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The
doctrine that divorced people are ineligible for marriage, which is contrary to
the teachings of the apostle Paul but nonetheless commonly believed, has
numerous scriptural and hermeneutical problems and has unacceptable
consequences. This doctrine has served and continues to serve the devil well.
The
devil’s doctrine:
1)
Requires the breaking up of homes, in cases where one has been divorced;
2)
Discourages evangelists (if they believe the devil's doctrine) because a
majority of prospects for conversion will be lost (after much effort and time
is expended) when told they must break up their homes, live celibate and forget
sex the rest of their lives;
3)
Makes God and Christianity appear to be unjust by punishing even those innocent
of marital sin and making it appear that it is God’s doing;
4)
Causes many who want to follow Jesus to reject him;
5)
Causes many who have obeyed the gospel to turn away from Jesus;
6)
Causes division in churches and discord among brethren throughout;
7)
Results in fornication when some “cannot contain” because marriage, God’s means
to help us “avoid fornication,” is forbidden for certain ones deemed “not
eligible” for marriage (1 Cor 7:2, 9);
8)
Has been the cause for an enormous amount of time to be expended by Christians
that could otherwise be used in spreading the gospel;
9)
Promotes a meritorious works based salvation, rather than a grace based
salvation (One must suffer and do penance to earn salvation);
10)
Makes not only initiating divorce an unforgivable sin, unless it is initiated
for fornication, but makes being divorced by another an unforgivable sin;
11)
Encourages a race to the courthouse to be the one to “put away” the other first
so as to “have a right to remarry”—thus actually promoting and encouraging
divorce.
12)
Tends to cause (among those who set out to defend the devil’s doctrine) a
deterioration of certain important intellectual faculties because biblical
hermeneutics have to be ignored or rejected;
13)
Makes God’s word appear to have a loophole whereby the cunning and powerful may
avoid celibacy, yet remain in fellowship with the “church,” after murdering
their spouse, which is a forgivable sin;
14)
Makes the Bible appear to be contradictory as it requires the assumption that
Moses taught what God did not want, then Jesus contradicted Moses, and then the
apostle Paul contradicted Jesus when he said to let the unmarried marry (1 Cor
7:8, 9), and then Paul contradicted himself;
15)
Requires the belief that Jesus transgressed the Law by changing it from: “The
divorced may marry” to “The divorced may not marry,” from which it must then be
concluded that the New Testament is not inspired and Jesus was not the Son of
God.
16)
Requires it proponents to assume numerous doctrines or beliefs rather than test
or prove them to be true.
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