Fact: Everybody gets divorced, but since America is mostly Christian then that’s why its highest amongst them.

Fact: Everyone’s ego, psychological issues, mental problems, and bad habits can be covered up with a religious or irreligious mask. So true. That (deceit) goes for all people Jess whether they have religious, irreligious, or anti religious masks. It’s not personal. Truth and morality should be objective. We’re all imperfect but should strive for the best.

Fact: Please message me at Kakhtab@gmail.com to share points like these. I love sharing this with people. It’s very important.

Funny. They might as well be homosexuals in Gods eyes, and yet they still look down on that and abuse them.

And it’s not the Christians who’ve "outlawed" pre-martial sex, it’s something God has said. And it can and should be done. Basically you’re saying it’s okay to put your hormones before God’s word? Meh I’d have to disagree…

God Bless.

Bible commentary on divorce comes primarily from the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Paul. Although Jesus touched on the subject of divorce in three of the Gospels, Paul gives a rather extensive treatment of the subject in his First Epistle to the Corinthians chapter 7: "Let not the wife depart from her husband…let not the husband put away his wife" (1 Corinthians 7:10-11), but he also includes the Pauline privilege. He again alludes to his position on divorce in his Epistle to the Romans, albeit an allegory, when he states "For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth… So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress" (Romans 7:2-3).

Recent research, however, interprets the words of Jesus and Paul through the eyes of first century readers who knew about the ‘Any Cause’ divorce, which Jesus was asked about ("Is it lawful to divorce for ‘Any Cause’" ­ (Matthew 19.3). This suggests that Christians in the generations following Jesus forgot about the ‘Any Cause’ divorce and misunderstood Jesus.

The ‘Any Cause’ divorce was invented by some Pharisees who divided up the phrase "a cause of indecency" (Deuteronomy 24.1) into two grounds for divorce: "indecency" (porneia which they interpreted as ‘Adultery’) and "a cause" (ie ‘Any Cause’). Jesus said the phrase could not be split up and that it meant "nothing except porneia". Although almost everyone was using this new type of divorce, Jesus told them that it was invalid, so remarriage was adulterous because they were still married.

The Old Testament allowed divorce for the breaking of marriage vows, including neglect and abuse, based on Exod.21.10f. Jesus was not asked about these Biblical grounds for divorce, though Paul alluded to them in 1 Corinthians 7 as the basis of marriage obligations.

This new research emphasizes that Jesus and Paul never repealed these Biblical grounds based on marriage vows. They were exemplified by Christ (according to Ephesians 5.28f) and they became the basis of Christian marriage vows (love, honour, and keep).

Another reason is that many people, women in particular, are excited about getting married and the wedding and lose sight of who they are marrying (no offense to the ladies). It may sound crazy, I’ve seen it happen.

Getting married before one is ready also occurs because people want to "make whoopie." Since Christians believe in abstinence until marriage (or at least they should), many couples get married earlier than they should because of this.

Many couples only know each other in the context of "warm fuzzy/rosey" situations (i.e. church, social groups, etc.) and don’t see the person without the mask of social expectations that comes with it. I am definitely NOT advicating living together before getting married, but I am advicating a good, liscensed, Christian pre-marital counselor. While many pastors are great individuals, that doesn’t mean they are good at pre-marital counseling. It may cost more, but cut corners on the reception if you have to, not what could help the longevity and fruitfulness of your marriage.

Some of these reasons may sound far-fetched, but I have unfortunately witnessed them all.

Sadly, the modern Christian World thrives on people that don’t really know what’s going on. People that would sooner be governed by that picture in their head than the facts that sit right in front of them. Therefore, the average christian is even more likely than the average person to allow themselves to be swept into a situation like marriage blindly…. on faith…. than the average Joe or Jane that just thinks they should get married.

I don’t know. What. Hey, you asked.

You do make a GOOD point about people marrying TOO early. I personally think you should not get married unless you personally KNOW yourself, can support a family and have known this person intimately for a while. This takes time and it is VERY hard to be celibate for so long -till you finish college, get a job, some life experience and maturity. I would say the average age of marriage in my old church was around 19/20.

That is TOO young for MANY people. In a few years, they may realise too late they are NOT compatible and NOT the people they thought they were.

Let me ALSO state that there is NOTHING in the bible that strictly FORBIDS pre-marital sexual intimacy. In fact one of the greatest erotic stories in the bible in the Song of Songs occurs between two UNMARRIED young people. If you read it it is obvious there was PHYSICAL INTIMACY going on there. There was nothing shameful about it, nor were they punished for it. I think sexual incompatibilty can be a BIG problem in marriage, especially if the two people have NO sexual awareness of themselves until they have already made vows that are troublesome to break.

While it may not be the ONLY contributing factor, it may be a big reason why the divorce rate is so high.

In addition, like another respondant says, just because someone is a zealous Christian does not mean they are a GOOD person or even a GOOD spouse. A LOT of personailty flaws, emotional dysfucntion etc can be covered up with a religious mask.