In Calvin's Geneva, the changes associated with the Reformation were particularly abrupt and far-reaching, in large part owing to John Calvin himself. Adultery and Divorce in Calvin's Geneva makes two major contributions to our understanding of this time. The first is to the history of divorce. The second is in illustrating the operations of the Consistory of Geneva--an institution designed to control in all its variety the behavior of the entire population--which was established at Calvin's insistence in 1541. This mandate came shortly after the city officially adopted Protestantism in 1536, a time when divorce became legally possible for the first time in centuries.

Robert Kingdon illustrates the changes that accompanied the earliest Calvinist divorces by examining in depth a few of the most dramatic cases and showing how divorce affected real individuals. He considers first, and in the most detail, divorce for adultery, the best-known grounds for divorce and the best documented. He also covers the only other generally accepted grounds for these early divorces--desertion.

The second contribution of the book, to show the work of the Consistory of Geneva, is a first step toward a fuller study of the institution. Kingdon has supervised the first accurate and complete transcription of the twenty-one volumes of registers of the Consistory and has made the first extended use of these materials, as well as other documents that have never before been so fully utilized.

"Any Christian examining the issue of divorce and remarriage should read this book."
-Bibliotheca Sacra

"A first-rate piece of pastoral scholarship."
-Gordon D. Fee Regent College

Written in everday language, Annulments and the Catholic Church is an invaluable resource for lay people who want to understand this challenging issue and pastoral leaders who need to offer guidance on questions of theology and canon law.

This book addresses the most common questions people have about annulments, including:

How is an annulment different from a divorce?
Are there too many annulments granted today?
Does the length of a marriage affect an annulment case?
How do people begin the annulment process?
Does a wedding between a Catholic and a non-Catholic require an annulment?
Is alcoholism or physical abuse grounds for an annulment?

Using concrete examples, John T. Noonan, Jr., demonstrates that the moral teaching of the Catholic Church has changed and continues to change without abandoning its foundational commitment to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Specifically, Noonan looks at the profound changes that have occurred over the centuries in Catholic moral teaching on freedom of conscience, lending for a profit, and slavery. He also offers a close examination of the change now in progress concerning divorce.

In these changes Noonan perceives the Catholic Church to be a vigorous, living organism answering new questions with new answers, and enlarging the capacity of believers to learn through experience and empathy what love demands. He contends that the impetus to change comes from a variety of sources, including prayer, meditation on Scripture, new theological insights and analyses, the evolution of human institutions, and the examples and instruction given by persons of good will.

Noonan also states that the Church cannot change its commitment to preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Given this absolute, how can the moral teaching of the Church change? Noonan finds this question unanswerable when asked in the abstract. But in the context of the specific facts and events he discusses in this book, an answer becomes clear. As our capacity to grasp the Gospel grows, so too, our understanding and compassion, which give life to the Gospel commandments of love, grow.

Few issues have produces as much confusion among God's people as that of divorce and remarriage. In this thorough analysis of the words of Scripture relevant to the subject, Guy Duty makes tremendous strides toward dispelling this confusion.

The author displays a compassionate concern for those who, because of the stigma in many of our churches regarding divorce and remarriage, are treated as "second-class Christians." In so doing—and herein lies the uniqueness of his approach—he in no way compromises the words of Scripture or goes beyond what they declare.

With the conviction that God is not the author of confusion or of injustice, Duty boldly faces the crucial questions: Is dissolution of marriage apart from death possible? And if so, is remarriage ever valid in God's sight?

The author make abundant use of his knowledge of Greek and studies of the social settings of the Old and New Testaments, and each conclusion is tested by the application of the accepted rules of biblical interpretation.