Thursday, November 20, 2014
Philosopher's Corner:- What Does Christianity and Islam Say About Polygamy?
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| By Ayo Murisiku |
Marriage, according to
online wikipedia, is a socially or ritually recognized union or legal contract
between spouses that establishes rights and obligations between them, between
them and their children, and between them and their in-laws.
The definition of marriage
varies according to different cultures, but it is principally an institution in
which interpersonal relationships, usually sexual, are acknowledged. In some
cultures, marriage is recommended or considered to be compulsory before
pursuing any sexual activity. When defined broadly, marriage is considered cultural
and universal.
There are several categories of marriages in the world today but the most popular among them are monogamy and polygamy.
Monogamy is a form of marriage in which an individual has only one spouse during their lifetime or at any one time.
Polygamy is a marriage which includes more than two partners. When a man is married to more than one wife at a time, the relationship is called polygamy, and there is marriage bond between the wives.
In the muslim world, the Qur’an did not frown at polygamy as we can see in the qur'an
“And if you fear that you will not deal fairly by the orphans, marry of the women, who seem good to you, two or three or four; and if you fear that you cannot do justice (to so many) then one (only)” (4:3).
The Bible contains many accounts of Christian polygamists. The Lord blessed and used Bible polygyny for His own purposes and glory and polygyny will rebuild Israel in the future Kingdom.
God does not condemn polygamy, never calls polygamy adultery, wickedness or a fleshly perversion. Polygamy was not abolished in the New Testament as is commonly assumed. Christians practiced polygamy for 300 years after the NT. As God's children we need to accept God's Word on this subject. Our Heavenly Father did not ask us to like His Word but expects us, as His obedient children to believe it. He did not create the dislike for polygamy since He is a friend of, and loves polygamists.
Are all Christians against polygamy? No, man-made religions teach monogamy only. Are there Bible verses, any Scriptures against polygamy? No, not one verse can be found which plainly condemns polygyny; figuratively God Himself has more than one "wife".
Many Christians are probably misinformed on the subject of polygamy, or better still polygyny. Some reactions against it are purely emotive; in ways unknown this subject touches deep personal issues. If this Bible subject brings fear, then the real causes of that fear should be carefully sought. Truth will liberate such Christians from fear, insecurity and the emotional bondage that the monogamy as the only tradition that is accepted. Forced monogamy is a failure for many, and has brought about divorce deceit and hypocrisy in the Christian community.
This article is not promoting polygyny lifestyles; it only raise to defend the Bible truth of polygyny against the horrors of half truths and out of context Scripture used against it. We are not implying or demanding that Christians should practice polygamy Christians are free to chose to be either monogamous, polygamous or remain single in the service of the Lord.
Moses, the inspired author of Genesis 2:4, had two wives, Zipporah a descendant of Abraham and the Ethiopian woman a descendant of Ham. Moses and the entire nation of Israel saw no "implied command" or "creation ideal" to be monogamous in Gen.2:24. Paul uses Gen.2:24 in the matter of a harlot in 1Cor.6:16 so Paul didn't think Gen.2:24 meant one man and one woman only.
It would horrify believers to know that God is a polygynous God in His relationship with Israel and Judah (Jer.31:31-32, Jer.3 & Ez.23) but they are only horrified because they are deceived by our false traditions; by reading into Scripture the western cultural concepts of monogamy only.
When our God speaks of marriage He does not differentiate. He calls a husband a husband if the man has one wife or four. He calls a wife a wife whether she is alone or with sister wives. Monogamy and polygamy are words not found in the Scriptures of truth; Gen.2:24 is not offended by polygamy else God contradicted Himself by giving King David multiple wives (2Sam.12:8) and had instructed the Israelites how to sin in Lev.18:17-18 and Deut.21:15-17.
So much blessing comes to us and the world through polygyny. In Matthew 1, three out of the first four men in our Lord's genealogy were polygamists so please don't tell the Lord "only bad things come from polygamy", you might offend Him. Since our Lord came through polygamy and if God calls polygynists holy, it is time His children stopped resisting God and His Word. There is nothing to fear in agreeing with our God of grace.
Praise the Lord; many theologians in the upper echelons of Christian academia are now writing against the monogamy only tradition. Polygamists, both ancient and modern, are part of God's family as the day of glory will show. Any Christian standing for this truth might be condemned, marginalized and rejected as not having any value as a friend or servant of the Lord, yet, God loved, fellowshipped with, used and blessed polygamists and was not ashamed to be called their God, Hebs.11:16.
The "church" has tried, condemned and murdered polygynists and one wonders what they would do with Abraham, David and many other friends of God if they were in the assemblies today. Would Abraham be admitted as a deacon or left in the car park? Zealous missionaries are breaking up polygamous families, forcing mothers and children into desperate situations; this zeal is religious but not Scriptural. It defends church traditions; it does not defend God's Word.
The first polygamist mentioned in the Bible is Lamech, whose two wives were Adah and Zillah (Genesis 4:19). Many important figures had more than one wife, such as Esau (Genesis 26:34; Genesis 28:6-9), Abraham (Genesis 16:3, Genesis 21:1-13, Genesis 25:1, Genesis 25:6), Moses (Exodus 2:21; Exodus 18:1-6, Numbers 12:1), Jacob (Genesis 29:15-28), Gideon (Judges 8:29-32), Elkanah (1 Samuel 1:1-8), David (1 Samuel 25:39-44; 2 Samuel 3:2-5; 2 Samuel 5:13-16) and Solomon (1 Kings 11:1-3).
In the time around Jesus' birth, polygamy (also called bigamy or digamy in texts) was understood to have had several spouses consecutively, as evidenced for example by Tertullian's work De Exhortatione Castitatis (chapt. VII.).Saint Paul answered this problem by allowing widows to remarry (1 Cor. vii. 39. and 1 Tim 5:11–16). Paul says that only one man women older than 60 years can make the list of Christian widows, but that younger widows should remarry to hinder sin. By demanding that leaders of the Church be a one woman man, Saint Paul excluded remarried widowers from having influence. This was a more strict understanding of monogamy than Roman law codified, and it was new and unusual that the demand was made on men.
Now can we say the Bible and the Qur’an lied?
To be continued.
There are several categories of marriages in the world today but the most popular among them are monogamy and polygamy.
Monogamy is a form of marriage in which an individual has only one spouse during their lifetime or at any one time.
Polygamy is a marriage which includes more than two partners. When a man is married to more than one wife at a time, the relationship is called polygamy, and there is marriage bond between the wives.
In the muslim world, the Qur’an did not frown at polygamy as we can see in the qur'an
“And if you fear that you will not deal fairly by the orphans, marry of the women, who seem good to you, two or three or four; and if you fear that you cannot do justice (to so many) then one (only)” (4:3).
The Bible contains many accounts of Christian polygamists. The Lord blessed and used Bible polygyny for His own purposes and glory and polygyny will rebuild Israel in the future Kingdom.
God does not condemn polygamy, never calls polygamy adultery, wickedness or a fleshly perversion. Polygamy was not abolished in the New Testament as is commonly assumed. Christians practiced polygamy for 300 years after the NT. As God's children we need to accept God's Word on this subject. Our Heavenly Father did not ask us to like His Word but expects us, as His obedient children to believe it. He did not create the dislike for polygamy since He is a friend of, and loves polygamists.
Are all Christians against polygamy? No, man-made religions teach monogamy only. Are there Bible verses, any Scriptures against polygamy? No, not one verse can be found which plainly condemns polygyny; figuratively God Himself has more than one "wife".
Many Christians are probably misinformed on the subject of polygamy, or better still polygyny. Some reactions against it are purely emotive; in ways unknown this subject touches deep personal issues. If this Bible subject brings fear, then the real causes of that fear should be carefully sought. Truth will liberate such Christians from fear, insecurity and the emotional bondage that the monogamy as the only tradition that is accepted. Forced monogamy is a failure for many, and has brought about divorce deceit and hypocrisy in the Christian community.
This article is not promoting polygyny lifestyles; it only raise to defend the Bible truth of polygyny against the horrors of half truths and out of context Scripture used against it. We are not implying or demanding that Christians should practice polygamy Christians are free to chose to be either monogamous, polygamous or remain single in the service of the Lord.
Moses, the inspired author of Genesis 2:4, had two wives, Zipporah a descendant of Abraham and the Ethiopian woman a descendant of Ham. Moses and the entire nation of Israel saw no "implied command" or "creation ideal" to be monogamous in Gen.2:24. Paul uses Gen.2:24 in the matter of a harlot in 1Cor.6:16 so Paul didn't think Gen.2:24 meant one man and one woman only.
It would horrify believers to know that God is a polygynous God in His relationship with Israel and Judah (Jer.31:31-32, Jer.3 & Ez.23) but they are only horrified because they are deceived by our false traditions; by reading into Scripture the western cultural concepts of monogamy only.
When our God speaks of marriage He does not differentiate. He calls a husband a husband if the man has one wife or four. He calls a wife a wife whether she is alone or with sister wives. Monogamy and polygamy are words not found in the Scriptures of truth; Gen.2:24 is not offended by polygamy else God contradicted Himself by giving King David multiple wives (2Sam.12:8) and had instructed the Israelites how to sin in Lev.18:17-18 and Deut.21:15-17.
So much blessing comes to us and the world through polygyny. In Matthew 1, three out of the first four men in our Lord's genealogy were polygamists so please don't tell the Lord "only bad things come from polygamy", you might offend Him. Since our Lord came through polygamy and if God calls polygynists holy, it is time His children stopped resisting God and His Word. There is nothing to fear in agreeing with our God of grace.
Praise the Lord; many theologians in the upper echelons of Christian academia are now writing against the monogamy only tradition. Polygamists, both ancient and modern, are part of God's family as the day of glory will show. Any Christian standing for this truth might be condemned, marginalized and rejected as not having any value as a friend or servant of the Lord, yet, God loved, fellowshipped with, used and blessed polygamists and was not ashamed to be called their God, Hebs.11:16.
The "church" has tried, condemned and murdered polygynists and one wonders what they would do with Abraham, David and many other friends of God if they were in the assemblies today. Would Abraham be admitted as a deacon or left in the car park? Zealous missionaries are breaking up polygamous families, forcing mothers and children into desperate situations; this zeal is religious but not Scriptural. It defends church traditions; it does not defend God's Word.
The first polygamist mentioned in the Bible is Lamech, whose two wives were Adah and Zillah (Genesis 4:19). Many important figures had more than one wife, such as Esau (Genesis 26:34; Genesis 28:6-9), Abraham (Genesis 16:3, Genesis 21:1-13, Genesis 25:1, Genesis 25:6), Moses (Exodus 2:21; Exodus 18:1-6, Numbers 12:1), Jacob (Genesis 29:15-28), Gideon (Judges 8:29-32), Elkanah (1 Samuel 1:1-8), David (1 Samuel 25:39-44; 2 Samuel 3:2-5; 2 Samuel 5:13-16) and Solomon (1 Kings 11:1-3).
In the time around Jesus' birth, polygamy (also called bigamy or digamy in texts) was understood to have had several spouses consecutively, as evidenced for example by Tertullian's work De Exhortatione Castitatis (chapt. VII.).Saint Paul answered this problem by allowing widows to remarry (1 Cor. vii. 39. and 1 Tim 5:11–16). Paul says that only one man women older than 60 years can make the list of Christian widows, but that younger widows should remarry to hinder sin. By demanding that leaders of the Church be a one woman man, Saint Paul excluded remarried widowers from having influence. This was a more strict understanding of monogamy than Roman law codified, and it was new and unusual that the demand was made on men.
Now can we say the Bible and the Qur’an lied?
To be continued.
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