Good Shepherd Lutheran Church

Pastor James Wakefield explores the four Scriptural reasons members of the earliest church were allowed to seek a divorce. First century rabbis expanded the rights of slaves to include free women and men (see Exodus 21:7-11). A legal innovation from about 20 BC was rejected because it allowed divorce "for any cause." Jesus' discussion of this "for any cause" divorce has been misread in church history and used to keep people in oppressive marriages.