I'm just curious about one thing. When did the Bible outlaw polygamy?
Right next to the bit that outlaws slavery.
;-)_~~
God never intended polygamy. "For this reason, a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh" (Genesis 2:24). Polygamy was never condoned by God, even though it was practiced in the Old Testament, as were many acts that were repulsive to God. The polygamous marriages that you see in the OT were examples of jealousy and strife, for us not to follow in those footsteps (Rachel, Leah, and Jacob). Just because God chose to not immediately destroy those who perverted His Word doesn't mean that he approved of their behavior. If you change the definition of marriage, you open up a whole new bag of worms. Gay marriage, polygamy, beastiality...well, some might argue that it's not unacceptable to love a horse.
It's outlawed explicitly in the New Testament (every man should have his own wife and vice versa or something like that). I don't think it's outlawed in the Old Testament since a lot of thos patriarchs had more than one wife. Does anyone know if Judaism specifically prohibits polygamy?