Marriage in the eyes of God is a one-off. Secular marriages can be redone as many times as the couple wish. Every year they can marry, divorce and marry each other again as long as they wish.
A secular divorce in a secular court of law is a separation in the eyes of God.[/quote[
The Bible says, "let not the wife depart from her husband" and "let not the husband put away his wife."
About wives submitting to their husbands. How about Ephesians: For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies.
How many times do Christians men use these verses compared to the "wives submit to your husbands" mantra ad nauseum.
I hear a lot more emphasis on husbands love your wives when the passage is taught. Some preachers read the submission part, but don't expand on it, except to say that the husband's part is more weighty.
Since the part about wives submitting to their husbands is part of the Bible, too, we should embrace, cherish and appreciate that truth as well, and not be nauseated by it.
The verse you quoted from Peter is about a normal husband, not an abusive one threatening the spiritual, psychological and physical health of his wife.
The passage doesn't say that. The verses prior are about how it is commendable before God for a slave to suffer for well doing, even being beaten, and to follow the example of Christ. So it's a pretty harsh context. This passage doesn't say anything about an abusive husband, but it sounds like family life could be a bit harsh if one married an unbeliever back then.
if the husband is an intimidating abuser, he will not be influenced by his wife's submission. that is reality.
Based on what do you say this? Do you have any research to prove this? What kind of research did you conduct? What kind of research on this could you get past an ethics review board at a university? I think this is your made-up opinion. We aren't talking about a physical abuser here. We are talking about one part of a couple saying her husband talks down to her.
I also know there are women who tried to be really good wives and prayed for their husbands and their husbands repented. I can think of two testimonies off the top of my head. One of the men is a preacher now. He said he rode a motorcycle and had spiked hair when he was young, and we abusive toward his wife. He drove by a church where she was at a prayer meeting and heard his wife and the women inside calling out his name and praying for him, and he repented and became a Christian. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much, and I believe that applies to women as well.
Do you believe what the Bible teaches about prayer is 'reality' or not?
You NEVER try counseling in an abusive situation, because that plays into the hands of the abuser. The abuse needs to be cured before counseling can work.
You are entitled to your opinion, even if it is based on naivety. Abusive partners are not normal people.
That's a recipe to end a lot of marriages, and it also dehumanizes the abuser or one merely accused of it, and can break up families for good. Are a professional in this area? It seems really unprofessional of you to give such extreme advice on a forum where you haven't even met both people in the marriage, and you haven't even met the one who says she is abused. If they go to a decent counselor and she tells him or her what she just told us, don't you think a trained counselor will recognize what's going on? There could be some benefit from a professional confronting this man. He may realize his marriage is in a vulnerable place. He has a daughter and if he has enough knowledge of the world to realize he's got a 10% chance, maybe, of getting primary custody, and he realizes he has to care for a child that age, he may just be motivated to listen or make some changes.
This idea that 'Abusive partners are not normal people' isn't a professional way of looking at people, either. Not everyone who talks down to their partner is a Duluth Model psychopath. Most people who are abusive on some level are not murderous psychopaths. People who have personality and moral problems usually fall on some kind of spectrum. Some people can wise up and change, and especially if the Holy Spirit gets involved in the situation. It sounds like you've bought into some particular philosophy on this, and I think you ought to consider whether the philosphy you bought into is true or not.
