“A look at the early Church and the patristic fathers garner
no absolute concession of understand. Not all have interpreted these passages
in like manner. Indeed, some have come virtually to opposite conclusions.
Because they were writing largely for men, most of their remarks and
illustrations concern women at fault. Generally, however, either directly or by
allusion, they agree that what applies to one sex applies equally to the other.”
“The Ante-Nicene Fathers generally permitted divorce on the
ground of adultery. Some even required it. At the same time, remarriage was
usually forbidden. Not only did it cut off any chance of marital
reconciliation, but many in the church regarded marriage as an indissoluble
bond which continued unbroken until the death of one spouse.”[1]
Augustine who strongly influenced the Roman Catholic Church
wrote, in part, “Neither can it
rightly be held that a husband who dismisses his wife because of fornication
and marries another does not commit adultery [himself] . . . Therefore, when we
say: ‘Whoever marries a woman dismissed by her husband for the reason other
than fornication commits adultery’, undoubtedly we speak the truth.[2]
Notably “like Luther, Calvin saw adultery as the one cause
for divorce in Jesus' teachings. As far as he was concerned, the OT penalty for
adultery should be enforced, making divorce unnecessary, but "the wicked
forbearance of magistrates makes it necessary for husbands to put away unchaste
wives, because adulterers are not punished." “Divorce under such
circumstances gives the innocent party freedom to remarry, for Jesus'
condemnation of remarriage as adultery applied undoubtedly only to "unlawful
and frivolous divorces."[3]
So it seems that the
Reformers in their study of the matter, primarily to dismiss the sacramental nature
of marriage also brought a change of view that permitted remarriage by an
innocent party after a divorce because of adultery or desertion. This is represented in the Westminster
Confession of Faith.
Chapter XXIV. OF
MARRIAGE, AND DIVORCE
“V. Adultery or fornication committed after a contract,
being detected before marriage, giveth just occasion to the innocent party to
dissolve that contract, (Mat 1:18-20). In the case of adultery after marriage,
it is lawful for the innocent party to sue out a divorce, (Mat 5:31-32): and,
after the divorce, to marry another, as if the offending party were dead, (Mat
19:9; Rom 7:2-3).
I find two very compelling thoughts from the very brief
sketch of history
1. The Church always recognized that as long as repentance
and reconciliation is possible that remarriage should not be permitted.
2. As history progressed the permanence of marriage never
lost its necessity, and no divorce was conceivable unless there had been
adultery. The view of such is that it
brought a type of “death” to the relationship saving the parties from certain
charges of adultery.
To suggest the view No Divorce, No Re-marriage is and has been the position of the early and historical Church is simply not correct.
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