Marriage and Divorce According to the New Testament

The New Testament speaks to the topic of marriage and divorce on several occasions, as well as the woman's role in the marriage and in church. Basically, the New Testament states that a married couple should not get divorced. The Gospels speak to this specifically.

Matthew 5:31-32, Mark 10:11-12 and Luke 16:18 all state that any man who divorces his wife causes her to become an adulteress and any man who marries the divorced woman is committing adultery. Matthew adds a clause of sorts that allows divorce if there has been an act of unfaithfulness.

The Epistles of the New Testament also speak to the subject of divorce. In I Corinthians 7:10-11, Paul writes that a couple should not get divorced and if a woman separates from her husband she must either remain unmarried or should reconcile with her husband. In 7:39, Paul continues by saying that a woman is bound to her husband as long as he lives.

1 Peter 3:1-7 is concerned with the role of the husband and wife in marriage. Wives are expected to be submissive to their husbands at all times. A husband is expected to be considerate of his wife and to treat her with respect. The reasoning behind this is not one of mutual admiration, but because the woman is the weaker of the two partners.

Some churches follow these directions literally and do not recognize marriages following a divorce unless there is proof of infidelity. Marriage is viewed as a sacred establishment and divorce is a slight against the sanctity of the union. I believe that there may have been another reason for the rules against divorce as established nearly two thousand years ago that has more to do with society as a whole than the sanctity of marriage.

In the times of the New Testament, a woman was not viewed as an equal to a man. She was not allowed to work, take part in religious ceremonies, or to become educated. If a woman was divorced by her husband, she would not have the means to take care of herself and any children other than to remarry. The care of the woman would either fall to family members who could take the woman and her children in and offer her shelter and food, or she would be forced into an unsavory position such as prostitution if she could not find another husband.

I propose that the rules that would prevent a man from divorcing his wife were more to protect the woman from being destitute and to protect society from the burden of the woman's welfare rather than protecting the sacredness of the marriage union. While we are taught that we are supposed to take care of those who cannot take care of themselves, at some point, welfare becomes a burden on the society as a whole. If men were permitted to divorce their wives on a whim, this could create such a welfare situation and burden. Women, being viewed as the weaker sex, are not deemed capable of providing for themselves and rules prohibiting women from education and work make it impossible for a woman to even attempt to pursue an independent life.

Times have changed. Guidelines written in letters to Christians two thousand years ago need to be reviewed within the context that they were written. Women are now allowed an education which provides them with a means of caring for themselves. Rules written to protect women from the situation of being divorced by their husbands and to protect society from the burden of caring for divorced women are not needed as they were in the New Testament era.