THE BIBLICAL PERSPECTIVE ON MARRIAGE IN THE CONTEXT OF DIVORCE AND REMARRIAGE IN AFRICA: A PANACEA FOR PEACFUL COEXISTENCE

Abstract

Marriage is an age long institution said to be established by the Creator of the
Universe Himself for the purpose of procreation, companionship, unity, love and
pleasure. The marriage institution is the bedrock for every society as it helps in
modelling and shaping individuals and communities for rapid growth and
development. To this end, a divorced marriage certainly has its own repercussions
on the family; husband, wife, children and even the community and society at
large. To the African, marriage means more than husband and wife relationship
as it extends beyond the extended family to the community. This is very much
unlike the western concept of marriage where it is viewed as a husband and wife
issue, tending to be more individualistic. The African worldview on the
institution of marriage is therefore not in agreement with some
westerners’concept of marriage. The incursion of western foreign cultures on
marriage has impacted adversely on the African marriage institution. This has
resulted in many divorce cases, giving rise to many social vices such as
prostitution, child pregnancy, baby mothers, state of insecurity and insurgency,
kidnapping, and drug abuse among other societal problems. This paper attempts
to briefly consider African worldview on marriage in pre-Christian era, that is,
before the coming of missionaries. It will also consider the Biblical perspective on
marriage, divorce, the justification for remarriage or otherwise, and its impact on
the coexistence in African societies.