Church Annulments - Do They Count in God's Eyes?
Are church annulments recognized in God's eyes? To help understand this, let us begin with a hypothetical story.
A woman marries at a young age and after realizing her mistake, divorces her husband. A few years later, she meets a wonderful man and falls in love with him.
He asks her to marry him and she says yes. However, the man is a practicing Catholic. Because of his faith, he insists that the Catholic Church annuls her first marriage.
Because of her love for this man, she agrees. But after jumping through all the hoops that the church requires, does it really count? Is this annulment recognized in God's eyes?
Regarding marriage and divorce, Mt. 19:6 says, "Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate". Keep in mind that the Catholic Church is run by men.
Of course, there is one exception, but it has nothing to do with annulment. Mt. 19:9 states, "I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, and marries another woman commits adultery".
Did this woman's former husband cheat on her? If so, then it would seem that the marriage has already been dissolved in God's eyes. So any annulment through the church would only be following tradition and would be pointless.
If there was no unfaithfulness by her former husband, is she still married? There are several theories, but the Bible is not clear on this, making them subjective.
Was SHE unfaithful? If so, that would make her the sinner. However, sin is forgivable if she gives herself to Christ and is baptized for the remission of her sins.
Has either one of them been intimate with someone else since the divorce? Theoretically, since the marriage was still valid in God's eyes, this would still be adultery and forgivable.
As stated before, these are subjective theories. But there is hope.
Jn.4: 7-26 tells the story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well. She had five former husbands and was currently living with a man that was not her husband.
Despite her lurid past, Jesus tells her that by knowing the gift of God, she could receive the living water, meaning eternal life.
Jesus has the power and authority to absolve anyone of any situation if they give their lives to Him.
Back to the original question: Are church annulments recognized in God's eyes? The simple answer is "no".
So what must this woman do? She has two choices.
She could remain single and celibate the rest of her life, but in this day and age, that is not an option for most people.
She has one other option. She must give herself to Christ, be baptized, pray for forgiveness, and live a good Christian life to the best of her ability.
On judgment day, she can take comfort in knowing that she will stand before a just, loving, and forgiving God.