On another thread, I made a point about the Bible not being against polygamy. One of my supporting points that there were no examples of a man being called an adulterer for having sex with multiple woman (who were also his wives or were going to be or served the function as such - concubines) just as long as the women were not married to another man. There is one passage in the NT that shows otherwise but it doesn't go against polygamy, and I'll explain why.
Mark 10:11-12
11 And He *said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery [HIGHLIGHT1]against her[/HIGHLIGHT1]; 12 and if she herself [g]divorces her husband and marries another man, she is committing adultery.”
Many Christians and others would say that the reason the man in the passage commits adultery is because he is still married to his first wife in God's eyes. These Chrisitan would use this passage to support the point that a man can't marry someone else while already married, therefore polygamy is not allowed. I believe there are 3 good points to show that this passage does not go against polygamy:
1. The passage explains a scenario involving divorce, and you can have polygamy without divorce. Jesus wanted to prohibit people from bouncing from marriage to marriage just like the serial monogamous marriages we find today, where people are divorcing based on any petty reason, and then just jump into another relationship.
2. Mark 10:11-12 does not provide all of God's standards for marriage, and as such, it leaves out exceptions. For instance, in Matthew 19:9, it says that a man remarry and not be an adulterer if he left his first wife because of adultery. That's an exception that you won't know about if you just go by Mark 10. There's also plenty of other biblical passages and examples that show that a man is also not an adulterer when he marries a 2nd or 3rd woman just as long as he doesn't divorce his first wife. Just going by one verse to understand God's rules on marriage is bad theology to say the least.
3. God's moral laws do not change, and embedded in the moral law is the allowance of polygamy via the definition of 'adultery'. Many people know that adultery is part of the 10 commandments, but what those same people might not know, is that adultery was defined in the Law of Moses to only apply to interactions between a man and a married woman (she's married to someone else). Read the commentary in this post for more details on this point.
For debate... Does Mark 10:11-12 go against polygamy? Any feedback on any of my points above is more than welcomed
Mark 10:11-12
11 And He *said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery [HIGHLIGHT1]against her[/HIGHLIGHT1]; 12 and if she herself [g]divorces her husband and marries another man, she is committing adultery.”
Many Christians and others would say that the reason the man in the passage commits adultery is because he is still married to his first wife in God's eyes. These Chrisitan would use this passage to support the point that a man can't marry someone else while already married, therefore polygamy is not allowed. I believe there are 3 good points to show that this passage does not go against polygamy:
1. The passage explains a scenario involving divorce, and you can have polygamy without divorce. Jesus wanted to prohibit people from bouncing from marriage to marriage just like the serial monogamous marriages we find today, where people are divorcing based on any petty reason, and then just jump into another relationship.
2. Mark 10:11-12 does not provide all of God's standards for marriage, and as such, it leaves out exceptions. For instance, in Matthew 19:9, it says that a man remarry and not be an adulterer if he left his first wife because of adultery. That's an exception that you won't know about if you just go by Mark 10. There's also plenty of other biblical passages and examples that show that a man is also not an adulterer when he marries a 2nd or 3rd woman just as long as he doesn't divorce his first wife. Just going by one verse to understand God's rules on marriage is bad theology to say the least.
3. God's moral laws do not change, and embedded in the moral law is the allowance of polygamy via the definition of 'adultery'. Many people know that adultery is part of the 10 commandments, but what those same people might not know, is that adultery was defined in the Law of Moses to only apply to interactions between a man and a married woman (she's married to someone else). Read the commentary in this post for more details on this point.
For debate... Does Mark 10:11-12 go against polygamy? Any feedback on any of my points above is more than welcomed
Last edited:
