Divorce and Remarriage Update

In follow-up to my post on October 22, “Divorce and Remarriage,” I wanted to call your attention to David Instone-Brewer’s blog where he provides a response to a number of criticisms related to his CT article on October 5. To follow his responses, you need to follow each of the posts addressed on the left hand side of the page. For example, one of his posts is entitled “Jesus silent about other grounds.” To read this post, you simply need to click on it and you are next taken to his discussion. To read his response to John Piper’s view of divorce, click the post “John Piper on Divorce” and you are then taken to this post. Since God fearing people have reflected different interpretative slants on divorce and remarriage over many years of Jewish and Christian history, I appreciated the charitable spirit in which Instone-Brewer articulated his differences with the position that Piper holds. David Instone-Brewer’s responses are engaging and you will profit by reading them.

Comments

  1. says

    Thank you for taking my work so seriously. You may be interested to know that you can read most of both of my books at https://www.DivorceRemarriage.com

    I agree with you that Hugenberger’s work is seminal, and is a model of careful scholarship.

    When I wrote the Christianity Today article, I struggled greatly with the word limit for such an important subject. There wasn’t room to define neglect, so I referred readers to my Divorce & Remarriage in the Church (the full text is at https://www.DivorceRemarriage.com)

    The book points out that ‘neglect’ is an inadequate modern-day way of summarising the stipulations of ‘food, clothing and love’ in Ex.21.10f (as repeated in marriage contracts in Jesus’ day). It also details the way in which Jesus emphasises that a wronged partner should forgive and forgive and forgive and that turning to divorce as a remedy for persistant neglect is a last resort.

    I’m sorry that I have caused confusion by not making this clear in the article itself. See my response to this and other issues here.

    David Instone-Brewer

  2. says

    Thanks for taking time to comment on this biblically significant subject, Dr. Instone-Brewer. I read your book Divorce and Remarriage in the Bible when it first came out. However, I must confess I have not finished reading Divorce and Remarriage in the Church, though I plan to finish it in the near future.

    Nevertheless, when I read your CT article earlier this month, I read it in light of the background information that you had provided in your first book. So I did not struggle the way others might have if they were not familiar with your work. However, your subsequent CT article and your blog have filled in most of the gaps. To me, the background information connected with the Exodus 21 passage, as well as the passage itself, is difficult to dismiss, at least in my opinion.

    I am currently teaching a class on Haggai and Malachi and I encourage my class to read your book Divorce and Remarriage in the Bible, or at least significant portions of it, for our discussion of Malachi 2:16.

    Let me personally thank you for the contribution you have made to my own biblical understanding of divorce and remarriage. In addition, thanks for providing this updated information that gives further clarification as you respond to various questions about this pertinent subject. I am certain that those who read my weblog will profit from you work.

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