Image via WikipediaThegrandverbalizer has posted an article pointing to a Christian article about Polygamy. He wrote:I found this very interesting web site that I thought I would share.
It seems more and more Christians from the Protestant tradition (Methodist, Calvinist and others are showing the Bible supports Polygamy).
There is also mention of how Christian missionary attempts have failed in areas where they are not sensitive to the culture on this issue.
The article is written by Blaine Robison. I agree that this particular author claims that the Bible supports Polygamy, but this man is a Christian who is a part of the Protestant Tradition. I would have liked to have seen evidence that some Methodists and Calvinists believe that the Bible Supports polygamy. However, the conclusion Robison offers has a serious flaw in it. He writes:
Researching the subject of polygamy has been an enlightening and thought-provoking venture. Polygamists offer cogent arguments for their lifestyle and deserve to be heard. Polygamy is not going away and polygamists will continue to press for equal rights. It's long past time in my view to de-criminalize polygamy between consenting and competent adults. I encourage all Christians to study for themselves what God’s Word has to say on this important issue and let Scripture be the final arbiter. I think our churches could benefit from increased dialog on this subject and greater charity toward those who choose to live differently than the majority.
1 When Jesus had finished saying these things, he left Galilee and went into the region of Judea to the other side of the Jordan. 2 Large crowds followed him, and he healed them there.
3 Some Pharisees came to him to test him. They asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?”
4 “Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ 5 and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? 6 So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”
7 “Why then,” they asked, “did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?”
8 Jesus replied, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning. 9 I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.”
10 The disciples said to him, “If this is the situation between a husband and wife, it is better not to marry.”
11 Jesus replied, “Not everyone can accept this word, but only those to whom it has been given. 12 For there are eunuchs who were born that way, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by others—and there are those who choose to live like eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it.” - Matthew 19"1-12
So why was polygamy allowed under the Old Covenant - Because our hearts are wicked. It's not the ideal. Jesus told us the ideal. Marriage should be monagamous and life-long commitment between a man and a woman. This is what God intended. The question is put to us: "Do you want the ideal best that God designed for us, or do you the pale imitation of true fulfillment in which just your sexual desires are temporarily sated? Personally, I want God's best.
Many times Polygamy is thought to look like thus:
Islam and Christianity A Common Word: Protestant Christi ans Support Polygamy!
