......SHOULD A MAN HAVE MORE THAN ONE WIFE?............


Polygamy is a common practice in Africa and among Muslim believing people. It is the practice of a man having two or more wives. It has been practiced almost as long as man has been on earth. Since polygamy has been here a long time, many people think it is alright. Is that true? No! Sin has been with man longer than polygamy. Is sin alright? No! Just because something has been here a long time does not make it right. For a thing to be right it has to be accepted by God.

What is God’s attitude toward polygamy? God is the one who brought marriage into the world. He made the first man, Adam (Genesis 1:26). He saw that it was not good for Adam to be alone. He then made a “wife” for Adam. Notice God did not make “wives” for Adam. If He had wanted Adam to have more than one wife, He would have made him more than one. One was enough. God knows best.

Man in his different cultures has brought many ideas about marriage into the world. Some of man’s ideas agree with God’s plan. Some of man’s ideas do NOT agree with God’s plan. This is true with polygamy. Polygamy is a “man-made” idea. It is NOT in agreement with God’s plan for marriage. Anything that does not agree with what God has done or said is sin. God’s plan is one man and woman (wife) for life (Genesis 2).

There are many examples of polygamy in the Bible. The first person to be a polygamist was Lamech (Genesis 4:19-24). He lived six generations after Adam. He was a murderer. Nothing good is said about him.

Abraham was also a polygamist (Genesis 16:1-5). His wife, Sarai, was unable to have children. She gave her slave, Hagar, to be Abraham’s wife. Hagar had children for Abraham. Sarah then became jealous of Hagar. This marriage was then full of troubles.

Another polygamist was Esau. He was the firstborn of Isaac and Rebekah. Esau married two Hittite women (Genesis 26:33,34). They caused much grief to Isaac and Rebekah. Polygamist marriages affect more than just the man and his wives.

Gideon was a great and brave leader. He had 70 sons from many wives (Judges 8:30,31). What kind of a father could he be to 70 sons? Not the kind that God wants us to be.

King Solomon had 700 wives, princesses, and 300 concubines. His wives turned his heart away from God (1 Kings 11:3). His downfall as a king was a result of his practice of polygamy.

Nowhere in the Bible can we find polygamy doing any good. Everything that is said about it shows it causes troubles. That has not changed. Today polygamy still causes many marriage problems for those who practice it.

Let us see some Bible principles that teach against the practice of polygamy. Genesis 2:23,24 says that “a man is to leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife.” God did NOT say that man was to be joined to his “wives.” He said that man was to be joined to his “wife.” That is one and only one!

Paul compares the husband and wife to Christ and the church: “For the husband is the head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church...” (Ephesian 5:23). In Ephesians 1:22,23 we are told that the church is the body of Christ. There is only one body (Ephesians 4:4) so there is only one church. A man can have as many wives as Christ has churches. Christ has only one church so a man can have only one wife. Nowhere does the Bible speak of a man (one) being over wives (many) and that being right with God.

Matthew 19:3-9 speaks about divorce. Jesus Christ shows that God never wanted man (or woman) to divorce. The same is true with polygamy. God does NOT want a man to have more than one wife. Jesus said that “a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” Jesus spoke of one man and one woman marrying. He said that marriage is made up of one man and one woman. The two make one flesh. When a man has more than one wife he is sinning. God hates sin.

In 1 Timothy 3:2 we are told that an elder MUST be the husband of ONE WIFE. Why not two or more? If it is a good practice, then why should not a church leader be a polygamist? The reason is that God does NOT want that kind of a marriage. Those who practice polygamy are sinning in God’s eyes. They cannot be church leaders nor church members.

Let us notice some problems with polygamy in the Bible. First, it causes strife and jealousy. We see it in the lives of those who practice it today. Joseph was sold into Egyptian slavery by his brothers because of jealousy from a polygamist marriage. Second, no man can be a proper husband by being a polygamist. Third, he can’t be a proper father as God intended. If a man has many children how can he be a father who brings them up “in the training and admonition of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4)? Fourth, polygamy causes a man to go away from God rather than closer to God. We should do nothing that causes us to go away from God. Fifth, it makes man master over woman. God never intended that in marriage. Man is to be the head of the wife and family. God said that a man is to love his wife as Christ loved the church (Ephesians 5). Christ died for the church. A man must be willing to die for his wife. Is a polygamist going do that? I doubt it. His main concern is himself. He wants to be the “big” man. He thinks that by having many wives he is that “big” man.



exerpts taken from

www.tprt2.org




ps...I share this in love and concern...not judgment :

sometimes man will compromise God's Word , to cover a hidden sin that is rulng and reigning in his life ,and is therefore holding him captive.
Lust for instance ,is just one example of a spirit that can hold man in bondage....
and he may feel he is unable to be freed of that sin.

And although he may truly love God , because he can't get set free,he will compromise and make excuse for that sin that has a hold on him......but if he continues to make excuse for the sin long enough, his conscience may eventually become seared, to where he will not feel the Holy Spirit dealing with him anymore.

But God can free anyone who calls upon His name...and truly wants to get set free.

God is able to save to the uttermost...and set every captive free...who call upon His Name.
Amen.

I belive they did it in the olden days because of the high mortality rate. Now well I know some resons and would rather not think of it.

Funny, why shouldnt women have more than one husband.

I don't believe that it's anyone's place to shove religious doctines of any kind into the face of another. To do so most certainly is a judgment. If nothing else, it's a judgment that they should be following a particular doctrine.

I believe each man should deal with his maker on his own terms.

It's not healthy to get into the business of telling other people how they should deal with the maker of their soul.

There are many practices in many different religions.....some i agree with and some that i dont.....POLYGAMY being one that i dont agree with....but none of us has the right to judge another ....that is the job of the big guy in the sky....we are all sinners and not any one of us is perfect....but as far as this subject goes I must say in my opinion and knowing what i know to be right and to be the truth POLYGAMY is wrong in my eyes!!!!

hey, i'm a sinner and i'm perfect

Polygamy is not for me either.

But is it wrong?

As far as I'm converned it's only wrong if there is coercion involved. Or anything along those lines.

If all the people in a polygamous relationship are in it of their own free will choice that's their choice and there's certainly no way that I'm going to pass judgment on them.

However, I definitely frown on it in societies where there is no real choice for the 'victims' of forced relationships of any kind. But I would feel that way for even forced monogamous relationships.

Also, I wouldn't be passing 'moral' judgments on it as much as I would simply be objecting to the oppression of freedom and civil rights. After all, forced polygamy, or even forced mongamy, is nothing more than slavery in disguise.

It goes beyond religion when one person is being oppressed by another. That enters into human rights that even most atheists would object to.

Which god?

allah says its ok to have 4 wives.

But you have to treat them all equally.

4 houses, 4 sets of furniture, only 3 nights off!

No need to get married at all. Just to do it for the legal documents and the tax breaks.

Morningsong,

Do you believe that protestant dogma could ever be changed???

Even if it has been set in place for over 2000 years (O.T., N.T.)???

Given the inerrancy of the bible, according to protestant dogma, you will have guessed that my question is rather rethorical.

So, where can one truly stand, with integrity and honesty, to suggest that a certain aspect, of a certain segment of another religion, with distinct dogma (not as old as christianity) should change their beliefs and dogma, when one wouldn't change a thing from the 'biblical' dogma.

I, of a christian culture, cannot fathom, nor grasp culturally or conceptually, the whole polygamy thing. But trust me, neither the bible nor the christian god, are going to be of any help in arguing polygamy out of our contemporary life styles.

Quite to the contrary, it would only accelerate it onthe basis of religious freedoms: '... you protestants wouldn't change a thing, and are free to hold on to your beliefs,
... neither will we change anything, as we are just as free to hold on to our beliefs!!!

If prostestant believe in their bible, there are a whole lot more muslims whom believe in their koran.

From religious, ethical, philosophical or intellectual perspectives, absolute loosing battles.

And don't tell me you got god on your side!!! They have god on their side too!!!

The evolution of our democratric and judicial institutions, on the other hand, are much more effective and pertinent in dealing with these matters of the coexistence of different value systems and religious dogma.

Didn't Jesus preach not to judge others?

If a person believes that monogamy is what God expects from them then this is what they should do.

Why judge other people?

For me, this is just another one of those areas where I would choose monogamy in any case. Even if God said I would be allowed to have more than one wife I wouldn't be interested.

Who's doing polygamy anyway that sparked this thread?

Was this indeed aimed at Muslims or what?

Aren't there even certain Christians offshoots that believe in polygamy?

I thought there were. Maybe I'm wrong on that. Polygamy is not something that ever caught my interest so I never really gave it much thought. Hell, I couldn't even find one compatible partner much less a bunch of them.

But I do know men who view their wifes like possessions rather than partners. Ironically, all of those men are Christians. Or at least they go through all the motions of pretending to be Christians.

Of course, I think the Bible promotes the idea that a wife is indeed a man's property. Back in biblical times wives were purchased and didn't have any say in who they marry.

Funny that didn't stick. Maybe I'd be married today if I could have just run out to Sears and bought one.

She probably would have come complete with an operating manual too. That would have helped.

I can't even get along with one woman much less two. What crazy fool would want to be married to two women? I mean what if they started to compare notes and both ganged up on you? But thats just me. If somebody is happier with more than one my hat is off to them.

Typically in cultures where polygamy is popular women are not permitted to speak without permission. They must obey their husband and their husband has the final word on everything.

So it wouldn't be like a typical American relationship with multiple wives, where the women are allowed to voice their views randomly with free speech.

My God! That would be a nightmare!

That's why I said in an early post that I don't condone oppression. In most cultures where polygamy is rampant so is oppression.

In fact, if Christians actually bothered to adhere to the biblical rules women would still be oppressed in Christian cultures too. Fortunately they don't truly follow their God's suggestions.

Christians only use the Old Testament to pass judgments on others.

They refer to the New Testament when addressing their own behavior.

It's actually a main componant of certain sects of Mormanism - but it would be a stretch for me to say it was "christians" doing this.

I'm not sure if this is off-topic, but is there a discernable difference between Bigamy and Polygamy? By definition (that is in my dictionary) it say Bigamy is the crime of marrying someone while being married to another - and Polygamy is having more than one spouse at the same time. Ummm... isn't that the same thing?

Those might be legal distinctions.

Like some men have more than one wife in different cities and the wives don't know about each other. That might be labeled Bigamy. Whilst living with multiple wives together in the same house would be polygamy.

Just a guess on my part.

Just as a further note,

If my distinction between Bigamy and Polygamy is correct, then Bigamy would be far worse. Bigamy would require lying and being unfaithful, whilst with Polygamy everyone knows what's going on and is consentual with it supposedly.

Bigamy would clearly be fraud and deciet, whilst polygamy is supposedly agreed upon by all involved.

I don't believe that polygamy is "wrong." In some societies it is necessary and natural and it is part of the way families work together to survive in family groups. It does not involve lying.

Agreements between men and women are between them, and should not be dictated by a religion that comes from outside of that society. For example it would be wrong to go into a tribe of people who practice polygamy and start telling them that they are committing a sin against God. That is a belief, it is not a fact, and it may not be a belief of that particular tribe.

Even in America, if polygamy is part of a religious belief, I think it is against people's freedom of religion to go in and insist that they comply to some law that says that they cannot do that simply because that law has its roots in a particular religion. The law is wrong and it mixes Church and State.

It is more about the society and its root religion that makes laws than about what is "right or wrong."

Marriage itself was created as more of a registration to track the bloodlines of the slaves than anything else, as everyone was concerned about who "God's chosen people" were.

They were attempting to track the bloodlines of the "superior races."

Morningsong suggested that God created marriage between one man and one woman. This is correct from her point of view.

But I believe that it was an alien Over-Lord attempting to breed a master race of humans, who created marriage and he was just trying to keep track of those bloodlines.

If you don't believe that check in your Bible where they go on and on about who begat who. I am sure there were many other records about who begat who all over the place.

JB

And a good one. However - Polygamists these days have only one "true" wife, and the others are "wives before God". no different than an Adulterer - except that they all live in the same place. They are only "married" in their own eyes - not by definition of the state. Where-as a bigamist has been married by the state a number of times.

... yawn... who cares .... it is their life not yours..