Can someone help me understand Biblically with scripture why Polygamy is Adultery?My wife is having a "discussion" with another individual who thinks that it's not clear in scritpure for men to NOT have one wife. HELP! :eek:Thanks.Grace,Doug
And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder..Hi Bro. Doug,I hope this answer wil help, though simple it may be. Twain shall be one. God intends that we be one woman men . Though there may have been men with more than one wife in the New Testament era, the pastoral epistles tell us they could not serve in as Deacons as such. Husband of "one wife" the KJV reads; yet a local Greek scholar reminds us that the passage could be translated; "One woman man."God Bless,-Robert
at the beginningThings are not now as they were at the beginning. But it was not the heart of God that changed but man's. Moses permitted... because of the hardness of your hearts.There would certainly have been many in New Testament times with more than one wife but those who carried the outward facing testimony (to the outside world ie elders) were required to be above all possible reproach, and hence,as Robert says, were to be 'a one woman man'.I don't think polygamy as found in 'the wild' is adultery, but as marriage speaketh of Christ and the church a polygamous 'Christian' marriage would be slanderous. and consequently Paul's continuing injunction only considers the possibility of a monogamous union. Nevertheless, each individual among you also is to love his own wife even as himself, and the wife must see to it that she respects her husband. (Eph 5:33 NASB)Be careful here doug. They do say that the real penalty for bigamy is two mothers-in-law. :-P
philologos wrote:Be careful here doug. They do say that the real penalty for bigamy is two mothers-in-law. :-P hehe...good one.Seriously, the issue of marriage and adultery is a complex one. In the Sermon on the Mount (Mt 5:31-33), Jesus spells out that the only acceptable condition for divorce is fornication (not adultery as many have claimed). This would allow for polygamy, as the implication would be that a man cannot commit adultery unless a married woman is involved.Please don't think that I'm condoning polygamy, as a pratice. I'm simply saying that the technicalities are far more complex than simple, black and white adultery or not. The reality is, that a cursory observation of scripture can justify almost any action, until further investigation reveals the true heart of God.For further thoughts on the topic, check out the "Marriage/Divorce & Remarriage- What does God say about it?" thread.
The common thread in the sin of adultery, appears to be the married woman. By this, an assumption could be made, that a man can only commit adultery by sleeping with someone elses wife. Thus allowing (by technicality) for polygamy. However, Jesus didn't leave us there, because He stated that the married man is equally guilty of his wife's adultery, if she goes off with some else, do to his actions.Hi AaronThere's a Marriage, Divorce and Remarriagewhole thread devoted to this intractable problem. Your interpretation of this passage is only one of many.
This discussion is locked.
