Questions & Replies about Divorce and Remarriage by David Instone-Brewer
Read the book    Buy a copy	I read and reply to all emails though sometimes the reply is very brief, due to pressure of time. I like to get questions - especially if they are new. Many people ask questions which are already covered in these Questionas & Replies. Please take a moment to look at previous emails before you write. Pastoral support doesn't really work by email, so if you need this, I'd encourage you to find a local fellow Christian or minister. Their personal views on this subject don't matter too much if they are good at listening, both to you and to God. David Instone-Brewer	Read portions    Buy a copy

Emailed question/comment:
	Jesus speaks to divorce specifically using the word "porneia" which is fornication. In Matthew Jesus is standing on ground under Antipas' authority. Antipas had just beheaded John the Baptist for questioning his marriage to his niece. A marriage within his own family. Jesus teaches very clearly that the only marriage that can be dissolved is the one that never occurred in the first place. One involving incest or kinsman. Remarriage is not an option.
Reply:
	This view is based on Bonsirven's interpretations of porneia which became popular before all of the Dead Sea Scrolls had been analysed. Now that we have access to all the Scrolls, I think there is only one scholar who still holds to it (Murphy O'Conner, a Catholic in Jerusalem), apart from those who haven't looked at the recent discoveries. I cover this theory in a little bit of detail in Section 2 of chap.10 of my academic version. (http://www.tabs-online.com/Brewer/Academic/Chap_10.htm) If you want more details, see my paper on the evidence of the Dead Sea Scrolls "Nomological Exegesis in Qumran 'Divorce' Texts" (Revue de Qumran, 18, 1998, 561-579).
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