Under WT rules, can JW women file for a divorce? Or can only men file?

by JimmyPage 45 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  Finkelstein

  Correct Athanasius
  
• 

  Finkelstein

  So from that understanding Athanasius, if a JW woman divorced her husband she would not be allowed to remarry until it was proven that he committed fornication or he remarried.
  

  If he didn't do either, she couldn't remarry and had to remain single for the rest of her life so be it.
  
• 

  Stealth

  My JW ex-wife filed for divorce, while we were both in good standing. While the elders did put pressure on her not to go through with it, she was not sanctioned other than being labeled a "foolish" person.
  
• 

  Village Idiot

  I knew a JW woman, in the late 1990s, who divorced for "spiritual reasons". Those were her own words.
• 

  the girl next door

  There are no sanctions for a JW woman filing for divorce from her JW husband. The repercussions may come later when she tries to remarry. But now, all she has to say is that she "knows in her heart" that she is free to remarry and she will be free to remarry. Two witnesses not required.
• 

  Finkelstein

  This just one example how Fu.. up the laws are in JW land.

  The repercussions may come later

  Sure most likely to not be able to go out in service or give talks .

  You will be marked as weak.
• 

  JimmyPage

  I am seeing all kinds of answers here that seem a bit contradictory to each other. But fascinating nonetheless!
• 

  Irish Dame

  My relative was df'ed for one 'indiscretion'. His wife 'forgave' him which in JW-land means she no longer had scriptural grounds for divorce. A few weeks later, she told him she was divorcing him anyway. Three months after my relative was df'ed, he hung himself. Well, now his wife was free! Six weeks after he hung himself his 'grieving' widow announced on Facebook she was in a relationship and named the JW man. Three months after her husband hung himself she married the JW man she had been dating while still married to my relative. This woman and this man, who was dating a married woman, are in good standing in the congregation neither are being shunned. Sometimes, depending on who you know in JW org, example : if your daddy is an elder you can do as you please.
• 

  Listener

  Their definition of adultery is rarely clearly explained. Maybe the reason for that issue to their flip flopping on the issue.

  I understand it currently means the same as pornea with the only difference being marriage.

  Pornea involves the manipulation of sexual organs (but not breasts, no doubt the divorce rate would be even greater if it included this).

  At one stage adultery didn't include sex with a person of the same sex or an animal.

  This is a suspicion but I bet it does not include child sexual abuse. One of the RC case studies helps to confirm this.
• 

  Wasanelder Once

  Adultery is grounds for a scriptural divorce with freedom to remarry. Here is the latest on leaving a mate without scriptural reasons. Same as the 90's when they pulled it out of their a**.
  

  From the book "Keep Yourselves in God's Love" 2008:
  

  *** lv pp. 220-221 The Bible’s View on Divorce and Separation ***
  In certain extreme situations, some Christians have decided to separate from or divorce a marriage mate even though that one has not committed fornication. In such a case, the Bible stipulates that the departing one “remain unmarried or else make up again.” (1 Corinthians 7:11) Such a Christian is not free to pursue a third party with a view to remarriage. (Matthew 5:32) Consider here a few exceptional situations that some have viewed as a basis for separation.
  

  Willful nonsupport. A family may become destitute, lacking the basic essentials of life, because the husband fails to provide for them, although being able to do so. The Bible states: “If anyone does not provide for . . . members of his household, he has disowned the faith and is worse than a person without faith.” (1 Timothy 5:8) If such a man refuses to change his ways, the wife would have to decide whether she needs to protect her welfare and that of her children by obtaining a legal separation. Of course, Christian elders should give careful consideration to an accusation that a Christian refuses to support his family. Refusal to care for one’s family may result in disfellowshipping.
  

  Extreme physical abuse. An abusive spouse may act so violently that the abused mate’s health and even life are in danger. If the abusive spouse is a Christian, congregation elders should investigate the charges. Fits of anger and a practice of violent behavior are grounds for disfellowshipping.—Galatians 5:19-21.
  

  Absolute endangerment of spiritual life. A spouse may constantly try to make it impossible for the mate to pursue true worship or may even try to force that mate to break God’s commands in some way. In such a case, the threatened mate would have to decide whether the only way to “obey God as ruler rather than men” is to obtain a legal separation.—Acts 5:29.
  

  In all cases involving such extreme situations as those just discussed, no one should put pressure on the innocent mate either to separate or to stay with the other. While spiritually mature friends and elders may offer support and Bible-based counsel, they cannot know all the details of what goes on between a husband and a wife. Only Jehovah can see that. Of course, a Christian wife would not be honoring God or the marriage arrangement if she exaggerated the seriousness of her domestic problems just to live separately from her husband, or vice versa.
  

  There's the official stand of the Washtowel Birdbath Society.