SPECTRUM multiview books

DIVORCE AND REMARRIAGE

FOUR CHRISTIAN VIEWS

edited by H. WAYNE HOUSE

contributions by

J. Carl Laney, William A. Heth, Thomas R. Edgar and Larry Richards

An imprint of InterVarsity Press

Downers Grove, Illinois

Divorce and Remarriage: Four Christian Views edited by H. Wayne House.

© 1990 by H. Wayne House.

Published by InterVarsity Press. All rights reserved. No part may be reproduced without written permission from InterVarsity Press, P.O. Box 1400, Downers Grove, IL 60515, USA. www.ivpress.com

InterVarsity Press

P.O. Box 1400, Downers Grove, IL 60515-1426

ivpress.com

email@ivpress.com

InterVarsity Press® is the book-publishing division of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA®, a movement of students and faculty active on campus at hundreds of universities, colleges and schools of nursing in the United States of America, and a member movement of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students. For information about local and regional activities, visit intervarsity.org.

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.

Chart on page 230 is used by permission of Zondervan.

The material from chapter one is used by permission of Bethany House.

Cover design: David Fassett

Cover image: geometric background: © Rogotanie/iStockphoto

ISBN 978-0-8308-1283-7

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Divorce and remarriage: four Christian views/H. Wayne House, general editor.

p. cm.

Contents: No divorce no remarriage/J. Carl Laney—Divorce, but no remarriage/William A. Heth—Divorce & remarriage for adultery or desertion/Thomas Edgar—Divorce & remarriage under a variety of circumstances/Larry Richards.

ISBN 978-0-8308-1283-0

1. Divorce—Religious aspects—Christianity. 2. Remarriage—Religious aspects—Christianity. I. House, H. Wayne.

BT707.D58 1990 90-30839

24T.63—dc20 CIP

To Dr. Stanley Ellisen, professor of biblical literature

at Western Conservative Baptist Seminary,

who led me through the issues in this book

as my thesis advisor for my master of theology.

Thank you, Dr. Ellisen, and may you have

many more wonderful years of study in the Word of God,

helping students as you did me.

Contents

Introduction

1: No Divorce & No Remarriage

Response William A Heth

Response Thomas R. Edgar

Response Larry Richards

2: Divorce, but No Remarriage

Response J. Carl Laney

Response Thomas R. Edgar

Response Larry Richards

3: Divorce & Remarriage for Adultery or Desertion

Response J. Carl Laney

Response William Heth

Response Larry Richards

4: Divorce & Remarriage Under a Variety of Circumstances

Response J. Carl Laney

Response William Heth

Response Thomas R. Edgar

About the Contributors

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DR:FCV

About Divorce and Remarriage: Four Christian Views

Divorce. No one likes it, but it doesn't go away. Even among Christians, the divorce rate continues to climb. How should Christians approach this issue? May Christians ever legitimately divorce? If they divorce legitimately, may they remarry?

Not everyone who appeals to Scripture agrees on how we should understand what it says about divorce and remarriage. In this book, four authors present their distinct perspectives. Carl Laney argues that the Bible indicates that marriages are always intended to be permanent, that there is never a need for divorce and that remarriage is never permissible after divorce. William Heth contends that while there are legitimate biblical grounds for divorce, there are no legitimate grounds for remarriage after divorce. Thomas Edgar defends the position that Scripture allows for divorce and remarriage in cases of adultery or desertion. Larry Richards holds that Scripture, while decrying divorce and the pain it causes, points to a God of grace who will not condemn those who divorce and remarry.

Such a sensitive debate cannot remain abstract, so a case study accompanies each position, followed by critical responses from each essayist. The result is a thoughtful, helpful resource for all who wish to think biblically about a crucial issue confronting the church.

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Table of Contents