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Two items appear below: 1 One Wife OR More? David Stocker 2 More Wives or One? Anonymous One Wife
Or More?
David Stocker (Investigator 19, 1991 July)
The question of whether or not a man may have more than one wife is rarely if ever considered by those who live in societies ruled by Western ideologies. In fact it is more common for western people to contemplate having an affair than taking a second wife. The Western
system
claims that her laws are
far in advance over other societies and cultural systems. If this is
true
surely we should be seeing some of those benefits nowadays? If monogamy
is the highest and most correct way of marriage again we should be
finding
evidences of this in Western societies, but do we find any? No, sadly
the
West is failing in its attempts to enforce moral constraints on her
people.
I have taken the liberty to quote some figures taken from the U.S.A., "Law enforcement officials estimate that more than one and-a-half-million youngsters (ranging from under one year to age sixteen) are sexually molested, filmed, or photographed each year…" There are many
other
statistics we could examine,
ranging from alcohol and drug abuse to the number of marriage break ups
and prostitution. We will however just confine ourselves to making the
point that there is something drastically wrong with the very fabric of
Western society, and that in the area of marriage she is certainly
wrong.
This article is just an introduction to polygamy, it is not a complete treatise on the subject, for this please see my larger work (of which this is taken from) POLYGAMY IS IT REALLY WRONG? This brief introduction will just outline that the Bible acknowledges its existence and that it was permitted by God and that nowhere did He ever clearly withdraw His acceptance of it. The forbidding
of
polygamy will not be found
anywhere in the Bible, this unnatural restriction is borrowed from
pagan
and ascetic traditions.
I am not
advocating that
polygamy is for
everybody, no I would rather say that if one wants to practise it and
the
other partner accepts this why can't they?
What I am
against is the
enforced ban on
polygamy, especially by those who are either to blind to see the slow
destruction
of the family in society or those who prefer to hold onto some
unrealistic
theory of how marriage should really be.
Lets leave this introduction now and proceed into the scriptures of the Bible. Gen 29:23 V28 30:4 V9 Judges 8:30 V 32 1 Sam 1:2 l Sam 25:43 2 Sam 5:13 1 Kings 11:3 1 Chr 4:5 2 Chr 11:18-23
2 Chr 24:3
NEW TESTAMENT 1 Tim 3:2 1 Tim 3:12 Titus 1:5-6 This is the
only
scripture in the whole New
Testament which appears to be directly talking about polygamy,
though
many scholars would disagree and say that this is talking about the
disqualifying
of persons wishing to obtain these positions if they have been divorced
on illegal and unscriptural grounds, and then decided to re-marry.
If this is
talking about
polygamy, notice
exactly who is restricted from practising it,
1
the Bishops
2 the Elders and 3 the Deacons. Following on from this line of reasoning it would therefore be acceptable to practise polygamy if you did not aspire to fill any of these positions. This later
view has much
evidence against
it, if you notice there is a similar phrase to be found in 1 Tim 5:9
…unless she be the wife of one man… As most people
would
know a wife was
never permitted to have more than one husband (unless he died or they
divorced)
now if this be the case then what could this verse be referring to?
Certainly
not Polyandry, no it was clearly referring to husbands as one in
succession
of the other and specifically in relation to illegal divorce and then
re-marriage.
This also was the understanding for the men, they could not hold a responsible office if they had committed this act. Aside from
this set of
scriptures there is
not one other verse in the whole N.T. which clearly discusses the issue
of polygamy. All the other arguments that I have heard or read are
based
on two simple things, one being theory, and the second being hidden
meanings
within the word or phrase itself. (Supposedly hidden by God Himself).
What
baffles me is why did God not just spell it out, could He have
forgotten
to, or was it perhaps left up to clever theologians to formulate a
theory
for what God could not say Himself?
Absurd isn't it? No the plain facts are that God allowed it to take place, but unlike sin he regulated this practise and sanctioned it against abuse. He was silent on the issue simply because it was (and still should be) a non issue. In such an age
of
tolerance where homosexuals
are being permitted to marry, and there is even talk of them having
rights
to adopt children, where sex crimes and prostitution are increasing
daily,
where affairs are the "norm" of society, where men can't find suitable
partners, and if they do it usually doesn't last long, why then doesn't
society try polygamy? All other modes are failing, why not do as God
permitted?
This would
help much of
our social ills,
and while we are at it why don't we return to our correct roles? As
husband
and wife (or wives) May God be with you. ARE YOU HAPPY? The happiness of a man can best be told by his relationship to his wife. Seers 4:9 2 Commands
7:2-3 My people
are to be
the people of true love,
do not let your brothers and sisters be found empty, help them to
establish
meaningful families.
Missc 1:15 Seers 4:13 As the
days of evil
increase many men shall
be found weeping in secret, in this day man has realised that he is
indeed
a lonely creature, forever seeking but never fully finding.
In such a day, a good man will be as rare to find as the truth in these days. Wake up you that sleep, take wives from other places where a woman is a woman, find wives which will be wives and not men.
THE FAMILY The family we
believe
should be the central
and most important issue of our earthly lives. Within a sound family
one
can establish the understanding and need of many who not have such. As
a group loving and caring for each other you begin to care enough to
want
to tell others about this wonderful way of life.
As a united
body you
could help those less
fortunate than yourselves, it is our goal and common practise to feed
the
hungry, clothe those who have little, and to give them shelter if
homeless,
but a true believer does not stop there, we also give them a family, a
real place one can call home.
A good man may take more than one wife in marriage… And
if you fear
that you cannot
act fairly towards orphans, then marry such women, who seem good to
you,
two or three or four; and if you fear that you cannot do justice
(between
them) then marry only one or that your right hand possess (one of the
captives)
this is more proper that you may not deviate from the right course.
Sura
Al-Nisa 4:3
The Holy Qur'anAnonymous (Investigator 19, 1991 July) Polygamy – more than one
marriage alliance – may take the form of polygyny (marriage to two or
more women) or polyandry
(marriage to two or more men).
The word "polygamy" is often used in cases where the right word is "polygyny". The 19th century Mormon acceptance of plural wives was often called "polygamy". Polygamy is permitted by law in most Islamic countries. It is not permitted by law for permanent residents in Western lands. The author of ONE WIFE OR MORE? says: "If monogamy is the highest and most correct way of marriage again we should be finding evidences of this in Western societies…" He then gives examples of moral evils in Western societies and concludes: "there is something drastically wrong with the very fabric of Western society, and that in the area of marriage she is certainly wrong." The author seems to be implying that: 1. Western
lands will
have a lower incidence
of moral evil if they adopted polygamy; I think that both implications are very dubious contentions. The sexual crimes that the author lists for the USA and gives statistics for involve about 0.5% of the population. I doubt that this small minority would change their ways if the 99% majority adopted polygamy. He is making the mistake I would make if I argued: "Iraqi soldiers murdered or raped 200,000 Kuwaitis, Kurds and Shiites in 1991; therefore something is basically wrong with Islamic society; they wouldn't have behaved so badly if they adopted a policy of monogamy." Such an approach gets into arguments of cause and effect and into psychological and sociological claims in which research and statistics are lacking and into value judgments concerning what balance of various good and evil behaviors any society should aim for and even into the free will/determinism debate. In other words we're risking an approach that no one can win. I'll therefore avoid speculating on hypothetical, over-all effects that adoption of polygamy or monogamy has on societies. According to the Bible God originally ordained monogamous marriage: "a man leaves his father and his mother and cleaves to his wife (not "wives"), and they become one flesh." (Genesis 2:18-25)Jesus reaffirmed this original standard: "Have you not read that he who made them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife and the two (not "three" or "four") shall become one'? What therefore God has joined together, let no man put asunder." (Matthew 19:4-6)In the Old Testament polygamy was permitted but was rare compared to monogamy. In Proverbs 5:15-20 and 31:10-31 monogamy is presupposed. In the New Testament a Bishop is to have one wife and a Deacon likewise. (1 Timothy 3) This standard applies to all Christians who marry: "each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband." (1 Corinthians 7:2)The rest of chapter 7 of Corinthians continues to use "husband" and "wife" in the singular and so presupposes 1:1 marriage. Adam, according to the Bible, was a monogamist. So were Noah and his three sons. Polygamy apparently began with Lamech (Genesis 4:19) who descended from Cain. All polygamists (Genesis 6:1-2) died in the Flood. Humans invented polygamy again after the Flood. The New Testament insists on the original Adam/Eve model being followed by Christians. Another consideration is this: In the Old Testament God and Israel are compared to a husband and wife – one of each. (Isaiah 62:5) In the New Testament Jesus and Christianity are compared to a bridegroom and a bride – one of each. (2 Corinthians 11:1-2; Revelation 21:9-10) This relationship of Christ and the Church should be mirrored in the literal husband/wife relationship of a man and woman. Read, for example, Ephesians 5:21-33
In the Old
Testament
Abraham was monogamous.
(Genesis 12:18; 16:1) Apparently, his son Isaac was also. Grandson
Jacob
was tricked into taking two wives although the intention was to take
one
wife. (Genesis 28:2; 29:1-35)
From Jacob's 12 sons came the nation of Israel and from time to time individual Israelites also took two or more wives. The Mosaic Law had several clauses to regulate aspects of polygamy. Christians, viewing this from the New Testament standpoint, see it as God permitting for a while the second best situation until decisively enforcing the original Adam/Eve, 1 man/1 wife, standard after Jesus came. How is monogamy best and. polygamy second best? I said before I won't speculate on hypothetical over-all effects on society. However, I'd like to suggest possible benefits at the individual and family level. It is difficult, perhaps impossible, for one man to love two women equally. (Genesis 29:30) Strife and rivalry between the wives is likely. (Genesis 30:1-24; 1 Samuel 1:4-8) The New Encyclopedia Britannica says: "Sexual jealousy and bickering are common problems for the (polygamous) family; and a husband must be wise, strong, diplomatic, and shrewd to preserve harmony." In African
societies the
first wife may actually
encourage the husband to take a 2nd wife. This is because the 2nd wife
takes over most of the work and is, in effect, a labor saving device.
Concerning polygamy in Mormonism Fawn Brodie wrote: "There is reason to believe also that women secretly hated polygamy. No promise of heavenly reward could quite compensate for the humiliation, social degradation and tragedy inherent in the plural wife role." If a husband
follows
Christian ethics and standards
and furthermore loves his wife as described in Ephesians chapter 5 what
woman would want him to divert his attention to getting extra wives?
Hebrews 13:4 in the Bible says: "Let marriage be held in honour among all, and let the marriage bed (not "beds") be undefiled; for God will judge the immoral and adulterous."1 Corinthians 6:16 says: "The two (not "three" or "four" etc) shall become one." |