel hath done? she is gone up upon every high mountain and under every green tree, and there hath played the harlot (been unfaithful to Me).
3:7 And I said after she had done all these [things], Turn thou unto Me. But she returned not. And her treacherous sister Judah saw [it].
3:8 And I saw, when for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not, but went and played the harlot also.
3:9 And it came to pass through her making light of her whoredom, that she defiled the land, and committed adultery with stones and with stocks.
3:10 And yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah hath not turned unto Me with her whole heart, but in pretence, saith the "I AM".
3:11 And the "I AM" said unto me, The backsliding Israel hath justified herself more than treacherous Judah (Jew-dah).
3:12 Go and proclaim these words toward the North, and say, Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith the "I AM"; [and] I will not cause Mine anger to fall upon you: for I [am] merciful, saith the "I AM", [and] I will not keep [anger] for ever.
3:13 Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the "I AM" thy God, and hast scattered thy ways to the strangers under every green tree, and ye have not obeyed My voice, saith the "I AM".
3:14 Turn, O backsliding children, saith the "I AM"; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion:

Isaiah
50:1 Thus saith the "I AM", Where [is] the bill of your mother's divorcement, whom I have put away? or which of My creditors [is it] to whom I have sold you? Behold, for your inequities have ye sold yourselves, and for your transgressions is your mother put away.

Matthew:
1:19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just [man], and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away (divorce her) privily (because the child was not his).
1:20 But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.

5:31 It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement:
5:32 But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.

19:5 And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?
19:6 Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.
19:7 They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away?
19:8 He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from The Beginning it was not so.

Mark

10:2 And the Pharisees came to him, and asked him, Is it lawful for a man to put away [his] wife? tempting him.
10:3 And he answered and said unto them, What did Moses command you?
10:4 And they said, Moses suffered to write a bill of divorcement, and to put [her] away.
10:5 And Jesus answered and said unto them, For the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept.

10:6 But from the Beginning of the Creation God made them male and female.
10:7 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife;
10:8 And they two shall be one flesh: so then they are no more two, but one flesh.
10:9 What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.
10:10 And in the house his disciples asked him again of the same [matter].
10:11 And he saith unto them, Whosoever shall put away his wife, and marry another, committeth adultery against her.
10:12 And if a woman shall put away her husband, and be married to another, she committeth adultery.


QUOTES HAVING “PUT AWAY”, meaning divorce in the Greek Biblical text.

Luke:
16:18 Whosoever putteth away his wife, and marrieth another, committeth adultery: and whosoever marrieth her that is put away from [her] husband committeth adultery.

Mike F Abbot

Mar 8th 2011, 08:49

it's funny how, if you search (in quotation marks for an exact match) for the following so called 'quote'

"better society built on the possibility of divorce rather than on the stability which marriage provides"

the bishops reference, Google can only return 5 - yes 5 - results. 2 are from Maltese sites; this site and maltadiocese.org. One from an extreme Christian site. 2 from advertising spam sites (or very low quality sites)

Not a SINGLE result from a reputable, quality site dedicated to the bible or the other 1 TRILLION webpages Google has indexed.

so - not a citation but an interpretation from MATTHEW 19:3-10. Fair enough...

well is an ACTUAL cite from MATTHEW 19:3-10

8 Jesus replied, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning. 9 I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.”

so divorce is allowed in the bible - jesus said so, god said so.

oh, by the way, Google returns 3,790 results for that quote.

anthony pace gouder

Mar 7th 2011, 20:52

'Bible writings against Divorce'....... I beg to differ ! Surely not in the New Testment Matthew Chapter 5 verses 31-32

Firstly, we must note that Divorce was a legitimate article/item in the 'Mosaic Law' and was in practice for hundreds of years since MOSES . Actually ,thousands of years since the dawn of civilization in Egypt of the Pharaohs.

Strangely ,Jesus DOES NOT SEEM to be condemning Divorce ,but actually specifies that the Man (forget Gender Discrimination inequality etc.) who divorces his wife MUST give her a Writing of Divorcement .

Christ ,further clearifies that Divorce is VALID ONLY when the WIFE! ,and I would add, or the HUSBAND is unfaithful .

victor pulis

Mar 7th 2011, 16:08

I was told that the archbishop suggested couples keep a picture of their spouse on their desks at work. The archbishop should know that not everyone works at a desk. i keep a picture of my wife in my head.

Robert Agius

Mar 7th 2011, 11:44

Catholics take note. This will be a right you will have to do without.

E.SciclunaCamilleri

Mar 6th 2011, 22:29

It seems that Archbishop P.Cremona et al are flouting God's plan and His greatest gift to mankind which favours marriage by not chosing to marry and procreate according to His will. Hipocrasy does not belong to the pharisees alone, it seems.

B. Cachia

Mar 6th 2011, 19:26

Any argument based on scripture is by definition relevant only to the behaviour of believers. It should not be used as a basis for regulating the behaviour of all citizens.

Joe Zammit

Mar 6th 2011, 16:33

Padre Pio, who had regular contacts with God, the devil, saints and angels, said more that once that "divorce is a passport to hell". He knew what he was saying and no one could belie him.

There are many people who can give witness to what he said. He could narrate even details of dead persons to their relatives, without even knowing those persons. Before he went to sleep, Padre Pio used to greet Buona Notte to his confratelli (other friars). These answered to him: Buon viaggio, because every night he used to go to different persons all over the world to convert them, and sometimes also to heal them physically.

Join in the battle between God and the devil! Fight the good fight! The victory is ours, it's already guaranteed!

TIME WILL TELL!!!

patrick zammit

Mar 6th 2011, 16:01

If a man marries a woman who becomes displeasing to him because he finds something indecent about her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce, gives it to her and sends her from his house... (Deuteronomy 24:1-4).
So according to the bible, it is ok to divorce, but not ok to marry your original wife the second time...so it follows that however (if you follow the logic of the bible and not human's), you can marry anyone else.

H Saliba

Mar 6th 2011, 15:12

Hi all.
It really is so funny and sad to read all these comments about divorce , I especialy like J Zammit ,now there's a charactor , May i ask this gentlerman where he got the halo from and the notion that it is ONLY roman chatolics that have salvation ,,, heaven only has room R/C , what a load of ****!!! And i was under the illusion that christ came to save ALL mankind ,, BLAST i should have read the fine print !!!!!!!! Divorce has nothing to do with religion at all it is a basic human right. Should a r/c not want to divorce then he/she has the right to choose not to divorce SAME applies to a non r/c . Fact is as far as i am concerned i am already divorced , turns out it was the best thing i ever did for my self ,why get saddled with a dead weight round your neck , LIFE IS SHORT use it well

victor pulis

Mar 6th 2011, 14:08

edwin formosa(1 hour, 48 minutes ago)
So if I am mentally sick I have to go to a doctor who is among the genre to be referred to as mentally sick patients just like me.

If I am mentally sick I go to someone who can cure me and offer a solution to my problem. If the doctor tells me to lump it and live with my illness I look for another doctor.

Dylan Olliver

Mar 6th 2011, 13:04

I went to Mass this morning. The presentation of the Pastoral Letter was done very professionally using a dvd. However, I must admit I did not really understand what the bishops wanted to tell us. Blaming my lack of sleep, I asked others after mass what they understood. Their answer was a straightforward " Nothing". I appeal to the bishops: Speak clearly and not so long winded.

victor pulis

Mar 6th 2011, 11:59

l.theuma(56 minutes ago)
"The Bishops are duty bound to transfer to us Christ's teaching and so they did. Not even Christ formed part of the Marriage Circle. Can we call him outcast? The outcasts will surely be those who when asked by the same Jesus about their behaviour will not have a positive answer."
I can just picture this scenario; A woman infront of jesus in the last judgement.
"Lord I was married at twenty three. My husband beat me to a pulp almost daily. Beat our children, gambled our earnings, jumped from one bed to another with dozens of women. I tried everything to make our marriage work but failed. I left and an honest man took me and my children under his wing and loved us and worked for us till he died."
And Jesus will say to her.
"You wicked sinner! Off you go to hell for eternity for you grave sin."
NOT LIKELY!

victor pulis

Mar 6th 2011, 11:50

Here's another one
Deuteronomy:22 If a man is found sleeping with another man’s wife, both the man who slept with her and the woman must die. You must purge the evil from Israel. This is the word of God (the old testament one)
Do we have enough stone?

m. camilleri

Mar 6th 2011, 11:21

... Adam and Eve? Seriously, the bishops really can't invoke any Adam and Eve stories when they are fiction. We're in 2011, we know how to read and separate a morality play from truth. Display photos of partners at work? Do not belittle women? Where are you living?? Firslty, I do not think it would be a "photo" that streghtens a marriage. Secondly, maybe the Church should lead by example and stop belittling women.

You can believe in your hocuspocus, let the rest of us carry on with life.

Charles Sammut

Mar 6th 2011, 10:55

[The Interior Ministry statement said the kingdom bans all demonstrations because they contradict Islamic laws and society's values, adding that some people have tried to go around the law to "achieve illegitimate aims".]
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20110305/world-news/saudis-crack-down-on-protesters

Isn't it just amazing how god/bible/koran gets invoked in anything that threatens the status quo. These bishops are no better than the islamic despots of some countries.

patrick zammit

Mar 6th 2011, 10:47

Can the learned bishops pls explain why we should trust the bible and not "human logic"? For example, in Deuteronomy 23 we are told that a man who has parts of his private anatomy damaged or missing cannot form part of "the assembly of the lord".
So, would the holy church deny such a person, on his dying bed, the last rites since, according to the bible, he is already a lost case in front of god?

Joe Zammit

Mar 6th 2011, 10:38

“It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of fornication, makes her an adulteress; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery” (Mt.5, 31-32).

Christ is not saying 'in case of unfaithfulness' but in case of fornication. Fornication is had between two unmarried persons. Otherwise, what sense do the words of Christ make when he told us "what God has joined together, let no man put asunder?

Otherwise, it would be so easy for all married people to divorce, just be unfaithful! As easy as that!

Christ condemned divorce for all people. There is no possibility of divorce even in the case of unfaithfulness. In St Matthew’s gospel there is no exception accepting divorce. Divorce is always a grave sin.

The Catholic Church, as the one holy Apostolic Church of Christ has NEVER resorted to divorce in her 2000-year history. Only the other churches which are false have introduced in them the evil of divorce to prove they are not the Church of Christ.

Paul Barrett

Mar 6th 2011, 10:07

A marriage in conflict that has to be held together through lack of legislation to end it, is no true marriage.

A true marriage is where two people live in harmony; they stay together because they want to stay together, anything else is a sham.

j gatt

Mar 6th 2011, 10:04

`They said married people should display photos of their partners at their workplace`

Married people, what gender?

Hope this is not the opening shot of an unnecessary Crusade?


Could someone pls. explain/enlighten us, the correct definition of (Partner)
Good day, thanks

victor pulis

Mar 6th 2011, 10:03

“We must discern whether a society in which there is divorce offers a better future than a society which has at its foundations, stable marriages which are worth investing in.”

Stable marriages will always exist and divorce will not affect them. Divorce is resorted to once a marriage has failed beyond redemption. That is why the referendum question should include the details. Stable marriages shoild be invested in encouraged and helped but one must keep one's head above the sand and admit that unfortunately some marriages will fail notwithstanding the effort. the church has a remedy in annullment. civil marriages have none so far. Divorce should be made available to those couples who marry in a civil ceremony. The church is not being asked to accept divorce. Those couples who wish to have the option of divorce must understand this.If they get a divorce they must not expect to remarry in church. Fair enough?

Joe Zammit

Mar 6th 2011, 09:48

A simple argument:

The Constitution is above all national laws.

The Constitution states that the authorities of the Catholic Church have the right and duty to teach what principles are good and what principles are bad.

Therefore, the right and duty of the authorities of the Catholic Church to teach what principles are good and what principles are bad are above ALL national laws, including the Electoral (Polling) Ordinance, such that the Church can continue to teach also in a referendum, general elections and during a vote in Parliament.

N.B. Article 2(2) of the Constitution is entrenched.

Join in the battle between God and the devil! Fight the good fight! The victory is ours, it's already guaranteed!

Joseph Galea

Mar 6th 2011, 09:22

We have some good news from the bible for those Christians who wants to divorce for the sole reason of marital unfaithfulness.

Matthew 5:32
But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, causes her to become an adulteress, and anyone who marries the divorced woman commits adultery.

Matthew 19:9
I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, and marries another woman commits adultery.

Dr.Emmanuel BEZZINA,MA,LL.D.

Mar 6th 2011, 09:18

The Bishops are not among the genre to be referred to as married men.They do not form part of the Marriage Circle and they have never lived the rigors of married life.Hence they are outcasts in this arguement as to whether a marriage that has foundered merits a legal remedy to be so prounced and formally be declared dissolved.For the faithful who still resort to Confession,ask the many priests who listen to what is stated to them about the huge percentage of infidelities that have long been doing the rounds among us,this staunch Catholic country [ sic!!].

The Bishops must now proportion their spiritual stance to the realities of the new Malta and accept the fact that the majority do not heed what they unconvincingly attempt to communicate.They must first remove in a drastic manner the chaff from their internal structures and that is a task comparable to the Agean Stables.They must reflect how their Organization does not hold sway anymore in this country because many have found refuge in other forms of spirituality that accommodate a realistic way of life.Many are the routes that lead to DIVINITY and for many the CC is certainly NOT THAT ROUTE!

victor caruana

Mar 6th 2011, 08:45

I am really tired of hearing man talking on behalf of God. God is so great that he does not need man to talk on his behalf, above others on his plans. God can do it directly himself if need be.