Posted on 01/15/2006 3:06:52 PM PST by SirLinksalot
Actually they mattered a little bit when the Law was given--Leviticus 18:18, "Do not take your wife's sister as a rival wife and have sexual relations with her while your wife is living." Marrying an unrelated rival wife is not condemned anywhere, though.
Yes.
If a man marries ten wives, every child will be of known parentage. Each will be descended from the husband and from the particular wife who gives birth.
If a woman were to marry ten husband, her children would not be of known parentage. She would be the mother of all, but the fathers would be indeterminate.
Supply-and-demand economics would explain this pretty well. I don't know what sum would usually be demanded as a bride price, but I would expect that even if polygyny would be permitted for those who could afford it, it would in practice probably not have been terribly common.
BTW, the Old-Testament rules surrounding adultery were not symmetrical between men and women: adultery was specifically the crime of a man (married or not) having relations with another man's wife. A man who had relations with a virgin could be compelled by the girl's father to marry her, and such compunction would not be affected by any existing marriage the man might have. There are clearly logical reasons behind the assymetry in Old-Testament law; some of those reasons still exist while others do not.
But, it is clearly not condemned in the Bible. Anyone who makes that argument can easily be repudicated.
And Lawrence v Texas makes it clear that any law prohibiting polygamy (in at least the informal sense) is unconstitutional.
There are plenty of good arguments against polygamy.
It's just that the Bible isn't gonnna be much help..
One of the criteria for Overseers (aka Elders) and Deacons is that they live a blameless life. As far as wives go, the critera is such:
1 Timothy 3:1 The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. 2 Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife....
1 Timothy 3:12 Let deacons each be the husband of one wife, managing their children and their own households well....
Seems to me that one wife is the expectation for all.
"...One wife is the expectation for all..." Should be:
...One wife is the expectation for all... elders.
How you get all 'people' out of that is a mystery. lol!
"How do you respond to a "christian" ( note the quotes ) who says he is exempt from the Timothy instruction because he isn't interested in being an Elder, Minister or Deacon?"
The answer is, first lose the scare quotes around the word Christian as it's a gratuitous cheap shot.
And secondly, and perhaps more painful for some, the answer is that there is NO prohibition against polgyamy for those who don't want to be an elder or deacon.
I was hoping someone would post that.
Isn't it amazing how Biblically ignorant people are on FR?
Just because people in Biblical times disobeyed God and what He wanted doesn't mean disobedience is right. But hey, you know how people are today ... they still thumb their nose at Him for the same reasons.
You are correct sir. Disobedience will never...ever...ever bring God's best and could yield a lot less.
But, some people, for whatever reason, determine that certain things are disobedience when they are not. For example, many people believe because of the prohibition found in Acts 15:20, that it would be 'disobedient' to receive a blood transfusion.
So, they don't because they don't want to be 'disobedient.'
But there is NO prohibition against blood transfusions in the Bible.
Same with polygamy. (except for in the case of elders.)
Call be crazy, but I'm getting the distinct impression that some people say polygamy is denounced in the Bible for no other reason than they want it to be!
LOL!
I mean, when I read comments like "Oh, they're just stupid, ignore them." or someone using the Abraham/Hagar debacle (which was one of the worst decisions made in the history of mankind) as arguments against polygamy, it should give pause to any rational/reasonable person..
Trust me on this folks: There are many legitimate reasons to not be a fan of polygamy.
But the Bible's condemnation is not one of them.
Ps And either is 'it's against the law.'
There are plenty of good arguments against polygamy.
It's just that the Bible isn't gonnna be much help ...
There is plenty of evidence against the practice of polygamy in the Bible.
There is no express prohibition/condemnation of polygamy in the Bible.
Of course, ... there is also no express prohibition/condemnation of sticking a fork into a live electrical outlet in Bible either.
But we are counseled (commanded) ... to be wise ... and to live lives (as christians) ... free from even the appearance of selfishness and sin.
Every single example of polygamy in the Bible is portrayed as having negative results ...... wives and children are cast outWith these as the fruit of polygamy protrayed in the Bible, I don't think that anyone could claim that such a lifestyle could be considered a 'wise' choice.
... half-brothers and sisters enslave, rape and kill one another
... struggle between competing wives
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