Divorce and Remarriage: Finding Guidance for Personal Decisions

by H. Wayne House (Editor)

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 adultry 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.

Genres: Theology, Marriage, Christian, Divorce, Counselling, Nonfiction, Christianity

269 pages, Paperback

First published April 20, 1990

About the author

Dr. H. Wayne House is Distinguished Research Professor of Theology, Law, and Culture at Faith International University. He holds six degrees, including a doctorate in Law from Regent University and a doctorate in Exegetical Theology from Concordia Seminary, St. Louis.
Dr. House has authored or edited nearly 40 books and directed study tours to Israel, Greece, Turkey, and other biblical sites. He is the founder of Christian Perspectives International, a non-profit organization committed to helping believers grow in their spiritual walk through biblical education. He is also a founder and the first president of the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood and served as president of the Evangelical Theological Society.

Reviews

[Martin Augestad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interessant å lese fire forskjellige perspektiv på skilsmisse og gjengifte ut fra Bibelen. Alle bidragsyterne gikk grundig til verks, og kommenterte de mest aktuelle bibeltekstene. Noen ganger ble det litt vel langdrygt, så kan være en idé å oppsøke Counterpoints sin bok om tematikken, som er noe mer nyere, hvis man ønsker en introduksjon.

[Blake Patterson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is outdated today. Heth even changed his stance since. Had to read for class and I thought the Adultery and Desertion exception was poorly represented in this book. I would recommend a different book or resource for this topic.

[Ian · Rating 4 out of 5]

This volume presents four views on the Bible's prescriptions regarding divorce and remarriage, including J. Carl Laney (no divorce, no remarriage), William Heth (divorce but no remarriage: interestingly, Heth has recanted his position in years since this was published), Thomas Edgar (divorce and remarriage in cases of adultery or desertion), and Larry Richards (sort of squishy and Episcopalian: not to say wrong). Laney mounts the most vigorous defense of the no-remarriage position, but Edgar just wipes the floor with everybody. All around very helpful book in thinking through a variety of exegetical difficulties(is the Matthean exception truly an exception? Why is the word πορνεία used in Matthew instead of the word for "adultery"? What is Paul up to in 1 Cor. 7?)

[AJW · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found the format of putting in four different viewpoints, and allowing each of them to respond the other very helpful. It made me realise my own blind spots on this difficult & sensitive topic. As a result, my own understanding and convictions grew. I did change my position as a result of reading this book.

[Jason McCollum · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was underwhelming. I believe the editor did a poor job of both picking the authors, but also stating expectations. The authors seem very mismatched. Heth for instance writes over 60 pages and has 107 footnotes. The Larry Richards goes less than 40 pages and has 2 citations. Heth and Laney definitely do a better job than the other two. Thomas Edgar wrote the worst paper and was incredibly uncharitable and was frankly rude- I do not know why the editor allowed this in his essay or his responses. Lastly, Larry Richards does not seem to really hold the position he was supposed to. All in all, the first 2 essays are fairly good, but the others are poor. I think the Zondervan one is better (3 views).

edit: Upon understanding William Heth's position (at the time) by reading his "Jesus and Divorce" (1984), I think his argument is be far more similar to "no divorce and no remarriage."

[Josh · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting read. Laney and Heth presented well reasoned defenses of almost identical stances (permanence view of marriage). Edgar’s defense of divorce and remarriage in cases of adultery or desertion left much to be desired; he was very uncharitable and dogmatic in his writing. He had some good points but also hand waived some of the key arguments Laney and Heth made or straw manned their arguments. Rather than making a positive case, he was on the attack against opposing arguments. Richards wrote an interesting piece, but with only 2 footnotes compared to Heth’s 106, leaving it more as creative thinking than necessarily a thorough and well defended argument.

Overall, I feel the defense of the permanence view was well defended and the other side was lacking. I’ll now need to find another resource to argue the other side…

[Darryl Burling · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was surprised by the quality of the argumentation in this book. Each contributor puts their views forward well, and provides clear reasoning behind their views. The exception to this is the final contribution (divorce and remarriage for a variety of reasons) which fails to provide the same standard of argument as other views. Nevertheless, this was an engaging and worthwhile book to read. If you're interested in the subject, this is a worthwhile read.

[Samuel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A helpful resource about a weighty subject. I would say that three of the four views have some level of biblical merit, and while I have my own convictions on the subject, I’d be interested in investigating it further.

[Sean Perron · Rating 2 out of 5]

Weird choice of contributor for the permanence position. The liberal contribution is crazy.

[G Walker · Rating 2 out of 5]

I believe that the Zondervan (3 views book) is better than this one... interesting not too, Heth changed his position after writing this particular volume.
In this volume, I believe that Laney and Heth have the stronger position. Which actually isn't saying too much. Not a huge fan though of the overall content in general... the Zondervan book does a better job at addressing the issues in a more accessible and pastoral manner.

[Larry Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

pretty good and balanced look at how christians look at divorce and remarriage biblically