A Modern Sinful View Of Marriage

By David J. Stewart | June 2010

I read something by journalist Sally Quinn in the The Washington Post this week that really disturbed me. It's bad enough that former presidential candidate Al Gore and his wife, Tipper Gore, filed for divorce in May of 2010. But now The Washington Post is praising the divorcing Gore's as role models for other married couples. This is so sickening. There ought not be any glory or celebration in divorce.

Sally Quinn states:

“Al and Tipper are separating with dignity and grace, a lesson for all who believe marriage is sacred, not eternal.”
SOURCE: The gift of the Gores

This is the heathen, unbiblical, worldly view that many people have today of marriage. Instead of honoring their marriage vows, “'til death do us part,” the Gores are quitting after 40-years. I am not condemning the Gores, for that is not my place. But Sally Quinn is very WRONG to say that the Gores are to be praised for “separating with dignity and grace.” It is a shame and they ought not be praised in any way for quitting.

The purpose for celebrating 40-years of marriage ought to be because there is something real and precious between a couple, a deeper commitment for one another which has grown over time, that has kept the marriage together through stormy times, and will continue to do so. How sad and tragic it is when a couple has drifted so far apart after 40-years of marriage that they want a divorce. Anyone can live together for 40-years by just staying in separate living spaces. Forty years of marriage in itself is nothing to celebrate, especially if the Gores are now divorcing to get away from each other. Whatever they shared and accomplished as a married couple for 40-years, doesn't say much when they now want away from each other for the rest of their lives. There is nothing to celebrate.

Ah, but you show me a solid marriage over 40-years, where a couple has grown older together instead of just getting older together like the Gores, and I'll show you something to celebrate.

The statement by Quinn that marriage is “scared, not eternal” is a major cop-out. It is also misleading of the truth that marriage is supposed to be for life. The marriage vows have never changed. They're supposed to be until death. Why do people promise, “'til death do us part,” if they don't mean it? Marriage ought not be treated like a mere business agreement that you can quit anytime you feel like it. Marriage is supposed to be a lifetime commitment based upon unconditional love for each other. Hardly anyone possesses the love of God anymore.

Moreover, the Word of God forbids divorce. If Al Gore remarries or has intimate relations with another woman, he will be an adulterer according to Matthew 5:32 and Matthew 19:9. The same is true for Tipper Gore. Remarriage is adultery if one's former spouse is still alive. The only exception is if your spouse abandons you against your will, in which case you are the victim of a divorce. You were forced into that situation. If a spouse departs, then they must remain single until their spouse dies (1st Corinthians 7:10). To have relations with another is the sin of adultery.

The Washington Post is merely trying to boost Gore's public image. That's what mainstream media does, they demonize patriots and Bible-believing Christians, while praising and whitewashing the wicked.

Quinn goes on to say in her warped article that the Gores married in their early twenties and it is understandable that their marriage would fail after 40-years. Again, that is a major cop-out. Divorce is sad, disgraceful and sinful. My purpose for writing this article is not to criticize the Gores in any way; but rather, to expose the unbiblical, sorry, lame, worldly, shameful attitude of Sally Quinn that it's an honorable thing for married couple to have a friendly divorce. Marriage is supposed to be “'til death do us part” according to the Bible . . .

Romans 7:3, “So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man.”
1st Corinthians 7:39, “The wife is bound by the law as long as her husband liveth; but if her husband be dead, she is at liberty to be married to whom she will; only in the Lord.”

The only thing that breaks the marriage vows is DEATH. Sally Quinn is wrong to praise married couples who decide to call it quits, even if it's done “with dignity and grace.” Divorce is never a thing to be praised. There is no lesson to be learned from the Gores. For whatever reason they decided to divorce after 40-years of marriage is irrelevant. I am sad anytime I hear about a couple getting a divorce, especially if they have been married for many decades.

Again, I am not condemning the Gores, for the Bible condemns all of us as guilty, hell-deserving, sinners (Romans 3:10,19,23; 5:12; 6:23; 2nd Thessalonians 1:8-9; Revelation 20:11-15). I am simply taking a Biblical stand for the Biblical institution of marriage . . . 'TILL DEATH DO US PART!

God intended for marriage to last until death. This is what the Bible teaches. Sally Quinn's view of marriage is heathen and worldly. Hollywood is infamous for divorce and remarriage, which is nothing more than progressive adultery. Hollywood is a cesspool of whores and whoremongers. Hebrews 13:4, “Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.”

When people get divorced, they nearly always remarry. The Bible condemns such wickedness. The Bible does not permit trial and error in marriage until one gets it right. This is the worldly attitude of so many people. God expects people to honor their marriage vows. If Sally Quinn's teachings are the new morality in America, then lets be honest about it and change the marriage vows to reflect our self-righteous, self-centered and selfish society.

Sally Quinn is a Washington Post journalist and author of several books. She is the founder and (with Jon Meacham) co-moderator of On Faith.