Everyone else in the blogosphere has been writing about this topic, so why not me? Even what I've written so far is too long for one entry, so I'm going to break it up into installments. They will not be available for comment, yet, mainly because I know some people may be tempted to jump right into the debate before they've had a chance to read everything I have to say. Yes, Mom, I'm thinking of you. :) Maybe it's not fair debating practice, but it's my blog, so take it or leave it.
I will begin with this oft-quoted passage on divorce from Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis:
“Before leaving the question of divorce, I should like to distinguish two things which are very often confused. The Christian conception of marriage is one; the other is the quite different question -- how far Christians, if they are voters or members of Parliament, ought to try to force their views of marriage on the rest of the community by embodying them in the divorce laws. A great many people seem to think that if you are a Christian yourself you should try to make divorce difficult for everyone. I do not think that. At least I know I should be very angry if the Mohammedans tried to prevent the rest of us from drinking wine. My own view is that the Churches should frankly recognize that the majority of the British people are not Christians and, therefore, cannot be expected to live Christian lives. There ought to be two distinct kinds of marriage: one governed by the State with rules enforced on all citizens, the other governed by the Church with rules enforced by her on her own members. The distinction ought to be quite sharp, so that a man knows which couples are married in a Christian sense and which are not."