Ben Jones Retired Professional Photographer

In 1975 when I received Christ in a small Baptist church in Toledo, Ohio, I returned to Indiana and went to a non-instrumental Church of Christ that was just down the street. When I told them I had received Christ the previous Sunday they asked if I had been baptized. I said no. They told me I wasn't a Christian yet and that I had to be baptized immediately, so that evening I was baptized. Then one of the elders gave me a publication that informed me that they were the only true church because their name was Church of Christ. I read the pamphlet and was amazed that they really believe they alone are the only true Christians. Billy Graham was a phony as was any other church that used any musical instruments in worship. 

The next week, I was told my hair was "too long" (it touched the top of my ears) and was told that "long hair is a disgrace to male Christians" and told to get a haircut. I responded that when I was in the Navy hair longer than my I.D. card was considered too long. They told me this isn't the Navy.

The next week they found out that I was seeing a young lady and they asked me of my intentions. I said whatever God had for me. They said I could never remarry because I would be committing adultery. I said that my (now) ex-wife was having an affair and divorced me against my wishes and had abandoned me for her new lover, so I was biblically divorced. They said there is no "biblical" divorce and that the supposed "unfaithful" clause found in Matthew 19:9 "And I tell you this, whoever divorces his wife and marries someone else commits adultery—unless his wife has been unfaithful" was added later by a divorced scribe. Also the passage in 1 Corinthians 7:15 where it says "But if the unbelieving depart, let him depart. A brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases: but God hath called us to peace" was also added later. 

I stopped going to that church, joined her church, married that young lady a year later, and we have been happily married for 47 years.

April 27 2021 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report