Biblical, Theological, And Pastoral Reflections On Divorce, Remarriage, And The Seminary Professor: A Modest Proposal -- By: R. Stanton Norman

Journal: Journal for Baptist Theology & Ministry
Volume: JBTM 01:1 (Spring 2003)
Article: Biblical, Theological, And Pastoral Reflections On Divorce, Remarriage, And The Seminary Professor: A Modest Proposal
Author: R. Stanton Norman


Biblical, Theological, And Pastoral Reflections On
Divorce, Remarriage, And The Seminary Professor:
A Modest Proposal

R. Stanton Norman

Assistant Professor of Theology
New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary
3939 Gentilly Blvd.
New Orleans, LA 70126

Over the past eighteen years, I have served three different churches as senior pastor and seven churches as interim pastor. On any given Sunday, I knew that a significant number of those in attendance at worship would be persons who had personally experienced a divorce. Those individuals present on any given Sunday at church whose lives have been touched by divorce through close friends or immediate family members would drastically inflate that percentage. Once a pariah of our society, divorce is now commonplace both within our culture and the church.

In fact, the distinction of the presence and practice of divorce within and without the church is all but completely gone. A recent study conducted by the Barna Research Group uncovered the fact that born-again Christians were just as likely to divorce as non-Christians. The study discovered that the divorce rate among adults designating themselves both as born-again and non-born again is the same; one-in three marriages end in divorce. The study also revealed that more than ninety percent of born-again adults who participated in the study experienced a divorce after they had accepted Christ. George Barna notes that “it is unfortunate that so many people, regardless of their faith, experience a divorce, but especially upsetting to

find that the faith commitment of so many born-again individuals has not enabled them to strengthen and save their marriages.”1

Furthermore, divorce is as likely to occur today among the clergy as it is among the laity. What once was taboo is now a matter of minor ecclesiastic discomfort. More and more ordained ministers are divorced. The phenomenon of clergy divorce is also spilling over into the seminary context among seminary professors. As the church struggles with the issue of divorced clergy, the seminary grapples with the problem of divorced professors.

My task will be a biblical/theological analysis of the topic of divorce/remarriage and to develop the implications of this issue for seminary professors. I will first undertake a biblical examination of pertinent texts. This investigation will then be followed by the theological significance of the insights drawn from the passages. I will then attempt to apply the conclusions and observations to the seminary context.

Biblical Teaching

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