I am wondering if polygamy is okay according to the Bible. You see many old testament leaders and devotees to God practicing polygamy.
It is a heavy debate in many areas of Christianity- some branches of the church saying it is alright and some not.
I am asking for SCRIPTURE not personal opinions or preference.
When I researched this in the Bible with my dad, the first thing we did was look to Jesus, and if His coming in the flesh in any way altered marriage from the way it was defined and practiced by the ancients. We could find nothing anywhere in the Gospels where He ever addressed any changes.
We listened to what others said about biblical sources, and many like pointing at the English translations and the use of the singular mention of "wife" as opposed to the plural "wives" in key passages throughout the NT. No rational theologian ever built their case upon such flimsy and downright manipulative reasoning and fallacies in our English translations, so we could only ignore that juvenile take on proving doctrine.
Others point to the command for bishops and deacons to be the "...husband of one wife." Again, those same apologists from the juvenile section thought themselves empowered to force the context and language into the realm of universal application to us all as opposed to limitations, as the text clearly indicated. They also must assume Paul was too much of a dolt to actually write down what he meant, therefore the need for manipulative interpreters to try and force the text to say whatever they want it to say in order to ensure it conforms to social and cultural dogmas that are the driving forces of their beliefs rather than taking responsibility for what they choose to believe by reading scripture for what it says.
Another favorite go-to is when Jesus addressed DIVORCE, and how "...it was not so from the beginning." I mean, how they make the mental leap from divorce over to a plurality of wives is completely beyond me....unless they are feeling guilty for their own serialized form of polygamy after having been divorced and remarried one or more times at the point of those discussions.
Then you encounter the argument that it's against the law, which it is....but ONLY when it comes to acquiring an active certificate from the local government for more than one at a time. The second stage of that discussion always degenerates into the alleged sin for not having that magical piece of paper from City Hall for a marriage. One will search in vain through the scriptures to find where the Lord ever defined marriage, apart from Genesis 2, as requiring vows, exchanges, acknowledgments, licenses, ceremonies, and all the other trappings that are nothing more than the traditions of men. There are also no laws on the books of any state demanding that all married couples seek governmental acknowledgement. There are many legal avenues for couples without that certificate to acquire the same rights and privileges as what that certificate provides.
So, in the final analysis, we were forced to admit that proving a negative is indeed an impossible task, especially when the texts of the NT make no disallowances for those who are not deacons or bishops. We have family friends with plural wives right here in my town, and they are wonderful people living their lives like any other family. They are NOT mormon, and never were. Ignorant people love jumping on that hole infested trampoline while not realizing what happens when you jump on such long enough that they eventually end up falling through.
Oh, and for those who claim God does not condone it, they might want to explain why the Lord gave to David at least two of his already plural wives as revealed by Nathan the prophet, and that the Lord also commanded the taking of an additional wife in certain situations within the family.
For the sake of clarification, the form of polygamy that I've been talking about is actually called polygyny.
Jr
