Sunday, May 14, 2017

Critique of the David Instone-Brewer Divorce and Remarriage Theory

Image result for divorce
Earlier this year I did some study on divorce and remarriage. I was not satisfied that I had properly examined the arguments in favour of divorce and remarriage. My analysis of the Sermon on the Mount suggested the Lord was so opposed to divorce and remarriage that even the innocent wife divorced by the treacherous husband, on remarriage she was condemned as an adulteress. But I wasn't really sure I had fully examined the arguments proffered for permitting divorce and remarriage in some circumstances.

I had an old friend, Renee, invite me to celebrate her remarriage, so told her I wasn't sure I could attend, and asked what happened to her earlier husband Hans. She said he was unfaithful and so she justified her divorce on this basis and appealed to David Instone-Brewer's teaching to justify her actions.
David Instone-Brewer


So I did a full study on David Instone-Brewer's arguments and discovered an excellent scholar doing good work on the topic and using that material to draw conclusions against the evidence he himself had uncovered and documented. My critique therefore primarily draws on his own material as well as seeking to work through the biblical texts.

See here for the critique (Updated version Jan 2018).