A handbook of Freethought : $b containing in condensed and systematized form a vast amount of evidence against the superstitious doctrines of Christianity
Religion
A handbook of Freethought : $b containing in condensed and systematized form a vast amount of evidence against the superstitious doctrines of Christianity
Christianity -- Controversial literature; Free thought
When a man hath taken a wife and marries her, and it come to pass
that she find no favor in his eye, then let him write her a bill
of divorcement, and give it into her hand and send her out of
his house. (Deut. 24 : 1.)
When thou goest forth to war against thine enemies and the Lord
thy God hath delivered them into thine hands, and thou hast taken
them captives and seest among the captives a beautiful woman,
and hast a desire unto her that thou wouldst have her to be thy
wife, then thou shalt bring her home to thine house, she shall
shave her head and pare her nails and she shall put the raiment
of her captivity from off her, and shall remain in thine house
and bewail her father and mother a full month, and after that
thou shalt go in unto her and be her husband, and she shall
be thy wife. And it shall be, if thou have no delight in her,
then thou shalt let her go whither she will, but thou shalt not
sell her at all for money; thou shalt not make merchandise of
her because thou hast humbled her. (Deut. 21 : 10-14.)
Jesus says, "Whosoever putteth away his wife, and marrieth another,
committeth adultery; and whosoever marrieth her that is put away from
her husband, committeth adultery." (Luke 16 : 18.)
In this case there is a lack of qualification as to whether the man
be innocent or not; and there is no allowance made in case the man
who married her who was put away should be ignorant of her being a
divorced woman.
Again, "But I say unto you, that whosoever shall put away his
wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit
adultery, and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced, committeth
adultery." (Mat. 5 : 32.)
Here we find not a word about the fornication of the husband. In
short, there is no equality of rights and duties taught in these
passages. Jesus, in the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke teaches
that it is adultery to marry a divorced woman. No matter what the
crime of the husband has been, a wife is not allowed to put him away
and marry another. If he is a fornicator, and his wife is divorced
from him and remarries, she commits adultery. This is only a slight
modification of the divorce law--that old law according to which the
husband had only to write his wife a bill of divorcement and send her
off; but it was not lawful for the wife to write a bill and send the
husband away. All Christian nations have repudiated the teachings of
both the Old and the New Testament on the question of divorce.
Marriage is now rapidly losing its sacramental character. If matches
are made in heaven, it is evident that the work is poorly done, and
for all practical purposes they might as well be made on earth; and
the general opinion is inclined so strongly in that direction that
greater attention is now given to the laws of life, which instruct
us how to make happy earthly matches, leaving the matches of heaven
to be formed when we get there.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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