Houston, we have a problem

Hannah Ettinger, who grew up in the flagship church of Sovereign Grace Ministries, illustrates a distressing pattern among evangelical and fundamental Christians today.  Specifically, while 1 Cor. 7:12-16 tells Christians to let the nonbelieving spouse leave in peace--and I'd argue that a theoretically believing spouse who abandons his wife all but confesses unbelief--there seems to be an ingrained belief in many corners for "my" tribe that divorce is unforgiveable, even in the cases of adultery or abandonment.


It seems that by and large, "my" corner of the church needs to catch up with the church of a century ago, which allowed divorce for adultery and abandonment.  I don't even need to know exactly what the former Mr. Ettinger did to his ex-wife--late nights, things that Ms. Ettinger considers abusive, all that--I can simply reassure her that it is no sin to let a husband go who simply doesn't want to be there.


Ms. Ettinger, on the small chance you're reading this, looks like "we" screwed up.  I'll keep your story in mind in the future.  Hopefully I don't get too many chances to apply what I've learned, but I'll keep the story in mind.