Till Death Do Us Part

This morning, Tim Challies linked to an article at Christianity Today (CT) which looks at the results of a survey on whether divorce is a sin in particular situations. The two pools of participants were evangelical pastors and non-clergy Americans. When asked about divorce in the case of abuse, one-third of the Americans believed divorce was a sin in the case of abuse. By implication, the sin of divorce is the same or perhaps worse than the sin of abuse. Let that sink in for a moment.

The CT article links to "Till Death Do Us Part", a series of articles in the Post and Courier on domestic violence in the state of South Carolina.  Sadly, SC has been among the top 10 for violence against women for the last 15 years. In their research, the reporters have found:

Awash in guns, saddled with ineffective laws and lacking enough shelters for the battered, South Carolina is a state where the deck is stacked against women trapped in the cycle of abuse, a Post and Courier investigation has found.

Couple this with deep-rooted beliefs about the sanctity of marriage and the place of women in the home, and the vows “till death do us part” take on a sinister tone.

I want to make it clear that I affirm marriage as a good and godly thing between one man and one woman. I believe there are sinful reasons used to justify divorce. But it is no secret that I strongly believe that the Bible allows divorce in situations of abuse, abandonment, and adultery. I believe that forbidding divorce in the case of abuse is endangering the lives of its targets. Just because we are Christians does not insulate marriages from being distorted and twisted beyond recognition. And in our fear of what the world is doing to marriage, we run the risk of idolizing it to the point that we sacrifice the lives of women and children on its altar all in the name of preserving something that is a sick mockery of Christ's relationship with His church. The love of Christ is not seen, and we are deluding ourselves.

These things should not be. May God open our eyes and have mercy.

Updated to add with the following link:

Is there biblical grounds for divorcing an abuser?