Can a battered wife file for divorce?
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Scripture is clear where a person stands who raises their hand against another . your covenant and vow is to love honour respect . Once you raise that hand you break that vow . We are meant to live in a love covenant . The psychological, emotional and mental damage a beating does cripples the one beaten . God's covenants are meant to build restore and support not damage degrade and destroy . Don't quote scripture out of context either when it comes to Jesus words ...Speaking into a situation .. not this one . But in other places showing clearly what the duties of both parties are .. Violence is never justified
Proverbs 22:10 - Cast out the scorner, and contention shall go out; yea, strife and reproach shall cease.
1 Corinthians 15:33 - Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.
1 Timothy 5:8 - But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.
1 Corinthians 15:33 - Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.
1 Timothy 5:8 - But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.
Moses left his wife to walk the world and preach about God and lead the people. I am pretty sure God will not hold it against her if she left her abusive husband. Now if she wanted to remarry someday that is her choice I still do not think God Would be to upset. I say she needs to get away and pray to let God Know that she had no choice.
No.. The yoke of the law was the belief that law doing was the key to ones entry into eternity with God... The yoke of the law was lifted by the LORD Jesus Christ when He gifted us the Way of salvation through belief in His finished work of the cross..
As for poverty we have laws in regard to child support payments and other options for woman who find themselves seperated from their husband.. Thats another issue really one more to do with the laws of the current society.. But also to do with the need for charity called for by the teachings of Jesus..
As for poverty we have laws in regard to child support payments and other options for woman who find themselves seperated from their husband.. Thats another issue really one more to do with the laws of the current society.. But also to do with the need for charity called for by the teachings of Jesus..
Yes, we have laws in regards to child support payments and yet some women never get them, so our laws can be pretty toothless. Not to mention the fact that men keep money hidden and under the table to avoid paying. So will you say to the women and children, go, be warm, but you must never remarry because although you are no longer under the yoke of the law, you must still keep it, just as long as you realize you will not get to heaven by keeping it?
See that no one yokes you again. There is no law against the spirit.
See that no one yokes you again. There is no law against the spirit.
When I think about it pragmatically, it seems violence to a spouse is much much worse than adultery. Adultery is a violation of trust, whereas violence is a gross violation of the person him/herself. Since God allows divorce for adultery, how much more would he allow it for severe abuse?
The only two other options are to separate and perhaps never divorce, or to allow the abuse to continue up to and including murder. I have trouble believing God considers the marriage commitment more important than the life of the spouse.
Paul said if someone is suffering as a slave and has a chance to be free he should take it. How much worse is it to be the whipping block of an insane abuser. (All abusers are insane.) If someone is suffering severe marital abuse, should not she or he not also seek to be free of it?
(Any married person suffers emotional abuse once in a while because his/her spouse is human.)
Marital abuse is from the pit of hell. Jesus had to suffer the insanity of abuse and murder from hell. Does that mean defenseless women and men (and their children) should also patiently suffer such abuse while they are tortured and murdered by the insanity of hell? I think God allows divorce in such cases.
I think it is better to err on the side of mercy than legalism in things like this.
The only two other options are to separate and perhaps never divorce, or to allow the abuse to continue up to and including murder. I have trouble believing God considers the marriage commitment more important than the life of the spouse.
Paul said if someone is suffering as a slave and has a chance to be free he should take it. How much worse is it to be the whipping block of an insane abuser. (All abusers are insane.) If someone is suffering severe marital abuse, should not she or he not also seek to be free of it?
(Any married person suffers emotional abuse once in a while because his/her spouse is human.)
Marital abuse is from the pit of hell. Jesus had to suffer the insanity of abuse and murder from hell. Does that mean defenseless women and men (and their children) should also patiently suffer such abuse while they are tortured and murdered by the insanity of hell? I think God allows divorce in such cases.
I think it is better to err on the side of mercy than legalism in things like this.
Something else occurred to me adstar, concerning what you've said here (and gm by the way and happy thanksgiving day! 
)
A man put his hand out to steady the ark and he was struck dead because he disobeyed the law. The way it reads, he had no time to think. Its a natural reaction to just grab for something when it is falling. Was the law a heavy yoke for him to bear?
)A man put his hand out to steady the ark and he was struck dead because he disobeyed the law. The way it reads, he had no time to think. Its a natural reaction to just grab for something when it is falling. Was the law a heavy yoke for him to bear?
Amen brother-- The lady is absolutely free to divorce a physically abusive "husband," because it only amounts to a legalistic union. I was in a similar situation as a man being severely emotionally abused by a troubled woman in a legal marriage that we had planned to progress to church. There are several reasons why the abused lady would be free to divorce:
And these statements are clearly supported by the Bible--
1) Marriage is not meant to only be a legal union, but, a relationship centered on God's love, peace, commitment and security.
An abusive man (or less often a woman) legally disqualifies the marriage because a true marriage does not exist where there is abuse of a lady or children, because that is a sign that the man is not a Christian, but, controlled by the devil, and the love of Christ does not reign in the marriage, therefore, they are not married in the eyes of God, who is God of love and kindness, especially towards vulnerable people.
IT IS LOVEJ and GOD and the AUTHORITY of a CHURCH THAT MARRY'S A MAN AND A WOMAN NOT A LEGAL DOCUMENT.
This can be defended by the Bible and Church history by the strong condemnation of religious legalism by JESUS and JOHN the BAPTIST, time after time after time in the Bible. Sorry that I don't have the scriptures here but I will look them up at home. One of the is: "The Sabbath was made for God's people" not the other way around, and then Jesus said, "I am LORD even of the Sabbath." This means that the spirit of religious legalism is over-ruled by the Spirit of Christ's love, power and authority.
Another defense is that there are no mentions of abuse among the followers of Jesus, meaning that that was an offense so serious that it automatically disqualified them from all privileges of being with Jesus, amounting to immediate excommunication from church fellowship. The LORD only mentioned that adultery was the only grounds for divorce because it was CLEARLY understood, without even mentioning it, that physical abuse by a spouse towards their wife and children, was already understood as grounds for immediate excommunication from church, and immediate grounds for divorce.
THIS CLEARLY TRUE BECAUSE JESUS SAID THAT UNDER THE NEW COVENANT, EVEN LOOKING AT A WOMAN WITH LUST AMOUNTED TO ADULTERY, AND EVEN HATING SOMEONE AMOUNTED TO EMOTIONAL MURDER. SO, IF A MAN BATTERS HIS WIFE, OR CHILDREN, IT IS CLEARLY AN ACT OF THE DEVIL'S HATRED, VIOLENCE AND MURDER, THAT IF THE PERSON DOES NOT REPENT FROM COULD LEAVE THEM WITH A "GARMENT OF VIOLENCE," SIMILAR TO A HATEFUL, BITTER DIVORCE WHICH AMOUNTS TO EMOTIONAL VIOLENCE, MURDER OF A RELATIONSHIP, AND MURDER OF A SPOUSE'S TRUST, AND MURDER OF CHILDREN'S FUTURES.
3) So, having clearly established here that under the New Covenant, love over-rules the legalistic violence of the "spirit of religion" that both Jesus and John the Baptist said came from a "brood of vipers," the same brood of vipers that quoted scriptures as they murdered Christ, it is clear that scriptures can not be used to justify violence against women and children or as an excuse for a wife-batterer to claim a legal right to own a woman and forbid her to divorce him. He doesn't even have a legal right to beat a dog, which would also disqualify him from fellowship with Christian believers. So, if violence against a dog, disqualifies an abusive man (or less often a woman), from Christian fellowship, then violence against a spouse, clearly does also.
4) Further support of this is when Jesus said that"is it right (and legal) to do good on the Sabbath?" and then He answered the question by miraculous intervention. He also said "have you not read where King David, broke the rules to eat the Church bread when he and his men were hungry?"
CONCLUSION:
UNDER THE NEW COVENANT OF GOD'S LOVE AND MERCY, GOD'S LOVE OVER-RULES LEGALISM, AND THE BIBLE CAN NOT BE QUOTED TO JUSTIFY VIOLENCE IN A RELATIONSHIP/MARRIAGE.
THEREFORE, THE WOMAN WOULD HAVE IMMEDIATE GROUNDS FOR DIVORCE, AND TO HAVE THE MAN LEGALLY REMOVED FROM HER HOUSE, IN FACT IT WOULD BE HER OBLIGATION.
IF EVEN LOOKING AT ANOTHER MAN'S WIFE WITH LUST IS CONSIDERED ADULTERY UNDER THE NEW COVENANT, THEN ABUSING A SPOUSE SURELY ALSO IS. AND THIS WOULD ALSO INCLUDE VERBAL ABUSE, WHICH IS CONSIDERED EMOTIONAL MURDER UNDER THE NEW COVENANT.
SO, GOD'S LOVE OF THE LIVING WORD--CHRIST HIMSELF--IS HIGHER EVEN THAN THE WRITTEN WORD.
THE LADY IS FREE TO IMMEDIATELY DIVORCE HER LEGAL "PARTNER" WHO CAN NOT BE CONSIDERED A HUSBAND BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT TRULY MARRIED IN A BOND OF LOVE.
THE BIBLE CLEARLY SUPPORTS THIS.
And these statements are clearly supported by the Bible--
1) Marriage is not meant to only be a legal union, but, a relationship centered on God's love, peace, commitment and security.
An abusive man (or less often a woman) legally disqualifies the marriage because a true marriage does not exist where there is abuse of a lady or children, because that is a sign that the man is not a Christian, but, controlled by the devil, and the love of Christ does not reign in the marriage, therefore, they are not married in the eyes of God, who is God of love and kindness, especially towards vulnerable people.
IT IS LOVEJ and GOD and the AUTHORITY of a CHURCH THAT MARRY'S A MAN AND A WOMAN NOT A LEGAL DOCUMENT.
This can be defended by the Bible and Church history by the strong condemnation of religious legalism by JESUS and JOHN the BAPTIST, time after time after time in the Bible. Sorry that I don't have the scriptures here but I will look them up at home. One of the is: "The Sabbath was made for God's people" not the other way around, and then Jesus said, "I am LORD even of the Sabbath." This means that the spirit of religious legalism is over-ruled by the Spirit of Christ's love, power and authority.
Another defense is that there are no mentions of abuse among the followers of Jesus, meaning that that was an offense so serious that it automatically disqualified them from all privileges of being with Jesus, amounting to immediate excommunication from church fellowship. The LORD only mentioned that adultery was the only grounds for divorce because it was CLEARLY understood, without even mentioning it, that physical abuse by a spouse towards their wife and children, was already understood as grounds for immediate excommunication from church, and immediate grounds for divorce.
THIS CLEARLY TRUE BECAUSE JESUS SAID THAT UNDER THE NEW COVENANT, EVEN LOOKING AT A WOMAN WITH LUST AMOUNTED TO ADULTERY, AND EVEN HATING SOMEONE AMOUNTED TO EMOTIONAL MURDER. SO, IF A MAN BATTERS HIS WIFE, OR CHILDREN, IT IS CLEARLY AN ACT OF THE DEVIL'S HATRED, VIOLENCE AND MURDER, THAT IF THE PERSON DOES NOT REPENT FROM COULD LEAVE THEM WITH A "GARMENT OF VIOLENCE," SIMILAR TO A HATEFUL, BITTER DIVORCE WHICH AMOUNTS TO EMOTIONAL VIOLENCE, MURDER OF A RELATIONSHIP, AND MURDER OF A SPOUSE'S TRUST, AND MURDER OF CHILDREN'S FUTURES.
3) So, having clearly established here that under the New Covenant, love over-rules the legalistic violence of the "spirit of religion" that both Jesus and John the Baptist said came from a "brood of vipers," the same brood of vipers that quoted scriptures as they murdered Christ, it is clear that scriptures can not be used to justify violence against women and children or as an excuse for a wife-batterer to claim a legal right to own a woman and forbid her to divorce him. He doesn't even have a legal right to beat a dog, which would also disqualify him from fellowship with Christian believers. So, if violence against a dog, disqualifies an abusive man (or less often a woman), from Christian fellowship, then violence against a spouse, clearly does also.
4) Further support of this is when Jesus said that"is it right (and legal) to do good on the Sabbath?" and then He answered the question by miraculous intervention. He also said "have you not read where King David, broke the rules to eat the Church bread when he and his men were hungry?"
CONCLUSION:
UNDER THE NEW COVENANT OF GOD'S LOVE AND MERCY, GOD'S LOVE OVER-RULES LEGALISM, AND THE BIBLE CAN NOT BE QUOTED TO JUSTIFY VIOLENCE IN A RELATIONSHIP/MARRIAGE.
THEREFORE, THE WOMAN WOULD HAVE IMMEDIATE GROUNDS FOR DIVORCE, AND TO HAVE THE MAN LEGALLY REMOVED FROM HER HOUSE, IN FACT IT WOULD BE HER OBLIGATION.
IF EVEN LOOKING AT ANOTHER MAN'S WIFE WITH LUST IS CONSIDERED ADULTERY UNDER THE NEW COVENANT, THEN ABUSING A SPOUSE SURELY ALSO IS. AND THIS WOULD ALSO INCLUDE VERBAL ABUSE, WHICH IS CONSIDERED EMOTIONAL MURDER UNDER THE NEW COVENANT.
SO, GOD'S LOVE OF THE LIVING WORD--CHRIST HIMSELF--IS HIGHER EVEN THAN THE WRITTEN WORD.
THE LADY IS FREE TO IMMEDIATELY DIVORCE HER LEGAL "PARTNER" WHO CAN NOT BE CONSIDERED A HUSBAND BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT TRULY MARRIED IN A BOND OF LOVE.
THE BIBLE CLEARLY SUPPORTS THIS.
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Your #4 above is very good.
(Its all good, but #4 grabbed me.)
The true sabbath rest is in spirit and it was made FOR man, to lift his heavy burden. Come to me all you who carry heavy burdens and I will give you rest.
There is no law against the spirit - against love, mercy, compassion for others. There IS no law against it. See that no one yokes you again.
(Its all good, but #4 grabbed me.)
The true sabbath rest is in spirit and it was made FOR man, to lift his heavy burden. Come to me all you who carry heavy burdens and I will give you rest.
There is no law against the spirit - against love, mercy, compassion for others. There IS no law against it. See that no one yokes you again.
I do not know if that is true (most wife beaters are also ADULTERERS) Divorce God hates. However a women leaving her husband to save her life is covered in the law of the land is it not? how is it staying with a man who beats you bring glory to God? that is a lie told by a controlling fool. separation and divorce both could be what is needed if, reconciliation does
not happen.. This is why one has to be given godly counsel before marriage. many have failed in this. mainly the church.
not happen.. This is why one has to be given godly counsel before marriage. many have failed in this. mainly the church.
A
1 Peter 3 v 7
Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.
****
I believe the above verses clearly instruct husbands to love and honor their wives or there are spiritual ramifications of God not listening to their prayers.
A man who abuses his wife would not qualify as a man with honor or in good standing with God.
A battered wife can and should file for divorce, because her husband "filed" for it the first time he beat her.
Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.
****
I believe the above verses clearly instruct husbands to love and honor their wives or there are spiritual ramifications of God not listening to their prayers.
A man who abuses his wife would not qualify as a man with honor or in good standing with God.
A battered wife can and should file for divorce, because her husband "filed" for it the first time he beat her.