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.

-Deuteronomy 22:22, NIV

 

“Adultery or fornication committed after a contract, being detected before marriage, gives just occasion to the innocent party to dissolve that contract. In the case of adultery after marriage, it is lawful for the innocent party to sue out a divorce and, after the divorce, to marry another, as if the offending party were dead.”

–Westminister Confession of Faith (1646), Chapter 24: Of Marriage and Divorce, Section V.

Some Christians have some strong hangups when it comes to divorce for Christians.

They treat both parties in a divorce as tainted. The circumstances to these people do not matter. They see blame as shared when a marriage ends via divorce.

I will never forget dealing with such a person when I was working with my former denomination. He was unwilling to see his unbiblical divorce prejudice.

Theologically, this official explicitly denied that losing a wife via death was at all similar to losing a wife via infidelity induced divorce.

Yet this is precisely the analogy that the Divines took when they wrote the Westminster Confession of Faith in 1646. This theological document guided and continues to guide practices for Presbyterians around the globe. The analogy is both biblical and not new.

Refusal to treat divorced faithful spouses as if they lost their spouse via death–theologically–is a refusal to accept sound biblical doctrine on divorce.

It is unbiblical divorce prejudice.

Sometimes the most we can do is separate us from such people. They will not be helpful for our healing and well-being. People unwilling to look at their blind spot on this issue is an unsafe person. It is best to move on from such a relationship and find someone who ACTUALLY embodies Christ love for you.