Divorce

God's feelings on the subject: Bottom line he hates divorce and says so very clearly in Mal 2:16. It makes sense God was the one who designed marriage and intended it to be a sacred union melding two lives into one. A union that was not right to break even by the man and women themselves(Matthew 19:6). The devastation brought about when people divorce each other is akin to the tragedy of when parents abandon their children. The two people are designed to need each other and grow together.

The Bible's teaching: Moses seemed to condone divorce in the Old Testament (Matthew 19:8), but this wasn't God's will for people he only allowed it because people had hard hearts. Could this mean that God allows it today since there is still a problem with hard hearts but that it isn't his desire for people? Perhaps the answer in part lies in one's decision to remarry. Divorce in a sense is "allowable" but to remarry then becomes the sin one is accountable for, paying the consequences for adultery (Matthew 19:9).

Exceptions: Marital unfaithfulness seems to be the only exception to the rule (Matthew 19:9), giving one exemption from the sin of adultery if one chooses to marry again after a divorce. The question then becomes what qualifies as unfaithfulness outside the obvious classic affair scenario. It seems like exceptions such as in the case of spousal abuse are valid as well, for certainly if one is using violence on the other person they are being unfaithful to their wedding vows.

Point of contention: What I don't understand is the way in which the person who has not divorced the other person (say the Man divorcing the woman in the case in Mark's gospel) is not free to marry. It seems like it would not be so much their fault (in some cases) and yet they would be stuck in the
sin of adultery if they were to remarry.