Polygamy

Whats your view on Polygamy?

  • Polygamy is OK today(if legal in your country)

    Votes: 7 31.8%
  • Polygamy is NOT and NEVER was OK

    Votes: 15 68.2%

  • Total voters
    22

Zachm531

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Can anyone show me where the Bible condemns polygamy? In the OT we see many instances of multiple wives and concubines. In the NT Jesus says that a marriage is between one man and one woman but he doesnt say anything about multiple marriages and/or concubines. Im not taking a side here and am interested to see the scripture provided.

in 1 Timothy 3:2 a distinction is made that a church elder must be a man of one wife but other than that I dont see it condemned
 
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HTacianas

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Can anyone show me where the Bible condemns polygamy? In the OT we see many instances of multiple wives and concubines. In the NT Jesus says that a marriage is between one man and one woman but he doesnt say anything about multiple marriages and/or concubines. Im not taking a side here and am interested to see the scripture provided.

There is nothing in the bible that prohibits polygamy for a layman. But it has been prohibited by the Church. That prohibition was carried over into protestantism.
 
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redleghunter

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In the NT Jesus says that a marriage is between one man and one woman but he doesnt say anything about multiple marriages and/or concubines. Im not taking a side here and am interested to see the scripture provided.
Yes you just answered your own question. In Matthew 19:4-6 Jesus confirms the design of God of a one man and one woman marriage.

Any other union of sorts is not according to God’s design since the Beginning as Jesus quoted from Genesis 2:24.

One man, one woman in marriage is the direct teaching from Jesus Christ. Anything outside that design is not of God. This includes polygamy.

God did not create polygamy, mankind did.
 
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Sketcher

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First, let's look at the words of Jesus:

"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery.' But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell. "It was also said, 'Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.' But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery." - Matthew 5:27-32​

And Pharisees came up to him and tested him by asking, "Is it lawful to divorce one's wife for any cause?" He answered, "Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, 'Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate." They said to him, "Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce and to send her away?" He said to them, "Because of your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery." - Matthew 19:9​

So, if anyone looks at a woman with lustful intent, that's adultery of the heart. Now, for adultery to be adultery, then either the man doing the looking, or the woman being looked at (or both of them) needs to be married, and they can't be married to each other. With that in mind, it's impossible for the man to seek out a second wife without committing adultery of the heart. Therefore, if he's committing adultery of the heart, any resulting flirtation, hookup, or romantic relationship, whether formalized or not, would also be adultery. Furthermore, consider that the man who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery. Interesting that it's adultery, and not simple abandonment here. This tells us that despite the man's dissolving the legal union, he is not free to marry another blamelessly. If it is adultery to get together with another woman after divorcing your first wife, how much more is it adultery when you keep the first wife around and try to marry another! The only difference is he's not abandoning the first wife. Remember, if the script is flipped, and a married woman gets together with other men while remaining married to her husband, even with no intent to divorce him, that is still adultery. Adultery isn't A, B, and C for women but only A and B for men. Adultery is adultery. Jesus was using the term adultery to demonstrate the seriousness of his standards, which were quite a bit stricter than many Jewish leaders'.

So with that in mind, there is no room for polygamy for the Christian. Any special dispensations that might have been given in the Old Testament are over.
 
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HTacianas

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For what reason?

If you're asking why the Church prohibited it, it's that sexual relations has always been viewed by Christianity as a necessity only. Marriage is a compromise with celibacy. It's also the reason for rules of celibacy among the clergy.
 
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Dkh587

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First, let's look at the words of Jesus:

"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery.' But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell. "It was also said, 'Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.' But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery." - Matthew 5:27-32​

And Pharisees came up to him and tested him by asking, "Is it lawful to divorce one's wife for any cause?" He answered, "Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, 'Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate." They said to him, "Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce and to send her away?" He said to them, "Because of your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery." - Matthew 19:9​

So, if anyone looks at a woman with lustful intent, that's adultery of the heart. Now, for adultery to be adultery, then either the man doing the looking, or the woman being looked at (or both of them) needs to be married, and they can't be married to each other. With that in mind, it's impossible for the man to seek out a second wife without committing adultery of the heart. Therefore, if he's committing adultery of the heart, any resulting flirtation, hookup, or romantic relationship, whether formalized or not, would also be adultery. Furthermore, consider that the man who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery. Interesting that it's adultery, and not simple abandonment here. This tells us that despite the man's dissolving the legal union, he is not free to marry another blamelessly. If it is adultery to get together with another woman after divorcing your first wife, how much more is it adultery when you keep the first wife around and try to marry another! The only difference is he's not abandoning the first wife. Remember, if the script is flipped, and a married woman gets together with other men while remaining married to her husband, even with no intent to divorce him, that is still adultery. Adultery isn't A, B, and C for women but only A and B for men. Adultery is adultery. Jesus was using the term adultery to demonstrate the seriousness of his standards, which were quite a bit stricter than many Jewish leaders'.

So with that in mind, there is no room for polygamy for the Christian. Any special dispensations that might have been given in the Old Testament are over.

adultery is when a married woman has sex with a man she is not married to.

desiring a woman in your heart is not adultery unless she is married.

having multiple wives is not adultery or a sin. King David had multiple wives - he committed adultery when he slept with Bathsheba, because she was married to another man.

adultery is based on the marital status of a woman.
 
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Sketcher

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adultery is when a married woman has sex with a man she is not married to.

desiring a woman in your heart is not adultery unless she is married.

having multiple wives is not adultery or a sin. King David had multiple wives - he committed adultery when he slept with Bathsheba, because she was married to another man.

adultery is based on the marital status of a woman.
Again, any dispensations that were given to David are out with the Old Covenant. Jesus made no room for polygamy in his statements about marriage, as I have explained.
 
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Dkh587

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Again, any dispensations that were given to David are out with the Old Covenant. Jesus made no room for polygamy in his statements about marriage, as I have explained.
Jesus did not forbid polygamy.
 
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Presbyterian Continuist

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Can anyone show me where the Bible condemns polygamy? In the OT we see many instances of multiple wives and concubines. In the NT Jesus says that a marriage is between one man and one woman but he doesnt say anything about multiple marriages and/or concubines. Im not taking a side here and am interested to see the scripture provided.

in 1 Timothy 3:2 a distinction is made that a church elder must be a man of one wife but other than that I dont see it condemned
The problem with polygamy is being nagged by more than one wife at a time! :)
 
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solid_core

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Can anyone show me where the Bible condemns polygamy? In the OT we see many instances of multiple wives and concubines. In the NT Jesus says that a marriage is between one man and one woman but he doesnt say anything about multiple marriages and/or concubines. Im not taking a side here and am interested to see the scripture provided.

in 1 Timothy 3:2 a distinction is made that a church elder must be a man of one wife but other than that I dont see it condemned
Polygamy is prohibited by the simple logical implication of this:

"Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her."
Mk 10:11

If its allowed to have multiple women, you could never be in adultery against your first wife by marrying another one.
 
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Zachm531

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Yes you just answered your own question. In Matthew 19:4-6 Jesus confirms the design of God of a one man and one woman marriage.

Any other union of sorts is not according to God’s design since the Beginning as Jesus quoted from Genesis 2:24.

One man, one woman in marriage is the direct teaching from Jesus Christ. Anything outside that design is not of God. This includes polygamy.

God did not create polygamy, mankind did.
He doesnt say that we cant have more than one marriage, he defines what a marriage is
 
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Zachm531

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Polygamy is prohibited by the simple logical implication of this:

"Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her."
Mk 10:11

If its allowed to have multiple women, you could never be in adultery against your first wife by marrying another one.
Well polygamy doesnt require a divorce so i dont see how thats relevant
 
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solid_core

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Well polygamy doesnt require a divorce so i dont see how thats relevant

If polygamy is allowed, its not adultery to marry another woman. Adultery means that you are not faithful to your husband/wife.
 
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Zachm531

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If polygamy is allowed, its not adultery to marry another woman. Adultery means that you are not faithful to your husband/wife.
Yes its very interesting, ive never seen any polygamous person in the OT or NT be accused of adultery(besides David but that was under different circumstances. We are told that marriage is between a man and woman but never limited to how many marriages we can have. The adultery thing is a good point in the sense of ok he has two wives so hes being unfaithful to one if hes with the other so thats interesting to think about. The lusting comment doesnt work against polygamy because you could lust after the first women you end up marrying so idk if lust would work here to defend monogamy.
 
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Presbyterian Continuist

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I reckon if God intend a man to have more than one wife, He would have taken more than one of Adam's ribs and created several "helpmeets" for him.
 
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Sketcher

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You dint have a correct understanding of adultery.
My understanding of adultery is derived from what Jesus said about it. Your explanation didn't acknowledge what Jesus said about it. I follow Jesus.
 
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