The Washington times., 1922-09-06

DIVORCE VIEWS
OF DR.. GRANT

Writer Takes Issue With Cleric
Who Would Liberalize
church's Laws.
The suggestion of the Req. DR..
Percy Stickney Grant Of Nev
Fork, that the Episcopal Church
HberGlize its divorce and remdr-
rage laWs, tUhich noto forbid
divorced person TO remdrry except
Dhen he Or she has proved tnttdel-
iiy, has caused nation-soide com
ment. Many persons support Dr.
Grants suggestion, phtte others
condemn his VieUs.
Because of the controversy his
espressions haze developed IN the
eper-recurrinq divorce problem,
The Washington Times has induced
a number OF authors to contribute
their vieDs on the question.
The first article IN this series,
printed today, is by Albert Pdyson
Terhune, noted novelist.
FEATURES IN ISSUE.
The features Of DR.. Grants
recent article on the Episcopal dt-
vorce and remarriage latos are:
I-Many persons who might
charge infideIity I'm divorce cases re-
frain from so doing and, out OF KIND
ness or to avoid scandal, rely on
minor charges. g, =
2-The present regulations are
medieval.
SThe canon involved, AZ, Is
based on a New Testament text
which Is Of doubtful authenticity
and expresses Jewish racial Gus
tom rather than a universal truth.
4-The canon Is un-American, un'
dermines civil law and encourages
SThe canon deserts the theOry
aud tradition Of Professionalism. H
BY ALBERT PAYs0N TERHUNE.
Famous Novelist and short Story Writer.
Marriage is one OF two things.
1t is a civil contract-in which case
IL is to be governed strictly by the
laws which bind any other civil con-
tract. Or else 1t Is a religious rite
in which event 1t must be governed
strictly by the code which binds
every other religious rite. In the
case of Christians. this code is found
nowhere except In the Bible-nota'
ly In the New Testament.
Bible Refutes Grant.
DIR. Grant does not invoke the
civil contract. He seeks merely
to prove that the Bible mandate
does not apply to modern cases
or else Is mistranslated. In either
event, the Bible itself refutes him.
He appears to be in the somewhat
dangerous position of a card.player
who attempts to make up new rules
as the game goes on. For example,:
In denouncing the Episcopal
Church's rules against the re-
marriage of persons divorced for
causes other than infidelity, he
cites Christ's dictum on the sub
ject; and declares that dictum to
be OF doubtful authenticity and
to express AN ancient Jewish
racial custom rather than the
preachings Of Christ. The Bible
itself refutes this. Note the fol-
lowing. Mark 10, from Verse 2,
on); Which shows Christ was
preaching His own views-and no
Jewish precedent:
Not Racial Custom.
"And the Pharisees came to him
and asked him: Is 1t lawful for
man to put away his wife. And He
answered: What did Moses COM
mand you" And they said: Moses
suffered to write a bill Of divorce.
ment and to put her away. And
Jesus answered and said unto them
For the hardness Of your heart he
wrote you this precept For
this cause shall a man leave his
father and his mother and cleaye
unto his wife, and they twain shall
be one flesh. What there
fore God hath Joined together, lot
not man put asunder. II
a woman shall put away her hus.
band and be married to another, she
committeth adultery
This seems to express Christ's
personal views on the subject
with vivid clearness and to prove
He was not following slavishly
an ancient Jewish racial CUSTOM"
as DR.. Grant announces. II Chris
tians are to follow Christ's CON-
mands concerning divorce, these
commands are tersely and clearly
L
quoted. There can be no double
reading to those texts, nor others
throughout the Gospels, which re-
peat the same doctrine.
II DR.. Grant chooses to come out
with the theory that divorced per.
sons should be allowed to remarry,
that Is nobody's business but his
own. The civil law, in the main,
will uphold him. But why twist
the Bible into an alliance with his
views? And why denounce the
Episcopal Church, which is founded
on the Bibles commandments: II
looks like case of "Everybody's
out of step but Paddy"
Or, II he scoffs at ancient Mo.
sale laws, let him throw all the
Ten Commandments overheard. For
those were the very earliest
ancient Jewish racial customs
customs which Christianity EN-!
braced WHOLESALE and which have