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Polygamy in the Bible
Let us look at some of the verses from the Old Testament that allow polygamy:
In Exodus 21:10, a man can marry an infinite amount of women without any limits to how many he can marry.
In 2 Samuel 5:13; 1 Chronicles 3:1-9, 14:3, King David had six wives and numerous concubines.
In 1 Kings 11:3, King Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines.
In 2 Chronicles 11:21, King Solomon's son Rehoboam had 18 wives and 60 concubines.
In Deuteronomy 21:15 "If a man has two wives, and he loves one but not the other, and both bear him sons...."
There are a lot more verses from the Old Testament that allow polygamy, but I think that the above are sufficient enough to prove my point.
2- Polygamy in the New Testament:
Here is a small quote from a Christian (R.M.) who agrees with Polygamy:
Hello,
I was just reading your article on polygamy. I am a Christian who
actually believes polygamy is a righteous form of marriage. Despite the
modern secular church you probably usually see, there are Christians who
are serious about God and Truth over men's traditions.
Another small quote from a Christian Pastor who agrees with Polygamy:
From: [email protected]
Date: Thu, 7 Jun 2001 22:07:57 EDT
Subject: Your statement on Polygamy
To: [email protected]
Great article for the most part. I am a born-again Christian and a pastor who
not only supports the Biblical teaching of polygamy but I also practice it. I
have two wives and seven children so far....
Before I present the verses from the New Testament that allow polygamy, I first would like to prove to you that Jesus peace be upon him did honor the laws of the Old Testament, and did order his followers (the Christians as we call them) to follow the laws of the Old Testament:
Jesus said: "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law (the Old Testament) or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke or a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law (the Old Testament) until everything is accomplished. (Matthew 5:17-18)"
Christians always say as an excuse "Oh this law doesn't exist in the New Testament, it is only the Old Testament." Well, according to Matthew 5:17-18 above, we clearly see that Jesus honored the Old Testament, and forces Christians to follow the unmodified laws of it that have not been replaced by newer ones in the New Testament. The Old Testament as we clearly see above does indeed allow polygamy without a shadow of a doubt !!.
There is not a single verse from the New Testament that prohibits polygamy. Christians usually mistakenly present the following verses from the Bible to prove that polygamy in the New Testament is not allowed:
Matthew 19:1-12 "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 (Jesus) 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. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not 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 marital unfaithfulness, 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 some are eunuchs because they were born that way; others were made that way by men; and others have renounced marriage because of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it."
In the above verses, we see that Jesus was approached with a question about whether or not it is allowed for a man to divorce his wife in Matthew 19:3. Jesus immediately referred to the Old Testament for the answer in Matthew 19:4. He referred to Adam and Eve, one man and one woman. The Old Testament does talk about the story of Adam and Eve as one husband and one wife. However, the Old Testament which Jesus had referred to in Matthew 19:3 does allow polygamy.
Also, when a man becomes a one flesh with his wife in Matthew 19:5-6, this doesn't mean that the man can't be one flesh with another woman. He can be one flesh with his first wife, and one flesh with his second wife, and one flesh with his third wife and so on.... To further prove this point, let us look at the following from the New Testament:
Matthew 22:23-32 "23. That same day the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him with a question.
24. "Teacher," they said, "Moses told us that if a man dies without having children, his brother must marry the widow and have children for him.
25. Now there were seven brothers among us. The first one married and died, and since he had no children, he left his wife to his brother.
26. The same thing happened to the second and third brother, right on down to the seventh.
27. Finally, the woman died.
28. Now then, at the resurrection, whose wife will she be of the seven, since all of them were married to her?"
29. Jesus replied, "You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God.
30. At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven.
31. But about the resurrection of the dead--have you not read what God said to you,
32. `I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob' ? He is not the God of the dead but of the living."
In Matthew 22:24-28, the Jews referred to Deuteronomy 25:5 from the Old Testament where it states that if a woman's husband dies, and she didn't have any kids from him, then she must marry his brother regardless whether he had a wife or not. When the Jews brought this situation up to Jesus in Matthew 22:24-28, Jesus did not prohibit at all for the childless widow to marry her husband's brother (even if he were married). Instead, Jesus replied to them by saying that we do not marry in heaven, and we will be like angels in heaven (Matthew 22:30).
So in other words, if Jesus allowed for a widow to marry her former husband's brother even if he were married, then this negates the Christians' claim about the Bible prohibiting polygamy. A man can be one flesh with more than one woman. In the case of Matthew 22:24-28, the man can be one flesh with his wife, and one flesh with his deceased brother's wife. Also keep in mind that Exodus 21:10 allows a man to marry an infinite amount of women, and Deuteronomy 21:15 allows a man to marry more than one wife.
3- Another rebuttal to Matthew 19:8-9:
I received the following two posts:
Anonymous
Argument Against Polygamy in the Bible
7/04/2005
Matthew 19:8-9
The key thing to note here is that this argument fails if polygamy is acceptable! Jesus' point is that improper divorce does not nullify a marriage, and if the first marriage still stands, then a "second" marriage is adultery--and NOT simply 'polygamy'! This is very clear.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Anonymous
Argument Against Polygamy in the Bible
7/04/2005
Matthew 19:8-9
Jesus' point is that improper divorce does not nullify a marriage, and if the first marriage still stands, then a "second" marriage is adultery--and NOT simply 'polygamy'! This is very clear.
My response:
While the verses that the person raised are posted in the section above, but I'd like to post them again for the reader's convenience:
Matthew 19:8-9
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 marital unfaithfulness, and marries another woman commits adultery."
Before I answer the person's posts, I'd like to mention that, first of all, it is important to notice the logical and textual fallacy in the verses. Moses does not permit anything! It was GOD Almighty who supposedly Permitted everything in both the Old Testament and the New one. The reason I am emphasizing on this point, while it might look very minor, is because it goes to further prove that the texts that exist in the Bibles of today, with all of their variant quantity of "books" and "gospels", are not the Original, Pure, unaltered and uncorrupt Holy Word of GOD Almighty. They are rewrites and writings of men's interpretations and narrations of what really took place during Jesus' times, peace be upon him. So what ever you read from the New Testament doesn't mean a whole a lot because it is not the original writing. It is simply man made.
Here is what the Old Testament regarding divorce:
Deuteronomy 24:1-3
1 If a man marries a woman who becomes displeasing to him because he finds something indecent about her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce, gives it to her and sends her from his house,
2 and if after she leaves his house she becomes the wife of another man,
3 and her second husband dislikes her and writes her a certificate of divorce, gives it to her and sends her from his house, or if he dies,
This command comes from the book of Deuteronomy, one of the books of the Revelations sent to Moses. Throughout all of Moses' books, we see Commands such as "The LORD of Israel declares.....", and then He gives a series of commands similar to Deuteronomy 24:1-3:
"In the fortieth year, on the first day of the eleventh month, Moses proclaimed to the Israelites all that the LORD had commanded him concerning them. (From the NIV Bible, Deuteronomy 1:3)"
So the statement itself about Moses permitting and not permitting is also poor and self-contradicting in grammar and concept.
I have provided ample evidence from the KJV and NIV Bible's theologians and historians themselves regarding the "books" and "gospels" of these two bibles, admitting with their own writings that these books were actually written by unknown people! Not only that, but they also admit that much of the contents in these books don't even exist in the so-called "early manuscripts." They were added later on.
The reader can visit: http://www.answering-christianity.com/authors_gospels.htm and see the quotes and proofs for themselves.
Now having said all of that, let me now refute the false interpretation of the person above. I will assume for a second that the conversation between Jesus and the questioners did historically take place.
It is, first of all, important to know that the verses were not speaking about polygamy. They were rather addressing divorce. This whole supposed conversation is ambiguous! Nothing in it is clear. Jesus told the polygamist society that he lived among, that if one divorces his wife, unless it is for reason of unfaithfulness, and marries another woman, then he has committed adultery. To me this sounds very ambiguous if one tries to prohibit polygamy through it for the following reasons:
1- No where in the text is polygamy denounced.
2- The man that might fit the case that Jesus spoke about could have been already a polygamist with several wives! This by itself would nullify the prohibition of polygamy.
3- Unlike the person's second post's bogus interpretation above, the text can be more clearly interpreted as Jesus telling the polygamist people back then that they must never divorce, because marriage is something Holy in the Eyes of GOD Almighty. Men must never just divorce for ridiculous reasons as many in the West do today. And for those who act in this evil way, the consequences for them, according to Jesus' "new law", is that they can never marry again, because they have not honored the Holiness of marriage! But if the man, perhaps an already polygamist man, doesn't divorce his wife, then no where in the text does it prohibit him from marrying another woman. Again, the whole text is ambiguous and should've been more clearer to the polygamists that it was addressed to, that if it was indeed intended to prohibit polygamy to begin with.
One last point, again, it is important to realize that the text is in no way a Divine and Perfect Revelation from GOD Almighty as I clearly and irrefutably proved above. It is nothing but a man-made rewrite and an interpretation of what really was spoken by Jesus, peace be upon him. The text, any text - whether it was Jesus' quotes or not, is supposed to be from GOD Almighty alone if you truly wish to call the entire version of the "Bible" that you believe in as the Holy and Divine Word of GOD Almighty.
GOD Almighty can not make a mistake and say "Moses permitted" while it was His Own Holy and Divine Law!
4- My Challenge to all Christians:
Where in the NT do you see a direct condemnation of polygamy? And if I were to become a Christian and I have multiple wives (as some wealthy Muslims have 4 wives), do I have to divorce them and keep just one? If not, then how is polygamy exactly being forbidden in the NT, when it's compromised and allowed for me??
Also, why is the Bible so big on "virgins"? I mean in the Old Testament, we see commands about killing all non virgin women, men and children and keep the virgins: "Now kill all the boys [innocent kids]. And kill every woman who has slept with a man, but save for yourselves every girl who has never slept with a man. (From the NIV Bible, Numbers 31:17)"
In the OT, we also see that a virgin is forced to marry her rapist: "If a man happens to meet a virgin who is not pledged to be married and rapes her and they are discovered, he shall pay the girl's father fifty shekels of silver. He must marry the girl, for he has violated her. He can never divorce her as long as he lives. (From the NIV Bible, Deuteronomy 22:28)"
5- Some Christians believe that the Old Testament prohibited Polygamy:
Here is an email that I received from a Christian reader. My rebuttal is below her email:
From: "Rachel Thomas" <[email protected]>
To: [email protected]
Subject: (no subject)
Date: Sun, 14 Oct 2001 17:45:28 +0000
mr.Osama..
I do seriously wonder if u will publish any part of my this mail in ur site
..but I cudnt help writing to u.
I only have one verse to quote from the Bible..Deut 17:17 Neither shall he
multiply wives for himself.
this is a commandment that God gave for the kings of his nation but sadly
none of the kings.ie David,Solomon obeyed it and if u will read the whole of
the Bible u will get to see the tragic consequences of their disobedience.So
what u re actually using to support ur theory is a broken commandment..a
source of much grief and trouble.
You have used many verses and derivations to support ur theory but it is
very distorted form the actual truth the Bible contains.
Fear God.
Rachel
My response:
Dear Rachel,
Here is what Deuteronomy 17:17 that you referred me to says in the NIV Bible:
"The king, moreover, must not acquire great numbers of horses for himself or make the people return to Egypt to get more of them, for the LORD has told you, 'You are not to go back that way again.' He must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray. He must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold. (From the NIV Bible, Deuteronomy 17:16-17)"
In no way, does Deut 17:17 prohibit polygamy. It prohibited the King from marrying MANY WIVES. I wonder what is the limit to that? Certainly it doesn't limit it to just one wife.
"Many wives" clearly proves: (1) The person can have multiple wives, but not too much; and (2) It doesn't limit marriage to only one wife. I don't know where do you see the verse limiting marriage to only one wife.
Also Rachel, this verse is only talking about kings, or more accurately one lone incident about one king. It sounds very clear to me that it is more like a restriction for the king rather than a general verse that would apply to everybody.
I personally don't care about how many wives the Prophets of the Bible had, and what was the limit of the many wives back then. My point still stands, and that is Polygamy exists in both the OT and the NT in the Bible.
Beside, how can you suggest that the Old Testament prohibited polygamy when for instance Deuteronomy 21:15 clearly states: "If a man has two wives, and he loves one but not the other, and both bear him sons...." And also Exodus 21:10 allows a man to marry an infinite amount of women without any limits to how many he can have.
Plus also, you are ignoring the fact that Deuteronomy 17:17 speaks exclusively about kings, or one lone king, and NOT about people in general. So even if your translation was the correct one, it still doesn't disprove anything from my argument.
6- Do Paul's 1 Timothy 3:2 and 1 Timothy 3:12 prove that polygamy is prohibited in the Bible?
Let us look at the verses 1 Timothy 3:2 and 1 Timothy 3:12 from the NIV Bible:
"Now the overseer [some translations have it as "bishop"] must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, (From the NIV Bible, 1 Timothy 3:2)"
"A deacon must be the husband of but one wife and must manage his children and his household well. (From the NIV Bible, 1 Timothy 3:12)"
As we clearly see in those two verses, only church ministers and religious leaders are prohibited from practicing polygamy. There is no mention for ordinary people or general population. So unless every Christian in Christianity is considered a "bishop", "deacon", "priest" or a "minister", then these two verses are without a doubt irrelevant! They do not disprove polygamy in the Bible at all!
In fact if anything, they prove my point about polygamy being allowed in the Bible for the ordinary! Here we clearly see Paul indirectly addressing the practice of polygamy among the "believers", and he only prohibited it to the religious leaders so that perhaps they can have better time and dedication for the church. A man with 10 wives would be too busy for anything and everything.
Have polygamy been really prohibited by Jesus, Paul would not have told his religious leaders to not practice it!!
Paul would not have seen the need for it! It's like him telling them and only them: "Do not worship idols!" That would be a ridiculous request to make on an issue that is crystal clear among the believers. And it would be even more ridiculous if he requested it only from a select few.
The fact that Paul prohibited polygamy only on a select few proves that it is allowed for the general public!
At any rate, Paul is known to have his own agenda and own words inserted into the Bible. In the following verses for instance, we see in the Bible Paul's words and not GOD Almighty's:
"Now about virgins: I have no command from the Lord, but I give a judgment as one who by the Lord's mercy is trustworthy. (From the NIV Bible, 1 Corinthians 7:25)"
2 Timothy 4:9-13
9 Do your best to come to me quickly,
10 for Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia.
11 Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry.
12 I sent Tychicus to Ephesus.
13 When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, and my scrolls, especially the parchments.
Titus 3:12-14
12 As soon as I send Artemas or Tychicus to you, do your best to come to me at Nicopolis, because I have decided to winter there.
13 Do everything you can to help Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their way and see that they have everything they need.
14 Our people must learn to devote themselves to doing what is good, in order that they may provide for daily necessities and not live unproductive lives.
He decided to winter there???
Are these verses Paul's own opinions and commands or are they truly GOD Almighty's UNCOMPROMISED Divine Revelations??
The verses above from Paul contradict his other own verse in 2 Timothy 3:16:
"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, (From the NIV Bible, 2 Timothy 3:16)"
If the Bible was truly GOD Almighty's Holy Words, and if Paul was truly GOD Almighty's Apostle, then we wouldn't have this kind of junk in the Bible.
Also another side point, Paul obviously didn't know much about the Old Testament, because the Bible itself admits that it is corrupted and not perfect. So it can never be "All God-breathed":
"`How can you say, "We [the Jews] are wise, for we have the law of the LORD," when actually the lying pen of the scribes has handled it falsely?' (From the NIV Bible, Jeremiah 8:8)"
Another corruption from Paul is his disagreements and fights with the other disciples who were more authentic than him, since they lived with and saw Jesus, while he never even once saw Jesus. Most of the New Testament is nothing but conversations between people, which are clearly not inspirations from GOD Almighty. For instance, Paul fought with Saint Peter and accused him of being "clearly in the wrong" (Galatians: 2:11-12), and had a huge argument with Saint Barnabas (Acts 15:36-39). Now one must ask, did GOD for instance favor Paul over Barnabas and Peter and inspired him the words while he was fighting with them? If so, since Peter was "clearly in the wrong", then how about his Gospels? Wasn't every word that Peter spoke supposedly inspired by GOD? How then could he be "clearly in the wrong"? One of them must be in the wrong, which in either case, would also produce another contradiction to 2 Timothy 3:16. Is Paul GOD Himself? No Christian believes in that. So why then take everything he says including 2 Timothy 3:16 as the Words of GOD Almighty when they contain clear contradictions in them?
Please visit Many famous Historians and Theologians before came to conclusions that Paul was not truthful.
The original Bible was lost! See comments from the commentary of the NIV Bible (one of the most used Bibles world wide) itself admitting that most of the Books and Gospels of the Bible are corrupted. No one ever claimed ownership of the current Books and Gospels. The owners/writers are unknown.
7- Christians are hypocrites for following ONLY 1 Timothy 3:2 and 1 Timothy 3:12:
Since some Christians are so big on being politically correct to the majority of their corrupted people, who practice open *!*!*!*!ography, sodomy, homosexual marriage, open sexuality (through tight and too revealing cloths), etc..., and they LOVE to use nonsense such as 1 Timothy 3:2 and 1 Timothy 3:12 to prove that polygamy is prohibited in the Bible when on the contrary I proved beyond question, in the previous section, that they do allow polygamy to the general public, then I would like to ask them this:
If you're so big on following Paul's teachings, then why do you allow your women to preach in churches?!
Didn't Paul himself say: "Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience as also saith the law. And if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church. (1 Corinthians 14:34)"
Why then do you have popular female church ministers such as Mrs. Joyce Meyer? What ever happened to Paul's command in 1 Corinthians 14:34?!
8- 1 Kings 11:1-4 does not condemn polygamy!A Christian emailed me telling me that it is true that King Solomon had 100s of wives and concubines in the Old Testament, but that led him astray according to 1 Kings 11:1-4, thus this makes polygamy sinful and condemned in the Bible. Well, let us look at the verses from the NIV Bible:
1 Kings 11
Solomon's Wives
1 King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women besides Pharaoh's daughter-Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites.
2 They were from nations about which the LORD had told the Israelites, "You must not intermarry with them, because they will surely turn your hearts after their gods." Nevertheless, Solomon held fast to them in love.
3 He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines, and his wives led him astray.
4 As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father had been.
As we clearly see in 1 Kings 11:2, the marriage of multiple wives by itself is not sinful and was never condemned. It was Solomon's marriage from the pagan women that was prohibited by GOD Almighty, because they were idol worshipers, and it resulted for him to be led astray and follow their pagan gods. I don't see any specific condemnation of polygamy in general in this verse what so ever! I mean the Bible's Old Testament (since 1 Kings 11:1-4 exist in the Old Testament) is crystal clear about allowing polygamy: "If a man has two wives, and he loves one but not the other, and both bear him sons....(From the NIV Bible, Deuteronomy 21:15)" How much more clearer can it get?
Christian sites agreeing with polygamy in the Bible:
Organization for Christian Polygamy
http://www.truthbearer.org/
Another Christian site that agrees with Polygamy (Be Free).
http://bfree.org/index.htm
Another Christian site that agrees with Polygamy.
http://www.christianpolygamy.com/
http://www.biblicalpolygamy.com/
Conclusion:
The Bible in both the Old Testament and the New Testament does allow polygamy. Jesus peace be upon him never prohibited polygamy. Jesus lived for 33 years of his life on earth among a nation who practiced polygamy. He never even once denounced it!
The Bible does allow men to marry an infinite amount of women. Women in Christianity can be treated and considered as nothing but sex objects because the Bible doesn't have any rules or controls over men in this issue. Also, women in the Bible are forced to marry men in special cases such as forcing childless widows to marry their brothers in law. It doesn't matter whether the widow wants to marry her brother in law or not, she will still have to do it anyway without any choice!.
Another case where women in the Bible are forced to marry men is when a man rapes a single woman, then she must marry him and she can't get a divorce from him (no matter how bad he is) for the rest of her life according to Deuteronomy 22:28-30. Only death can separate her from him!
See how the Bible punishes to death the men who rape married women, but forces the single raped women to marry their rapists
1- A brief look at polygamy in the Old Testament
Let us look at some of the verses from the Old Testament that allow polygamy:
In Exodus 21:10, a man can marry an infinite amount of women without any limits to how many he can marry.
In 2 Samuel 5:13; 1 Chronicles 3:1-9, 14:3, King David had six wives and numerous concubines.
In 1 Kings 11:3, King Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines.
In 2 Chronicles 11:21, King Solomon's son Rehoboam had 18 wives and 60 concubines.
In Deuteronomy 21:15 "If a man has two wives, and he loves one but not the other, and both bear him sons...."
There are a lot more verses from the Old Testament that allow polygamy, but I think that the above are sufficient enough to prove my point.
2- Polygamy in the New Testament:
Here is a small quote from a Christian (R.M.) who agrees with Polygamy:
Hello,
I was just reading your article on polygamy. I am a Christian who
actually believes polygamy is a righteous form of marriage. Despite the
modern secular church you probably usually see, there are Christians who
are serious about God and Truth over men's traditions.
Another small quote from a Christian Pastor who agrees with Polygamy:
From: [email protected]
Date: Thu, 7 Jun 2001 22:07:57 EDT
Subject: Your statement on Polygamy
To: [email protected]
Great article for the most part. I am a born-again Christian and a pastor who
not only supports the Biblical teaching of polygamy but I also practice it. I
have two wives and seven children so far....
Before I present the verses from the New Testament that allow polygamy, I first would like to prove to you that Jesus peace be upon him did honor the laws of the Old Testament, and did order his followers (the Christians as we call them) to follow the laws of the Old Testament:
Jesus said: "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law (the Old Testament) or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke or a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law (the Old Testament) until everything is accomplished. (Matthew 5:17-18)"
Christians always say as an excuse "Oh this law doesn't exist in the New Testament, it is only the Old Testament." Well, according to Matthew 5:17-18 above, we clearly see that Jesus honored the Old Testament, and forces Christians to follow the unmodified laws of it that have not been replaced by newer ones in the New Testament. The Old Testament as we clearly see above does indeed allow polygamy without a shadow of a doubt !!.
There is not a single verse from the New Testament that prohibits polygamy. Christians usually mistakenly present the following verses from the Bible to prove that polygamy in the New Testament is not allowed:
Matthew 19:1-12 "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 (Jesus) 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. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not 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 marital unfaithfulness, 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 some are eunuchs because they were born that way; others were made that way by men; and others have renounced marriage because of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it."
In the above verses, we see that Jesus was approached with a question about whether or not it is allowed for a man to divorce his wife in Matthew 19:3. Jesus immediately referred to the Old Testament for the answer in Matthew 19:4. He referred to Adam and Eve, one man and one woman. The Old Testament does talk about the story of Adam and Eve as one husband and one wife. However, the Old Testament which Jesus had referred to in Matthew 19:3 does allow polygamy.
Also, when a man becomes a one flesh with his wife in Matthew 19:5-6, this doesn't mean that the man can't be one flesh with another woman. He can be one flesh with his first wife, and one flesh with his second wife, and one flesh with his third wife and so on.... To further prove this point, let us look at the following from the New Testament:
Matthew 22:23-32 "23. That same day the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him with a question.
24. "Teacher," they said, "Moses told us that if a man dies without having children, his brother must marry the widow and have children for him.
25. Now there were seven brothers among us. The first one married and died, and since he had no children, he left his wife to his brother.
26. The same thing happened to the second and third brother, right on down to the seventh.
27. Finally, the woman died.
28. Now then, at the resurrection, whose wife will she be of the seven, since all of them were married to her?"
29. Jesus replied, "You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God.
30. At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven.
31. But about the resurrection of the dead--have you not read what God said to you,
32. `I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob' ? He is not the God of the dead but of the living."
In Matthew 22:24-28, the Jews referred to Deuteronomy 25:5 from the Old Testament where it states that if a woman's husband dies, and she didn't have any kids from him, then she must marry his brother regardless whether he had a wife or not. When the Jews brought this situation up to Jesus in Matthew 22:24-28, Jesus did not prohibit at all for the childless widow to marry her husband's brother (even if he were married). Instead, Jesus replied to them by saying that we do not marry in heaven, and we will be like angels in heaven (Matthew 22:30).
So in other words, if Jesus allowed for a widow to marry her former husband's brother even if he were married, then this negates the Christians' claim about the Bible prohibiting polygamy. A man can be one flesh with more than one woman. In the case of Matthew 22:24-28, the man can be one flesh with his wife, and one flesh with his deceased brother's wife. Also keep in mind that Exodus 21:10 allows a man to marry an infinite amount of women, and Deuteronomy 21:15 allows a man to marry more than one wife.
3- Another rebuttal to Matthew 19:8-9:
I received the following two posts:
Anonymous
Argument Against Polygamy in the Bible
7/04/2005
Matthew 19:8-9
The key thing to note here is that this argument fails if polygamy is acceptable! Jesus' point is that improper divorce does not nullify a marriage, and if the first marriage still stands, then a "second" marriage is adultery--and NOT simply 'polygamy'! This is very clear.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Anonymous
Argument Against Polygamy in the Bible
7/04/2005
Matthew 19:8-9
Jesus' point is that improper divorce does not nullify a marriage, and if the first marriage still stands, then a "second" marriage is adultery--and NOT simply 'polygamy'! This is very clear.
My response:
While the verses that the person raised are posted in the section above, but I'd like to post them again for the reader's convenience:
Matthew 19:8-9
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 marital unfaithfulness, and marries another woman commits adultery."
Before I answer the person's posts, I'd like to mention that, first of all, it is important to notice the logical and textual fallacy in the verses. Moses does not permit anything! It was GOD Almighty who supposedly Permitted everything in both the Old Testament and the New one. The reason I am emphasizing on this point, while it might look very minor, is because it goes to further prove that the texts that exist in the Bibles of today, with all of their variant quantity of "books" and "gospels", are not the Original, Pure, unaltered and uncorrupt Holy Word of GOD Almighty. They are rewrites and writings of men's interpretations and narrations of what really took place during Jesus' times, peace be upon him. So what ever you read from the New Testament doesn't mean a whole a lot because it is not the original writing. It is simply man made.
Here is what the Old Testament regarding divorce:
Deuteronomy 24:1-3
1 If a man marries a woman who becomes displeasing to him because he finds something indecent about her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce, gives it to her and sends her from his house,
2 and if after she leaves his house she becomes the wife of another man,
3 and her second husband dislikes her and writes her a certificate of divorce, gives it to her and sends her from his house, or if he dies,
This command comes from the book of Deuteronomy, one of the books of the Revelations sent to Moses. Throughout all of Moses' books, we see Commands such as "The LORD of Israel declares.....", and then He gives a series of commands similar to Deuteronomy 24:1-3:
"In the fortieth year, on the first day of the eleventh month, Moses proclaimed to the Israelites all that the LORD had commanded him concerning them. (From the NIV Bible, Deuteronomy 1:3)"
So the statement itself about Moses permitting and not permitting is also poor and self-contradicting in grammar and concept.
I have provided ample evidence from the KJV and NIV Bible's theologians and historians themselves regarding the "books" and "gospels" of these two bibles, admitting with their own writings that these books were actually written by unknown people! Not only that, but they also admit that much of the contents in these books don't even exist in the so-called "early manuscripts." They were added later on.
The reader can visit: http://www.answering-christianity.com/authors_gospels.htm and see the quotes and proofs for themselves.
Now having said all of that, let me now refute the false interpretation of the person above. I will assume for a second that the conversation between Jesus and the questioners did historically take place.
It is, first of all, important to know that the verses were not speaking about polygamy. They were rather addressing divorce. This whole supposed conversation is ambiguous! Nothing in it is clear. Jesus told the polygamist society that he lived among, that if one divorces his wife, unless it is for reason of unfaithfulness, and marries another woman, then he has committed adultery. To me this sounds very ambiguous if one tries to prohibit polygamy through it for the following reasons:
1- No where in the text is polygamy denounced.
2- The man that might fit the case that Jesus spoke about could have been already a polygamist with several wives! This by itself would nullify the prohibition of polygamy.
3- Unlike the person's second post's bogus interpretation above, the text can be more clearly interpreted as Jesus telling the polygamist people back then that they must never divorce, because marriage is something Holy in the Eyes of GOD Almighty. Men must never just divorce for ridiculous reasons as many in the West do today. And for those who act in this evil way, the consequences for them, according to Jesus' "new law", is that they can never marry again, because they have not honored the Holiness of marriage! But if the man, perhaps an already polygamist man, doesn't divorce his wife, then no where in the text does it prohibit him from marrying another woman. Again, the whole text is ambiguous and should've been more clearer to the polygamists that it was addressed to, that if it was indeed intended to prohibit polygamy to begin with.
One last point, again, it is important to realize that the text is in no way a Divine and Perfect Revelation from GOD Almighty as I clearly and irrefutably proved above. It is nothing but a man-made rewrite and an interpretation of what really was spoken by Jesus, peace be upon him. The text, any text - whether it was Jesus' quotes or not, is supposed to be from GOD Almighty alone if you truly wish to call the entire version of the "Bible" that you believe in as the Holy and Divine Word of GOD Almighty.
GOD Almighty can not make a mistake and say "Moses permitted" while it was His Own Holy and Divine Law!
4- My Challenge to all Christians:
Where in the NT do you see a direct condemnation of polygamy? And if I were to become a Christian and I have multiple wives (as some wealthy Muslims have 4 wives), do I have to divorce them and keep just one? If not, then how is polygamy exactly being forbidden in the NT, when it's compromised and allowed for me??
Also, why is the Bible so big on "virgins"? I mean in the Old Testament, we see commands about killing all non virgin women, men and children and keep the virgins: "Now kill all the boys [innocent kids]. And kill every woman who has slept with a man, but save for yourselves every girl who has never slept with a man. (From the NIV Bible, Numbers 31:17)"
In the OT, we also see that a virgin is forced to marry her rapist: "If a man happens to meet a virgin who is not pledged to be married and rapes her and they are discovered, he shall pay the girl's father fifty shekels of silver. He must marry the girl, for he has violated her. He can never divorce her as long as he lives. (From the NIV Bible, Deuteronomy 22:28)"
5- Some Christians believe that the Old Testament prohibited Polygamy:
Here is an email that I received from a Christian reader. My rebuttal is below her email:
From: "Rachel Thomas" <[email protected]>
To: [email protected]
Subject: (no subject)
Date: Sun, 14 Oct 2001 17:45:28 +0000
mr.Osama..
I do seriously wonder if u will publish any part of my this mail in ur site
..but I cudnt help writing to u.
I only have one verse to quote from the Bible..Deut 17:17 Neither shall he
multiply wives for himself.
this is a commandment that God gave for the kings of his nation but sadly
none of the kings.ie David,Solomon obeyed it and if u will read the whole of
the Bible u will get to see the tragic consequences of their disobedience.So
what u re actually using to support ur theory is a broken commandment..a
source of much grief and trouble.
You have used many verses and derivations to support ur theory but it is
very distorted form the actual truth the Bible contains.
Fear God.
Rachel
My response:
Dear Rachel,
Here is what Deuteronomy 17:17 that you referred me to says in the NIV Bible:
"The king, moreover, must not acquire great numbers of horses for himself or make the people return to Egypt to get more of them, for the LORD has told you, 'You are not to go back that way again.' He must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray. He must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold. (From the NIV Bible, Deuteronomy 17:16-17)"
In no way, does Deut 17:17 prohibit polygamy. It prohibited the King from marrying MANY WIVES. I wonder what is the limit to that? Certainly it doesn't limit it to just one wife.
"Many wives" clearly proves: (1) The person can have multiple wives, but not too much; and (2) It doesn't limit marriage to only one wife. I don't know where do you see the verse limiting marriage to only one wife.
Also Rachel, this verse is only talking about kings, or more accurately one lone incident about one king. It sounds very clear to me that it is more like a restriction for the king rather than a general verse that would apply to everybody.
I personally don't care about how many wives the Prophets of the Bible had, and what was the limit of the many wives back then. My point still stands, and that is Polygamy exists in both the OT and the NT in the Bible.
Beside, how can you suggest that the Old Testament prohibited polygamy when for instance Deuteronomy 21:15 clearly states: "If a man has two wives, and he loves one but not the other, and both bear him sons...." And also Exodus 21:10 allows a man to marry an infinite amount of women without any limits to how many he can have.
Plus also, you are ignoring the fact that Deuteronomy 17:17 speaks exclusively about kings, or one lone king, and NOT about people in general. So even if your translation was the correct one, it still doesn't disprove anything from my argument.
6- Do Paul's 1 Timothy 3:2 and 1 Timothy 3:12 prove that polygamy is prohibited in the Bible?
Let us look at the verses 1 Timothy 3:2 and 1 Timothy 3:12 from the NIV Bible:
"Now the overseer [some translations have it as "bishop"] must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, (From the NIV Bible, 1 Timothy 3:2)"
"A deacon must be the husband of but one wife and must manage his children and his household well. (From the NIV Bible, 1 Timothy 3:12)"
As we clearly see in those two verses, only church ministers and religious leaders are prohibited from practicing polygamy. There is no mention for ordinary people or general population. So unless every Christian in Christianity is considered a "bishop", "deacon", "priest" or a "minister", then these two verses are without a doubt irrelevant! They do not disprove polygamy in the Bible at all!
In fact if anything, they prove my point about polygamy being allowed in the Bible for the ordinary! Here we clearly see Paul indirectly addressing the practice of polygamy among the "believers", and he only prohibited it to the religious leaders so that perhaps they can have better time and dedication for the church. A man with 10 wives would be too busy for anything and everything.
Have polygamy been really prohibited by Jesus, Paul would not have told his religious leaders to not practice it!!
Paul would not have seen the need for it! It's like him telling them and only them: "Do not worship idols!" That would be a ridiculous request to make on an issue that is crystal clear among the believers. And it would be even more ridiculous if he requested it only from a select few.
The fact that Paul prohibited polygamy only on a select few proves that it is allowed for the general public!
At any rate, Paul is known to have his own agenda and own words inserted into the Bible. In the following verses for instance, we see in the Bible Paul's words and not GOD Almighty's:
"Now about virgins: I have no command from the Lord, but I give a judgment as one who by the Lord's mercy is trustworthy. (From the NIV Bible, 1 Corinthians 7:25)"
2 Timothy 4:9-13
9 Do your best to come to me quickly,
10 for Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia.
11 Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry.
12 I sent Tychicus to Ephesus.
13 When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, and my scrolls, especially the parchments.
Titus 3:12-14
12 As soon as I send Artemas or Tychicus to you, do your best to come to me at Nicopolis, because I have decided to winter there.
13 Do everything you can to help Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their way and see that they have everything they need.
14 Our people must learn to devote themselves to doing what is good, in order that they may provide for daily necessities and not live unproductive lives.
He decided to winter there???
Are these verses Paul's own opinions and commands or are they truly GOD Almighty's UNCOMPROMISED Divine Revelations??
The verses above from Paul contradict his other own verse in 2 Timothy 3:16:
"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, (From the NIV Bible, 2 Timothy 3:16)"
If the Bible was truly GOD Almighty's Holy Words, and if Paul was truly GOD Almighty's Apostle, then we wouldn't have this kind of junk in the Bible.
Also another side point, Paul obviously didn't know much about the Old Testament, because the Bible itself admits that it is corrupted and not perfect. So it can never be "All God-breathed":
"`How can you say, "We [the Jews] are wise, for we have the law of the LORD," when actually the lying pen of the scribes has handled it falsely?' (From the NIV Bible, Jeremiah 8:8)"
Another corruption from Paul is his disagreements and fights with the other disciples who were more authentic than him, since they lived with and saw Jesus, while he never even once saw Jesus. Most of the New Testament is nothing but conversations between people, which are clearly not inspirations from GOD Almighty. For instance, Paul fought with Saint Peter and accused him of being "clearly in the wrong" (Galatians: 2:11-12), and had a huge argument with Saint Barnabas (Acts 15:36-39). Now one must ask, did GOD for instance favor Paul over Barnabas and Peter and inspired him the words while he was fighting with them? If so, since Peter was "clearly in the wrong", then how about his Gospels? Wasn't every word that Peter spoke supposedly inspired by GOD? How then could he be "clearly in the wrong"? One of them must be in the wrong, which in either case, would also produce another contradiction to 2 Timothy 3:16. Is Paul GOD Himself? No Christian believes in that. So why then take everything he says including 2 Timothy 3:16 as the Words of GOD Almighty when they contain clear contradictions in them?
Please visit Many famous Historians and Theologians before came to conclusions that Paul was not truthful.
The original Bible was lost! See comments from the commentary of the NIV Bible (one of the most used Bibles world wide) itself admitting that most of the Books and Gospels of the Bible are corrupted. No one ever claimed ownership of the current Books and Gospels. The owners/writers are unknown.
7- Christians are hypocrites for following ONLY 1 Timothy 3:2 and 1 Timothy 3:12:
Since some Christians are so big on being politically correct to the majority of their corrupted people, who practice open *!*!*!*!ography, sodomy, homosexual marriage, open sexuality (through tight and too revealing cloths), etc..., and they LOVE to use nonsense such as 1 Timothy 3:2 and 1 Timothy 3:12 to prove that polygamy is prohibited in the Bible when on the contrary I proved beyond question, in the previous section, that they do allow polygamy to the general public, then I would like to ask them this:
If you're so big on following Paul's teachings, then why do you allow your women to preach in churches?!
Didn't Paul himself say: "Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience as also saith the law. And if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church. (1 Corinthians 14:34)"
Why then do you have popular female church ministers such as Mrs. Joyce Meyer? What ever happened to Paul's command in 1 Corinthians 14:34?!
8- 1 Kings 11:1-4 does not condemn polygamy!A Christian emailed me telling me that it is true that King Solomon had 100s of wives and concubines in the Old Testament, but that led him astray according to 1 Kings 11:1-4, thus this makes polygamy sinful and condemned in the Bible. Well, let us look at the verses from the NIV Bible:
1 Kings 11
Solomon's Wives
1 King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women besides Pharaoh's daughter-Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites.
2 They were from nations about which the LORD had told the Israelites, "You must not intermarry with them, because they will surely turn your hearts after their gods." Nevertheless, Solomon held fast to them in love.
3 He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines, and his wives led him astray.
4 As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father had been.
As we clearly see in 1 Kings 11:2, the marriage of multiple wives by itself is not sinful and was never condemned. It was Solomon's marriage from the pagan women that was prohibited by GOD Almighty, because they were idol worshipers, and it resulted for him to be led astray and follow their pagan gods. I don't see any specific condemnation of polygamy in general in this verse what so ever! I mean the Bible's Old Testament (since 1 Kings 11:1-4 exist in the Old Testament) is crystal clear about allowing polygamy: "If a man has two wives, and he loves one but not the other, and both bear him sons....(From the NIV Bible, Deuteronomy 21:15)" How much more clearer can it get?
Christian sites agreeing with polygamy in the Bible:
Organization for Christian Polygamy
http://www.truthbearer.org/
Another Christian site that agrees with Polygamy (Be Free).
http://bfree.org/index.htm
Another Christian site that agrees with Polygamy.
http://www.christianpolygamy.com/
http://www.biblicalpolygamy.com/
Conclusion:
The Bible in both the Old Testament and the New Testament does allow polygamy. Jesus peace be upon him never prohibited polygamy. Jesus lived for 33 years of his life on earth among a nation who practiced polygamy. He never even once denounced it!
The Bible does allow men to marry an infinite amount of women. Women in Christianity can be treated and considered as nothing but sex objects because the Bible doesn't have any rules or controls over men in this issue. Also, women in the Bible are forced to marry men in special cases such as forcing childless widows to marry their brothers in law. It doesn't matter whether the widow wants to marry her brother in law or not, she will still have to do it anyway without any choice!.
Another case where women in the Bible are forced to marry men is when a man rapes a single woman, then she must marry him and she can't get a divorce from him (no matter how bad he is) for the rest of her life according to Deuteronomy 22:28-30. Only death can separate her from him!
See how the Bible punishes to death the men who rape married women, but forces the single raped women to marry their rapists
