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 (not even through implication), 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. Therefore polygamy is not allowed since the man marries another woman while still married to another. There are 3 good points to show that this point is wrong and that Mark 10 does not prohibit polygamy.
1. The passage is dealing with divorce and is part of Jesus's overall point about God wanting marriages to be lifelong (involving no separation). While the passage does cover remarriages, but it only does so when divorce is in the picture. Polygamy does not apply here since it can occur with a man remarrying without separating or divorcing his first wife. Jesus would only be against remarriages if it involved separation or ending a marriage (refer to #2 for exceptions).
2. Mark 10:11-12 does not provide all of God's standards for marriage, and as such, it leaves out exceptions and other scenarios. For instance, Matthew 19:9 gives a scenario where a man is allowed to remarry even after divorcing his first wife. If you go by Mark 10 then you're obviously won't know about that. And of course, there are also plenty of other biblical passages that show that a man is not an adulterer when he marries a 2nd or 3rd woman just as long as he doesn't divorce his first wife.
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 many don't know that it did not apply the same way to the men as it did for women. In Moses' law, adultery applied to men only when they slept with a married woman (someone else's wife). It was not adultery for a married man to be sexually involved with other woman besides his wife just as long as those other women were single or also his wives...which explains why polygamists were not called adulterers in the Bible. Married women on the other hand could only be sexually involved with their husband.
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. Therefore polygamy is not allowed since the man marries another woman while still married to another. There are 3 good points to show that this point is wrong and that Mark 10 does not prohibit polygamy.
1. The passage is dealing with divorce and is part of Jesus's overall point about God wanting marriages to be lifelong (involving no separation). While the passage does cover remarriages, but it only does so when divorce is in the picture. Polygamy does not apply here since it can occur with a man remarrying without separating or divorcing his first wife. Jesus would only be against remarriages if it involved separation or ending a marriage (refer to #2 for exceptions).
2. Mark 10:11-12 does not provide all of God's standards for marriage, and as such, it leaves out exceptions and other scenarios. For instance, Matthew 19:9 gives a scenario where a man is allowed to remarry even after divorcing his first wife. If you go by Mark 10 then you're obviously won't know about that. And of course, there are also plenty of other biblical passages that show that a man is not an adulterer when he marries a 2nd or 3rd woman just as long as he doesn't divorce his first wife.
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 many don't know that it did not apply the same way to the men as it did for women. In Moses' law, adultery applied to men only when they slept with a married woman (someone else's wife). It was not adultery for a married man to be sexually involved with other woman besides his wife just as long as those other women were single or also his wives...which explains why polygamists were not called adulterers in the Bible. Married women on the other hand could only be sexually involved with their husband.
For debate... Does Mark 10:11-12 go against polygamy? Any feedback on any of my points above is more than welcomed
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