Spouses hitting each other

[JohnL]

Have you stopped hitting your spouse?

That one is used during local disputes around here and I’d say a little too often too.

[JohnH]

I don't understand the drive to have rules to cover everything in life. In general, violence seems like a good reason to separate for a time at least but I would be content to let it work out on an individual basis.

Considering the epidemic we have of marriages broken up (and usually not for actual, real violence problems), some rules around separation and divorce seems like a pertinent thing for Christians to consider, since the Bible seems to teach us that God doesn't want marriages to break up.

It is quite often that one spouse thinks they are being "abused" when that might not actually be reality. Sometimes it is the inverse, and the one person is good at telling tall tales whilst they are actually doing the abuse. Hence why I am wary of the idea that people can "work things out on an individual basis"; a look across broader society shows that that is indeed not working, but rather "every man does what is right in his own eyes".