Product Description

Once divorced, forever barred from church leadership-sometimes even from full fellowship. Isn't that what the plain sense of Scripture teaches? No, says Keener. In this compassionate and carefully documented study, hefirst explores how the early Christians would have understood the statements of Jesus and Paul on divorce and remarriage. Keener then builds a soundly scriptural view of divorce andremarriage-a view that reminds the church that all of its members are forgiven people.

"Any Christian examining the issue of divorce and remarriage should read this book."
-Bibliotheca Sacra

"A first-rate piece of pastoral scholarship."
-Gordon D. Fee Regent College

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #549082 in Books
• Published on: 1991-08-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 256 pages

About the Author
Dr. Craig Keener is the Carl H. Morgan Visiting Professor of Biblical Studies at Eatern Baptist Theolgoical Seminary in Pennsylvania. His works include The Spirit in the Gospels and Acts; ...And Marries Another: Divorce and Remarriage in the Teaching of the New Testament; Paul, Women and Wives: Marriage and Women's Ministry in the Letters of Paul; as well as The IVP Bible Background Commentary.

Customer Reviews

Well-researched, a worthwhile purchase
I appreciated the author's explanation of the cultural context of the New Testament writings on divorce and remarriage. It is clear both from the text and the bibliography that his research was of the highest quality. The author is clearly an expert on New Testament culture and does a thorough job of applying that expertise to develop insight into the scriptures he examines, namely Matthew 5, Matthew 19, and I Corinthians 7.

The author does a good job of being balanced and unbiased although he makes no secret of the fact that he is motivated by compassion in his writing.

The one thing the author does not attempt is to delve deeply into the Greek grammar of the particular scriptures he examines, although he appears to have the understanding and ability to do so, something I would have been interested in and the only reason I don't give the book five stars. However, a deeper examination of the Greek, beyond understanding the conversational or teaching point that Jesus or Paul was making, is outside what the author is trying to accomplish. His point is to educate us on how the Jesus' and Paul's audiences would have understood what they said about divorce and remarriage. The author achieved that aim with excellence.

Superb Treatment of First-Century Divorce and Remarriage!
Keener here provides a superb treatment of how the Biblical passages on divorce and remarriage would have impacted first century hearers. This book is NOT another summary of how Scriptural directives should be applied today. Instead, it is a look at these particular verses in their first-century, Jewish, Greek and Roman historical contexts.

Many readers may not agree with the conclusions Keener draws, but all readers will benefit from his presentation of first-century customs regarding divorce and remarriage. I highly recommend this work to teachers and preachers who want to research this controversial area of Christian teaching. It is definitely well-worth the price!

Definitly worth the read....
Craig Keener has written a well-documented yet easy to comprehend book on a very difficult and controversial issue: Divorce and Remarriage in the church. Although I'm not divorced myself, I have taken great interest in this topic over the past couple years (see my other reviews) as part of my seminary experience, and in seeing close friends who are divorced: this is an ethical topic that I believe every Christian must come to grips with.

The most important thing that I can say in review of this book is that the reader must understand that Keener does not believe in the doctrine of the perspicuity of scripture like say J. Carl Laney. Keener recognizes that scripture was written during the time of a certain culture, and that we need to understand that culture in order to see what scripture is really saying to our context: this is a basic hermeneutical practice that is important to observe as we read scripture. It is true that because of this we must work harder to interpret what's really being said in scripture, and therefore a review like Samuel Chapman's is certainly understandable, but really this is a necessary step in being faithful to the bible.

Keener's basic conclusion is that the bible is decidedly against divorce, but there are exceptions in extreme cases of broken marital vows, and that in these situations the innocent party is certainly free to remarry, and hold offices in the church. This he concludes from extensive study of the relevant scriptures passages and from relevant primary and secondary sources from the first century when the New Testament was written.

For a further and even more extensive look at divorce and remarriage and the issues around it, read Dr. David Instone-Brewer's book 'Divorce and Remarriage: the Social and Literary Context.'