The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1912-01-15

must JempOTlLe, must compromise,
must get the best it can out of the
conflicting intellects, feelings and
wills of the widely differing individ-
uals who compose it, but the church
never For the church is the body of
Christ, that is the embodiment of the
ideal in the world. 1t is not infallible,
it is but a weak erring human embodi-
ment. But so far as it sees and knows
the ideal, for that and that only has
it any right to stand.
Apply this then to the question of
divorce. The ideal for society in the
realm of marriage is, as Jesus stated
it, one man married to one woman,
union indissoluble except by death.
No one ventures to question this.
Nothing better for humanity can be
imagined than the pure, harmonious,
monogamic family wherein father.
mother and children mutually love, re-
spect, serve one another and are faith
full to one anothers rights. Beyond
this neither religion nor science can
go. Eternal marriage is a favorite
dream of poet and sentimentaIist. Let
everyone who finds comfort in this
fancy cling to it, but there is not one
single indication in recorded human
history to favor it and the only word
Jesus ever spoke in any way bearing
upon it-"For in the resurrection they
neither marry nor are given in mar
riage, but are as angels in heaven
initiates against it. For eternal mar
riage he substituted the ideal eter-
nal friendship.
Did not, however, Jesus teach that
adultery annulled marriage? Brought
up to this traditional view, must con
fess that for years | believed he did
But modern scholarship going back to
the original record IN Marks gospel,
reflected also in Luke, has advanced
the conclusion that the words saving
for the cause of fornication" in Mat
thew's account, are a gloss. The con-
viction that Jesus did not say this is
strengthened by His general attitude
towards this sim Experience of life
also supports this view There are
homes wherein this sin, black as it is,
has been forgiven and the family life
has been restored stronger and more
beautiful than ever The prophet
Hosea in mis- own home gave an eX-
hibition of this truth which can never
die. Furthermore, there are other sins
against marriage which are equally
heinous and sometimes more unbear-
able than infideIity. Luther demon
strated that all of these may be hon
estly included as corOIlaries to the one
classical sin against marriage, Admit
this and you cancel entirely Jesus dec
laration of the ideal that marriage is
indissoluble save by death. know IF
no popular book which sets forth more
, forcibly than the novel "He That Eat
eth Bread With Me- this ideal that
only death can end marriage,
Given the ideal, then, what is the
church's duty? To exalt it both in its
teaching and by it's practice.
And the Christian church has no
small influence in this sphere. Ever
since the earliest days of mankind
known to us through the study of an
cient records or through observation
of tribes surviving amid primitive con
ditions, marriage has been treated as
peculiarly sacred. Men have always
Invoked upon it the sanction of Deity
by hallowing it with religious cere
monial. This is one of the fundamen
tai and beautiful traits In human ma
ture Hence it comes that the vast
majority of marriages solemnized II
, Christian lands are performed by
Christian ministers. The state graci
ously sets its seal or approval upon
! this time-honored custom by granting
to clergymen permission legally "a
unite persons in matrimony. This an
> cient and honored usage on the one
q hand and legal authorization on thu
, other join with instructive religious
, impulses to give to the Christian
3 church its peculiar influence for thu
r entire question of marriage and di
vorce. It's sanction is sought both b.
+ those who themselves believe and 0
+ whom society believes that remarriag
,, is justinable and by those who desir
e to gain color of responsibility throug
e religious ceremony for a union cor
n demned by the public conscience.
It Shall the church then by its teacl
Il ing exalt the ideal of marriage as a
4 indissoluble union and by It's practic
4 of remarrying divorced persons who's
If former partners survive deny thu
o ideal? II it is to take the latte
v. course, whom shall it remarry-a
n whom they state declares may be LEI
,e (Cotinued on page ten.)