Quote:
Originally Posted by Originalist
Thank you! Now even at that, I don't see any evidence that the Apostles would have commanded such a non-Jewish Christian converted woman who returned to her original husband after having married someone else (all before conversion) to leave him. What do you think?
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It's a difficult subject. I am not sure what a court would have ruled, in Judea, prior to Jesus, on a similar situation involving two Judeans. Would they have dissolved the marriage? Or not? Much less how the ekklesia would decide. Assuming the ekklesia even had that role (I'm wondering if it would be more a civil matter with the church simply advising its members on the "best" course of action)?
I also think we look at the subject through modern eyes, where the primary purpose and goal of marriage is "love and affection". It was not quite like that back then (even up to the 1800s). So the emotional turmoil we today associate with divorces and separations was not really what was dominating people's thoughts and decisions back then.
The courts of Judea allowed for divorce under circumstances other than what Jesus declared. Yet there is no record of mass separations upon conversion by new Christians. There is the idea that what the court decides to be valid, is valid, as long as its reasoning is sincere. See for example
Deut 17:9-12. So there is an argument that whatever status a person was in, as long as it wasn't one of the various forbidden unions like incest etc, was where you were expected to remain.
But I recognise that argument isn't iron clad, either. I'm just glad I am not a judge of such cases.