Mark 10:10-12 “Later, the followers and Jesus were in the house. The followers asked Jesus again about the question of divorce. Jesus answered, ‘Any person that divorces his wife and marries another woman is guilty of sin against his wife. He is guilty of the sin of adultery. And the woman that divorces her husband and marries another man is also guilty of adultery.’

If Baptist colleges and universities can reject gay people based on more tenuous Biblical backing than this, why should there be any uproar over a Churches of Christ affiliated school enforcing a direct quote (as direct as you can find in texts written well after the fact in that era) from Jesus?

david, at 8:42 am EST on January 13, 2006

Divorce Can Be a One Way Effort

Just after I was confirmed at my Lutheran Church as a young teen, we learned that our pastor was going to remarry. A few years earlier, his wife had left him for what was — to her — a more fulfilling life. After our pastor’s marriage plans were divulged, the church council then took action to end his time leading our church. I don’t know if it’s different in your state, but in ours just one party can file for divorce and then, after a set time period, file a second time. At that point the divorce is granted. It wouldn’t matter if the abandoned spouse made heroic efforts to save their marriage. That was the case for our poor pastor. What sin had he committed? What happened to forgiveness? Can we really condemn someone for seeking true love a second time?

Frankly, I became VERY disillusioned at that point. I spent a number of years barely believing in peanut butter. Then, after a stint in the armed forces, I got my chance to go to college where one of the “evil” liberal professors (please folks, the tongue was firmly implanted in cheek) actually exposed me to the philosophy of Sartre — imagine his nerve! It was the piece where Sartre basically lambasted agnostics as too weak to make up their minds about the existence of God. I was still barely believing in the peanut butter thing, so it forced me to reevaluate my beliefs.

I’ve made it to a point where I’d consider myself a Deist that occasionally spends time exploring and evaluating the variety of theologies that we’re presented with. From my vantage point, it’s a VERY sad situation. The intolerance and hate that I often see spewed from lips of “the enlightened” simply reinforces my belief that there’s a whole lot of creation of theology going on by mankind coupled with an absolute dearth of divine inspiration. I guess most religious folks would deem me as a horrible being. I’ve lived with their hostility as best as I can.

So, is a now unwritten policy allowing business as usual to continue at Oklahoma Christian an improvement?

Matt, at 12:22 pm EST on January 13, 2006

Divorce

Maybe Oklahoma Christian University leaders should have to publish their “unwritten” divorce policy for current and prospective employees: Sort of a buyer-beware upfront statement. Why haven’t they? Could it be that certain factions within the Church of Christ have tight philosophical control over the institution? I think so and know so. I survived and graduated from OCU in the 70s. “Let him, who is without sin, cast the first stone.” There have been several...stones.

Paul, at 9:16 am EST on January 15, 2006