Would Donald Trump’s marriage be accepted in a CA church?

[Ernie]

In short, Holdeman's and Apostolics would accept his marriage and the rest of Plain Anabaptists would not. Is that correct?

No.

What would (Holdeman's) CoGiCM accept in Trump's case and what would they not accept?

[Josh]

so what if a man divorces his wife, leaves your church, marries another woman, then repents and comes back to the church. What is he advised to do and what is he allowed to do?

He should reconcile with his first wife.

I used to go to church with someone who did just that. His marriage broke apart due to his abusive behaviour and his wife separated from him. The church adjudicated and found he needed to see his spiritual need and stop bothering her to blaming her for it.

Eventually, he decided to simply marry another woman (also a church member). Both were immediately excommunicated. However, they act like nothing is wrong. They attend church and social functions. They have a child now too and plan to enrol them in our church school. They come to church and follow customs normally only members do. They “look the part”. This creates a real challenge for the membership and ministry.

To be restored (since both were members) they would be expected to repent of such a grievous act and marrying yet another time would not be on the table. If his first wife ever desired to reconcile I suppose that would be allowed.

Note they we don’t have a concept that people can “leave the church” other then due to a sinful decision. We believe people shouldn’t leave God’s church. (If someone thinks we aren’t God’s church or are apostate, I can’t imagine why they would want to be part of it or even care what we think about their marriage.)

We don’t have any room for a church member to marry a non member. Such as an act is always grievously sinful and every member knows not to do that. Such a person can’t return to church unless they are either separate from that marriage, which we consider not blessed by God (but they also must be very fair to their worldly spouse who probably had no idea what she was getting into), or else they can rejoin if their spouse is born again and wants to become a church member. Generally speaking, separating is discouraged and a person who gets themselves into such a situation is encouraged to live the best possible Christian life they can outside of church membership and to pray for their spouse to become born again and desire to join the church too. Such a person would never be cleared to marry again. And believe it or not, some such people try…

[Ernie]

so what if a man divorces his wife, leaves your church, marries another woman, then repents and comes back to the church. What is he advised to do and what is he allowed to do?

He should reconcile with his first wife.

But if someone initially joins your church and is on his second marriage (with former partner still living), he can stay with his second wife? And is he allowed to go back to his first wife if he wishes?

[Neto]

IF there is willingness to consider the Mosaic Law as well as the NT, then other things can be mentioned. Otherwise, the Scripture from which one must respond is very limited, and somewhat vague as well.

[Josh]

IF there is willingness to consider the Mosaic Law as well as the NT, then other things can be mentioned. Otherwise, the Scripture from which one must respond is very limited, and somewhat vague as well.

And what is bizarre about that is that the plain groups the claim to be open to OT teaching on the topic use OT verses to teach why a adulterously remarried person can’t repent and reconcile with their first spouse, even tho the OT verses in question make it very clear divorce and remarriage was acceptable in the OT for any reason the husband desired.

[Nomad]

I think a good place to start is to figure out when the marriage covenant is broken in the eyes of God as the Bible presents it. Is it broken at 1) divorce or is it broken at 2) porneia?

Once this is figured out then I would need to figure out if the exception clause for divorce in Matthew 19:9 in the case of porneia is referencing an allowance for 1) divorce or 2) divorce and remarriage.

The NT doesn’t say anything to think remarriage (at least for men) would be prohibited. It just says it’s wrong to divorce your wife except for a valid reason. It is a bit concerning how many CAs feel comfortable adding to the scriptures for this.

Ok. So you see an allowance for divorce and remarriage in the case of porneia then?

[Nomad]

IF there is willingness to consider the Mosaic Law as well as the NT, then other things can be mentioned. Otherwise, the Scripture from which one must respond is very limited, and somewhat vague as well.

Deuteronomy 24:1-6 seems to indicate that there is an allowance for divorce for any case less than adultery, incest, homosexuality, etc...since in these cases under the Mosaic Law would have meant death for the woman or man, not divorce. Jesus seems to be drawing further back on God's original intentions for marriage back in Genesis 2:24, not the Mosaic Law.

[Ernie]

The NT doesn’t say anything to think remarriage (at least for men) would be prohibited. It just says it’s wrong to divorce your wife except for a valid reason. It is a bit concerning how many CAs feel comfortable adding to the scriptures for this.

But that was the Reformer's logic. "Whatever the NT forbids, we won't do."
The Anabaptist motto was, "Whatever the NT encourages, that we will do."

So whenever Jesus says that from the beginning, that God's intention was one man and one woman for life, Anabaptists attempt to align themselves with the heart of God.

I realize that many early Anabaptists did allow for remarriage in the case of unfaithfulness, even for members of the church. Most Anabaptists today would say that early Anabaptists who did this were working off of the Catholic understanding and in the centuries since then, they have come to a more scriptural understanding.

Does CoGiCM allow church members to remarry in the church, if their spouse has an affair with someone and leaves the church?

[Josh]

In short, Holdeman's and Apostolics would accept his marriage and the rest of Plain Anabaptists would not. Is that correct?

No.

What would (Holdeman's) CoGiCM accept in Trump's case and what would they not accept?

His first wife is deceased so that’s irrelevant now.

As I understand it, he had an affair when married to his second wife, possibly with the woman who is now his wife. They will want to understand the circumstances of that. Committing immorality yourself isn’t a good reason to be divorced, although it is a valid reason for your spouse to divorce you… On the flip side, him and Maples appear to be on very good terms and speak highly of each other. They would want to understand if he intends to go back to her, or else if he plans to stay with his current wife.

Some CAs (half of Beachy, BMA, etc.) would accept Trump’s situation on its face: his marriage to Maples was never valid since it was D&R. His first wife is deceased now, so he is free to marry anyone he wants. He could “solemnise” his marriage to Melania Knavs, or in theory, separate from her and marry someone else. I believe that latter option would be discouraged, though.

There is however another option: suppose Trump gets elected again, and then exercises his right to assassinate Marla Maples, much as Obama assassinated a U.S. citizen. Now all his ex wives are dead and he is free to be remarried. Then he “repents”, steps down from the Presidency, and joins an ultra conservative church.

Would they accept his marriage to Melania Knavs?

[Josh]

I think a good place to start is to figure out when the marriage covenant is broken in the eyes of God as the Bible presents it. Is it broken at 1) divorce or is it broken at 2) porneia?

Once this is figured out then I would need to figure out if the exception clause for divorce in Matthew 19:9 in the case of porneia is referencing an allowance for 1) divorce or 2) divorce and remarriage.

The NT doesn’t say anything to think remarriage (at least for men) would be prohibited. It just says it’s wrong to divorce your wife except for a valid reason. It is a bit concerning how many CAs feel comfortable adding to the scriptures for this.

Ok. So you see an allowance for divorce and remarriage in the case of porneia then?

I don’t see where the Bible prohibits remarriage at all, except it says explicitly not to marry a divorced woman.

The question is when a divorce is allowed. Matthew seems to say for porneia. If a divorce wasn’t allowed, someone should reconcile with their spouse who wants to reunite with them.