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Evangelicals Seen to Be Softening on Divorce

Christianity Today rethinks issue, stirs pot

By Jonas Oransky,  Newser Staff

Posted Nov 7, 2007 2:47 PM CST
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(Newser) – A Christianity Today article that reinterprets Jesus Christ’s stance against divorce has sparked anger among evangelicals, Time reports, while also revealing diminished opposition to breaking the marital sacrament. The piece argues that, in a key scripture passage, Jesus might have been giving his opinion on a certain kind of divorce and not against the practice entirely—perhaps giving evangelicals an out.

One theologian called the article, which approves divorce in cases of emotional neglect and abandonment, “tragic.” But the many positive responses are a sign of the times, Time writes, and perhaps signal that a new generation will ease its stance on gays, too. Or maybe it’s just a reflection of reality: Evangelicals’ divorce rate equals or tops the US average.

Worshippers sing during an Evangelical church service at Kingsway International Christian Centre in London, Wednesday, March 28, 2007.
Worshippers sing during an Evangelical church service at Kingsway International Christian Centre in London, Wednesday, March 28, 2007.   (Associated Press)
Members of the worship staff bow their heads in prayer at a Sunday night worship service at Liquid, a Christian community in Basking Ridge, New Jersey.
Members of the worship staff bow their heads in prayer at a Sunday night worship service at Liquid, a Christian community in Basking Ridge, New Jersey.   (KRT Photos)
A worshipper at Sunday services at Bethany Church in Wyckoff, New Jersey.
A worshipper at Sunday services at Bethany Church in Wyckoff, New Jersey.   (KRT Photos)
People exit Taylors First Baptist Church after services in Taylors, S.C., Sunday, Oct. 21, 2007. Republican Mitt Romney's presidential campaign has been embraced in unlikely places like Bob Jones University, the influential Christian university that teaches his Mormon church is a cult. And his support grows among other evangelicals...
People exit Taylors First Baptist Church after services in Taylors, S.C., Sunday, Oct. 21, 2007. Republican Mitt Romney's presidential campaign has been embraced in unlikely places like Bob Jones University,...   (Associated Press)
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divorce • evangelicals • scripture • Christianity Today • divorce rate • Jesus Christ

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