[vetvetdoug]

My first wife divorced me after I endured her infidelity for over two years. I believed as in the scriptures that there was nothing I could have done and so I waited seven years before I remarried. My second wife became bipolar and depressed and the rest is history. Marriage was just not meant for some.

[karenbarinka]

So, the Catholic Church has been right all along?

I can't wait to take a copy of this to my next big family dinner -- it should curl the toes of the Protestant half of my family!

[Meletus]

God's command in the OT not to work on the Sabbath was expressed very absolutely--no exceptions mentioned. HOwever, clearly the Lord thought that in unusual situations there were legitimate exceptions (Mark 2:23-3:6; John 5:1ff; 7:14; Luke 13:10ff; Luke 14:1ff) as even the Jews acknowledged.
If all of Jesus' commands are absolute, then "give to him that asketh of thee" would require one to surrender a gun to a serial killer. "Resist not evil" would require one to give in to Satan. All of Jesus' moral and ethical teachings must be informed by his higher principles, and the higher principles informed by the specific codes. Incidentally, what is your definition of porneia as used in Matthew? Does it include adultery or not?

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

I see the problem as God's ideal marrage vs reality.
In the OT men had many wives. Jacob, Gideon, David. How can one divorce one and not have it affect the others?
When Samson's wife was given to another man, was it proper?
What of David whose wife was given to another man yet he took her back, and still had several when he put away the daughter of Saul.
If a man has 5 wives and divorces one can he take another or is he stuck with the four?

Of course, I m only looking at the OT period. I am aware of the difference Jesus made in the NT which can still cause many debates.
What of a truly BAD marrage? What of a marrage to an unbeliever, or wife beater, or worse?
Just for the record, I'm still with my first.

[oprahstheantichrist]

For later.