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And Marries Another: Divorce and Remarriage in the Teaching of the New Testament
Once divorced, forever barred from church leadership -- sometimes even from full fellowship. Isn't that what the plain sense of Scripture teaches? No, says Keener. In this compassionate and carefully documented study, he first explores how the early Christians would have understood the statements of Jesus and Paul on divorce and remarriage. Keener then builds a soundly scriptural view of divorce and remarriage -- a view that reminds the church that all of its members are forgiven people. Any Christian examining the issue of divorce and remarriage should read this book.
- Bibliotheca Sacra
A first-rate piece of pastoral scholarship.
- Gordon D. Fee Regent College
- Bibliotheca Sacra
A first-rate piece of pastoral scholarship.
- Gordon D. Fee Regent College
256 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1991
112 people want to read
About the author
Craig S. Keener
144 books246 followersCraig S. Keener (PhD, Duke University) is professor of New Testament at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky. He is the author of many books, including Miracles: The Credibility of the New Testament Accounts, the bestseller The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament, The Historical Jesus of the Gospels, Gift and Giver, and commentaries on Matthew, John, Romans, 1–2 Corinthians, and Revelation.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
February 12, 2024
Note, Feb. 12, 2024: I've just edited this review to correct a misspelled word.
A Baptist minister and evangelical seminary professor (with a PhD. in the study of the New Testament), Keener is, IMO, one of the foremost Christian scholars of his generation. Here he brings both pastoral compassion and serious scholarship to this careful study of the vexed question of New Testament teaching on remarriage after divorce. His primary target audience are his fellow evangelicals, who share his basic assumptions of the authority of Scripture and the sacredness of marriage.
It's pretty generally agreed, by interpreters across the religious and ideological spectrum, that the Old Testament, while it presupposes that marriage is intended to be permanent and that divorce is a breach of faith that God "hates" (Malachi 2:14-16), does not legislate an absolute prohibition of it in all cases, nor forbid remarriage afterwards. A considerable body of Christian interpretation, however, has held that the New Testament imposes such prohibitions, and that unions formed after a divorce are not to be recognized as legitimate marriages. This is the traditional position of the Roman Catholic church, and of a number of the more conservative Protestant denominations (including the Anglican church well into the 20th century) --it's very common, for instance, in conservative Mennonite circles. As secular society in the Western world has abolished binding marriage and created a now generations-long epidemic of divorce, this has created problems when churches demand that the unions of divorced-and-remarried converts be dissolved and that the previously married return to their original spouse. It isn't an exaggeration to say that this is a serious issue in contemporary pastoral care and in Christian Biblical understanding.
The body of Keener's book (120 pp.) consists mainly of discussion of four New Testament texts: Matt: 5:32 and 19:9, I Corinthians 7, and I Timothy 3:2. Emphasis on how these texts would have been meant and understood in their original cultural context is a distinguishing feature of the discussion. Keener argues convincingly that in cases of marital infidelity, or of desertion of a Christian spouse by a non-Christian one, these texts do not hold the wronged spouse responsible for the marriage's failure. He believes that, in such cases, Scripture allows the innocent party to remarry and to engage in whatever Christian service he/she is called to, on the same terms as any other believers. In this view, for guilty parties in a divorce who subsequently become Christians, Scripture calls them to repent and to seek reconciliation as long as that is possible, but does not call for them to be stigmatized nor require them to dissolve second marriages already entered into. This view is not based on an embrace of the surrounding pagan culture's refusal to take marriage seriously as a binding covenant, but on the New Testament ethic of forgiveness, healing, and obedience to the spirit of the law through Christ.
Keener's study interacts with the work of other scholars up to 1991, when the book was written. A later article which can serve as a valuable supplement to this book, however, is "What God Has Joined: What Does the Bible Really Teach About Divorce" by David Instone-Brewer, of Tyndale House, Cambridge (Christianity Today, Oct. 2007). He comes to conclusions similar to Keener's, but an added strength of his study is an examination of the 1st-century Jewish rabbinical consensus that divorce was allowable, based on explicit Old Testament passages, for adultery, nonsupport/abuse, and abandonment/denial of conjugal rights, a consensus that underlies the New Testament view. (Only the male could write a certificate of divorce under Jewish law, and had to do so willingly; but the rabbis held that the courts could, in certain cases, have him beaten until he became willing.) The internal Jewish debate of that day wasn't over whether these grounds were allowable, but over whether, as argued by the followers of Rabbi Hillel, that divorce was also allowable for any and every reason --a position that Jesus explicitly rejected. (Understanding this is helpful in dealing with contemporary cases where wives have been subject to abuse and nonsupport, and some Christian pastors have wrongly felt obligated to argue against divorce.)
Because Keener is writing for ordinary readers as well as scholars, his style is clear and direct, without technical jargon. Such matters as documentation, interaction with secondary sources, and Greek linguistics are relegated to the 72 pages of endnotes. These, and the 27-page bibliography of primary and secondary sources (mostly in English) greatly enhance the book's value for scholars. This book belongs in every college/seminary library where Christian pastors and counselors are trained. I would also recommend it for church libraries, and for all Christian readers concerned about how to view this issue.
A Baptist minister and evangelical seminary professor (with a PhD. in the study of the New Testament), Keener is, IMO, one of the foremost Christian scholars of his generation. Here he brings both pastoral compassion and serious scholarship to this careful study of the vexed question of New Testament teaching on remarriage after divorce. His primary target audience are his fellow evangelicals, who share his basic assumptions of the authority of Scripture and the sacredness of marriage.
It's pretty generally agreed, by interpreters across the religious and ideological spectrum, that the Old Testament, while it presupposes that marriage is intended to be permanent and that divorce is a breach of faith that God "hates" (Malachi 2:14-16), does not legislate an absolute prohibition of it in all cases, nor forbid remarriage afterwards. A considerable body of Christian interpretation, however, has held that the New Testament imposes such prohibitions, and that unions formed after a divorce are not to be recognized as legitimate marriages. This is the traditional position of the Roman Catholic church, and of a number of the more conservative Protestant denominations (including the Anglican church well into the 20th century) --it's very common, for instance, in conservative Mennonite circles. As secular society in the Western world has abolished binding marriage and created a now generations-long epidemic of divorce, this has created problems when churches demand that the unions of divorced-and-remarried converts be dissolved and that the previously married return to their original spouse. It isn't an exaggeration to say that this is a serious issue in contemporary pastoral care and in Christian Biblical understanding.
The body of Keener's book (120 pp.) consists mainly of discussion of four New Testament texts: Matt: 5:32 and 19:9, I Corinthians 7, and I Timothy 3:2. Emphasis on how these texts would have been meant and understood in their original cultural context is a distinguishing feature of the discussion. Keener argues convincingly that in cases of marital infidelity, or of desertion of a Christian spouse by a non-Christian one, these texts do not hold the wronged spouse responsible for the marriage's failure. He believes that, in such cases, Scripture allows the innocent party to remarry and to engage in whatever Christian service he/she is called to, on the same terms as any other believers. In this view, for guilty parties in a divorce who subsequently become Christians, Scripture calls them to repent and to seek reconciliation as long as that is possible, but does not call for them to be stigmatized nor require them to dissolve second marriages already entered into. This view is not based on an embrace of the surrounding pagan culture's refusal to take marriage seriously as a binding covenant, but on the New Testament ethic of forgiveness, healing, and obedience to the spirit of the law through Christ.
Keener's study interacts with the work of other scholars up to 1991, when the book was written. A later article which can serve as a valuable supplement to this book, however, is "What God Has Joined: What Does the Bible Really Teach About Divorce" by David Instone-Brewer, of Tyndale House, Cambridge (Christianity Today, Oct. 2007). He comes to conclusions similar to Keener's, but an added strength of his study is an examination of the 1st-century Jewish rabbinical consensus that divorce was allowable, based on explicit Old Testament passages, for adultery, nonsupport/abuse, and abandonment/denial of conjugal rights, a consensus that underlies the New Testament view. (Only the male could write a certificate of divorce under Jewish law, and had to do so willingly; but the rabbis held that the courts could, in certain cases, have him beaten until he became willing.) The internal Jewish debate of that day wasn't over whether these grounds were allowable, but over whether, as argued by the followers of Rabbi Hillel, that divorce was also allowable for any and every reason --a position that Jesus explicitly rejected. (Understanding this is helpful in dealing with contemporary cases where wives have been subject to abuse and nonsupport, and some Christian pastors have wrongly felt obligated to argue against divorce.)
Because Keener is writing for ordinary readers as well as scholars, his style is clear and direct, without technical jargon. Such matters as documentation, interaction with secondary sources, and Greek linguistics are relegated to the 72 pages of endnotes. These, and the 27-page bibliography of primary and secondary sources (mostly in English) greatly enhance the book's value for scholars. This book belongs in every college/seminary library where Christian pastors and counselors are trained. I would also recommend it for church libraries, and for all Christian readers concerned about how to view this issue.
October 21, 2020
So much confusion in the church when it comes to marriage, divorce and remarriage. I've heard horror stories of people on their death bed being told they cannot go to heaven unless they divorce their spouse because it was a "remarriage." I've met people who remain single their entire lives because their husband left them in the beginning of their marriage through no fault of their own. I refuse to support churches who preach perpetual adultery because of the mental and emotional damage it causes, as well as its abuse of Scripture.
Craig Keener does a great job explaining the context of each of the passages mentioning marriage and divorce, and I believe gives a good case for his perspective. Please do your diligence to study this complex topic, including both Old and New Testament passages. Do not pit one verse against another, but rather harmonize them together to get the full picture of God's desire for men and women to honor Him in marriage, even if you've messed up in your past.
Craig Keener does a great job explaining the context of each of the passages mentioning marriage and divorce, and I believe gives a good case for his perspective. Please do your diligence to study this complex topic, including both Old and New Testament passages. Do not pit one verse against another, but rather harmonize them together to get the full picture of God's desire for men and women to honor Him in marriage, even if you've messed up in your past.
July 3, 2021
I just finished "...And Marries Another: Divorce and Remarriage in the Teachings of thr New Testament," by Craig Keener
If this is on your mind then this is your book.
My first Keener book and I'm not disappointed.
Keener begins by speaking to the import of modern readers understanding the culture in which scripture was written. All scripture is "cultural": it was written by a person in a time in a language, none of which is ours now.
He begins to discuss the Mt 5 divorce sayings in context. Directly preceeding these sayings Jesus delivers his lust and anger sayings (5:21-30). These sayings are delivered with precisely the same thrust as his divorce sayings (5:31-32). Basically the force one applies the divorce sayings in life is the same one should apply the lust and anger sayings in life.
In Mt. 5:31-32 we have to see Jesus radical sayings as his goal for his people. Also statements must be qualified as Mt shows in "except for immorality"; this only because people are quick to miss the spirit and hunt for a legal text. Also, the immorality exception would have been understood by a first century Jewish as permitting Remarriage (a divorce document freed the wife to remarry; the husband's right was assumed).
In Mt. 19:3 Jesus is caught in the middle of Rabinical infighting: Hillel vs Shammai. He is posed with a yes/no the would either side him with one school or another. Interesting is that his exception clause here has "...causes her to commit adultery..." and thus is due to the Jewish legal system dealing with if a divorce is invalid then the Remarriage was likewise.
1 Cor. 7:10-16: Sappington cultures we see that Greco-Roman men and women could each easily obtain a divorce. Paul here is working from sayings of Jesus ("...the Lord says...") similar to Matthew. He affirms that a Christian married to a pagan can remarry but should seek to stay.
1 Tim. 3:2: Keener inserts that the phrase "...husband of one wife..." usually has the added assumptions and qualification of "...during his lifetime..." and "...unless she dies..." affiliated with it though neither are stated. Churches who hold these qualifications can not provide evidence for their positions. Also interesting is that the reverse of "husband of one wife" is used in 1 Tim. 5:9. Paul's framework for leadership is to be "above reproach," from there he qualifies. Even though still legal in Judaism the Greco-Roman world saw a polygamist as not "beyond reproach." Though due to the reverse used in the same context--wife of one husband--the polygamy option seems a stretch. Beginning in ch 5 Keener asks if wife of one husband was the criteria for church support of a widow and that meant married only once in their life then why tell the young women to remarry and thus exempt themselves when they may too become widows. Beyond that "faithful spouse" fits both 1 Tim. 3 & 5 best. "Not an adulterer" is too much a no Brainerd for Paul like "not a murderer" making the list. Nailing it down Paul points back to his above "beyond reproach": everything a church leader does should be beyond reproach but they can control what may have been done to them.
120 pp of text including appendices and 101 pp of endnotes. This is heavily researched. We have to end the ontological blight.
#CraigSKeener #CraigKeener #AndMarriesAnother #DivorceAndRemarriage #NewTestamentTheology #NewTeatamentScholarship
If this is on your mind then this is your book.
My first Keener book and I'm not disappointed.
Keener begins by speaking to the import of modern readers understanding the culture in which scripture was written. All scripture is "cultural": it was written by a person in a time in a language, none of which is ours now.
He begins to discuss the Mt 5 divorce sayings in context. Directly preceeding these sayings Jesus delivers his lust and anger sayings (5:21-30). These sayings are delivered with precisely the same thrust as his divorce sayings (5:31-32). Basically the force one applies the divorce sayings in life is the same one should apply the lust and anger sayings in life.
In Mt. 5:31-32 we have to see Jesus radical sayings as his goal for his people. Also statements must be qualified as Mt shows in "except for immorality"; this only because people are quick to miss the spirit and hunt for a legal text. Also, the immorality exception would have been understood by a first century Jewish as permitting Remarriage (a divorce document freed the wife to remarry; the husband's right was assumed).
In Mt. 19:3 Jesus is caught in the middle of Rabinical infighting: Hillel vs Shammai. He is posed with a yes/no the would either side him with one school or another. Interesting is that his exception clause here has "...causes her to commit adultery..." and thus is due to the Jewish legal system dealing with if a divorce is invalid then the Remarriage was likewise.
1 Cor. 7:10-16: Sappington cultures we see that Greco-Roman men and women could each easily obtain a divorce. Paul here is working from sayings of Jesus ("...the Lord says...") similar to Matthew. He affirms that a Christian married to a pagan can remarry but should seek to stay.
1 Tim. 3:2: Keener inserts that the phrase "...husband of one wife..." usually has the added assumptions and qualification of "...during his lifetime..." and "...unless she dies..." affiliated with it though neither are stated. Churches who hold these qualifications can not provide evidence for their positions. Also interesting is that the reverse of "husband of one wife" is used in 1 Tim. 5:9. Paul's framework for leadership is to be "above reproach," from there he qualifies. Even though still legal in Judaism the Greco-Roman world saw a polygamist as not "beyond reproach." Though due to the reverse used in the same context--wife of one husband--the polygamy option seems a stretch. Beginning in ch 5 Keener asks if wife of one husband was the criteria for church support of a widow and that meant married only once in their life then why tell the young women to remarry and thus exempt themselves when they may too become widows. Beyond that "faithful spouse" fits both 1 Tim. 3 & 5 best. "Not an adulterer" is too much a no Brainerd for Paul like "not a murderer" making the list. Nailing it down Paul points back to his above "beyond reproach": everything a church leader does should be beyond reproach but they can control what may have been done to them.
120 pp of text including appendices and 101 pp of endnotes. This is heavily researched. We have to end the ontological blight.
#CraigSKeener #CraigKeener #AndMarriesAnother #DivorceAndRemarriage #NewTestamentTheology #NewTeatamentScholarship
December 16, 2019
Having written a Masters Dissertation on the topic, Keener was an author that I encountered but did not really rely upon. He may be better noted as an author that has had an influence on other authors on the same topic. For a better expression on the Majority View of MDR, I would recommend the work on David Instone-Brewer instead (even though I disagree with him).
August 30, 2021
A good introduction to some of the arguments for broadening grounds for remarriage, but time is better spent reading Instone-Brewer at this point. Keener's view is well summarized in the Counterpoints book.
November 27, 2012
This is a bad book... and what I mean by that, it is poorly presented (literarily and structurally) and also the content is quite poor. Don't get me wrong, please read the whole review... Keener by and large does do some good work and he is not one to be easily dismissed. And, I do indeed appreciate Keener's heart in the matter. Really I do. He sees real pain in the lives of the divorced... and for this he is to be commended in that many (who hold to apposing views) do not and this IS to their shame... yet he misses the point and in turn sacrifices too much for the sake of pastoral expediency and "relief". Rarely if ever is remarriage going to help - and the history (secular and sacred) bear clear witness to this... beyond this, his hermeneutical gymnastics become quite silly along the way... that is NOT to say that all his exegesis is poor or that he doesn't ask good questions or have good things to contribute to the dialogue... he does... truly so, its more that this book is dangerous given the rampant anti-intellectual and sinful moods of contemporary evangelicals. Keener has things to contribute to the dialogue - but what I have seen people do with this book and how they have used it to justify their sinful actions leads me to give it the one star rating that I did. Bottom line for me - Keener *does* create "legitimate" exceptions to what man does toward each other and toward God, BUT he does NOT adequately account for what God does to and for man within the bond of marriage.
September 4, 2014
This is a good examination of the New Testament Scriptures on Divorce and Remarriage, and includes a good coverage of the First Century Environment - both Jewish and Greco/Roman.
I especially like the last chapter, "Final Words" - this is a good book for Pastors, though I wouldn't want to limit it to them :)
It has a decent index for Ancient Sources and other items used - so it is also a good starting point for further research on the topic.
I especially like the last chapter, "Final Words" - this is a good book for Pastors, though I wouldn't want to limit it to them :)
It has a decent index for Ancient Sources and other items used - so it is also a good starting point for further research on the topic.
January 9, 2012
Very dry, very boring, and circular writing. If you are looking for a scholarly book on divorce and remarriage, then this is the one. He uses the Bible some, but refers mostly to religious writings from the parallel times. Not an easy read. I just can't recommend it.
February 9, 2014
A book to keep on your shelf for future reference
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews