What is the Biblical basis for saying that wives can divorce their physically abusive husbands? Some Christians teach that it is acceptable to divorce a physically abusive spouse. Some would even say that someone in that situation should do so. What is the Biblical basis for this?

Society would generally say that the sane response would be to divorce an abusive spouse. I'm trying to find scriptural support for this, but the only related verses I can find say "Do not divorce" or "If you divorce and remarry, it's adultery."
Some Christians would say that the abusiveness of the husband is proof that he is not a Christian, and the wife is therefore able to divorce him based on Paul's words in 1st Corinthians 7.

The key point is in bold.


  1 Corinthians 7:10-15 ESV To the married I give this charge (not I, but the Lord): the wife should not separate from her husband (but if she does, she should remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband), and the husband should not divorce his wife. To the rest I say (I, not the Lord) that if any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she consents to live with him, he should not divorce her. If any woman has a husband who is an unbeliever, and he consents to live with her, she should not divorce him. For the unbelieving husband is made holy because of his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy because of her husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy. But if the unbelieving partner separates, let it be so. In such cases the brother or sister is not enslaved. God has called you to peace.


This is a hotly contested passage in Christendom and there are varying interpretations of what Paul is trying to say, but what is clear is that if a Christian and non-Christian are married and the non-Christian wishes to divorce, the Christian is no longer bound to that person. But, can the Christian initiate the divorce even though Paul's example is about the non-Christian initiating it? If the non-believing spouse claims to be a Christian, can one deduce that is their fruits (i.e, actions) that confirm their Christianity and not them merely stating so?

Those that believe you can divorce a sexually faithful yet abusive spouse would answer both questions with "Yes." This is, I believe, a more liberal interpretation of this passage. Those that hold this view are forced to create a standard by which a spouse's actions needs to be compared to in order to determine their "true" Christianity. What about non-physical abuse, anger, or lack of love? Going down this slope to an extreme could lead one to create a trump card out of most any spousal imperfection and use it to justify divorce for petty (selfish) reasons.

Fortunately, God doesn't work in technicalities ☺. He knows the heart of every divorce initiator and which ones were truly "valid" or not.