Tag: divorce

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The Marriage Mess

The Roman Catholic Church has historically championed the sanctity and indissolubility of Christian marriage. Divorced and remarried Catholics are forbidden to receive the Eucharist, which is the heart of Catholic worship. Pope Francis has called the bishops to a Synod on the Family to rethink the Catholic tradition on marriage. The Synod has proved to be quite controversial and messy (see here and here). The Anglican Church has its own difficulties with this issue (here).

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The Agony of Hermeneutics – Part 2

The Gospel is not defined by our personal narratives. Instead, the Gospel breaks into our personal narratives so that we may be transformed by Jesus Christ.

My previous post was written in reflection of the recent Church of God General Council discussions. Specifically, the discussion regarding the credentialing of ministers with more than one previous marriage. Most of those who spoke in favor of the motion did not bring Scripture to the table, but their personal stories. Many of those stories were heartbreaking and I have great sympathy for them. Some who brought Scripture to the table did so practicing a selective hermeneutic in which their personal narrative informed the text. This is called eisegesis – the process of interpreting a text so that one’s own presuppositions, agendas, or biases shape the biblical text.

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Why Stand Firm against Homosexuality, but Surrender to Divorce?

As the Church of God International Assembly convenes in Orlando on July 29, the agenda before the General Council demonstrates a disjointed biblical hermeneutic. It also demonstrates how the culture provokes the church to action, and inaction. I refer to agenda items 30 and 44. Item 30 concerns divorced and remarried applicants for ministry. Item 44 concerns homosexual marriage.

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