Instigator / Con
0
1389
rating
413
debates
44.55%
won
Topic
#3581

The biblical scriptures justify/support/permit marital divorce.

Status
Finished

The debate is finished. The distribution of the voting points and the winner are presented below.

Winner & statistics
Winner
0
1

After 1 vote and with 1 point ahead, the winner is...

Novice_II
Parameters
Publication date
Last updated date
Type
Standard
Number of rounds
4
Time for argument
Three days
Max argument characters
30,000
Voting period
One month
Point system
Winner selection
Voting system
Open
Contender / Pro
1
1896
rating
100
debates
93.5%
won
Description

Disclaimer : Regardless of the setup for voting win or lose, The aim of this interaction, Is for those that view it, Learn and or take away anything that will amount to any constructive value ultimately. So that counts as anything that'll cause one to reconsider an idea, Understand a subject better, Help build a greater wealth of knowledge getting closer to truth. When either of us has accomplished that with any individual here, That's who the victor of the debate becomes.

I think I am just ignorant when it comes to this. I don't know any better when it comes to this. I'm taking this opportunity really to learn.

May not be disputable but just in case, can you back it up with bible, chapter and verse?

That is the stipulation. Your position cannot be, will not be validated in any other fashion. If you fail to comply and provide scripture, you're disqualified to debate this topic.

Any questions, please send a message or leave a comment.

Criterion
Con
Tie
Pro
Points
Winner
1 point(s)
Reason:

Any debate along the lines of "does the Bible say x" or "does the Bible condone _____" are very tricky. First of all the Bible LOVES to contradict itself, especially between the New and Old Testament. In this case, both sides were able to find scriptures supporting their case, and the burden of proof was poorly defined. Here is my best interpretation.

The title of the debate introduces the question as to whether "the biblical scriptures justify/support/permit marital divorce." This is actually the extent to which the topic was defined, as no definitions or burden of proof were given in the debate description. Generally speaking burden of proof is on the one making a positive claim, which in this case would be Pro, as they are being expected to provide evidence in favor of marital divorce being permitted in the Bible.

Pro's arguments:
1. a verse laying out an exception for divorce under the circumstances of sexual immorality
2. a passage laying out an exception for abandonment by a non-believing spouse.
While neither of these are in the most straightforward phrasing, the first is unambiguous, with the clause "excepting sexual immorality" clearly marking a special case allowing for divorce. The second is more open to interpretation, but Pro was able to provide a source establishing that the grounds for divorce or "separation" is a common interpretation.

Con's Rebuttals
Con's rebuttal to the first appears to be either a misunderstanding of the sentence, or else ignoring the critical clause quoted above. Either way, this point was not refuted. The second rebuttal primarily pointed to the ambiguity surrounding the phrase "let it be so," which is a fair point, but no effort was made to offer an alternative interpretation, so while this point is rather weaker than the first, I still consider it unrefuted.

Conclusion: I consider Pro's arguments more than sufficient to prove that the Bible has at least one case in which it supports/justifies/permits divorce.

Non-argument points
While I am aware that points on winner/loser debates are dependent only on the quality of the arguments themselves, I would like to mention a few other critiques as a matter of giving things to improve on in the future.
Format: Especially to Con, try not to use the same markers to indicate quotations from earlier in the debate and outside quotes. Personally I like to use the markdown quote box for the former, as it can nest if necessary, and quotation marks for outside quotes. The main point though is to have a consistent distinction.