8/3/2019 2012.02 What's Wrong with Polygamy?
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Section A14 FEBRUARY 2012
R ecently the popular reality show Sister Wives depicted Kody Brown and hisour “wives.”
Kody proclaimed repeatedly, “Loveshould be multiplied, not divided.” Theshow eatured him scrambling to connect
with each o his our women and their 17children. “It’s all about relationships.”
Kody’s our women shared householdtasks and childcare, and contributed f-nancial support. They interacted as sisters and bestriends.
Television’s polygamist drama Big Love ended in2011 ater fve popular seasons.
Movies and TV shows shape cultural values. Ispolygamy wrong? Does polygamy multiply love and
oster deep relationships? Are multiple valentinesbetter than only one?
A ttitudes Are ChAnging
Investigations confrm thatpolygamy is currently thriv-ing in isolated communities in
Texas, Arizona, New Mexico,Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Wyo-ming, Missouri, Minnesota,South Dakota, Montana, Idaho,
Washington, British Columbia,and northern Mexico.
Polygamy is legal in 65 coun-tries and practiced in many more.In Senegal 47% o marriages are
polygamous. Russians lobby to legalize polygamy be-cause women signifcantly outnumber men. Figuring“hal a man is better than none,” Russian nationaliststhink polygamy would fll Russia’s cribs through giv-ing 10 million women husbands.
University o Alberta proessor Lois Harderavored decriminalizing polygamy (writing or theVanier Institute o the Family in June 2011). Al-berta’s Civil Liberties Research Centre endorseddecriminalization.
In 1878 the US Supreme Court upheld lawscriminalizing polygamy, describing it as “an oenseagainst society.” The Court ruled polygamy isn’tprotected by religious reedom.
But with pressure snowballing to redefne mar-riage, polygamy could become legal. In act, in July 2011 Kody Brown fled a ederal lawsuit to bar statesrom enorcing polygamy laws. The lawsuit arguesthat such laws violate the Fourteenth Amendment’sdue process and equal protection clauses, and theFirst Amendment’s ree exercise o
association clauses.
BiBliCAl e xAmples
In the Bible some men had multiple wives and concubines.
The frst was the murderer La-mech in the sixth generation romAdam. Later Esau’s multiple wives
vexed his parents.
Jacob sired the 12 tribes o Israelby our dierent women. This led tobitter jealousy and strie and to Jo-seph being sold into Egyptian slavery by his resentul hal-brothers.
King Solomon had 700 wivesand 300 concubines. They turned hisheart away rom God to idolatry.
Reporting polygamy does notconstitute endorsement. The Biblereports many sins – including lying,blasphemy and murder – without ap-proving them.
Polygamists’ avorite example isKing David who had at least eight
wives and 10 concubines. Proponents
cite God’s words to David through theprophet Nathan: “ I also gave you your master’s house and your master’s wivesinto your care, and I gave you the house o
Israel and Judah.” (2 Samuel 12:8)
But this doesn’t imply divine approval o polygamy. It simply means that God gaveDavid as king jurisdiction over everythingthat belonged to the ormer king – the en-tire household and kingdom. David nevermarried any o Saul ’s wives.
In act, Yahweh had explicitly com-manded through Moses that kings shouldnot have multiple wives (Deuteronomy 17:17). So Nathan’s message could notmean that God gave Saul’s wives to Davidor wives.
David’s polygamy sowed disaster. His son Am-non assaulted hal-sister Tamar. Her brother Absa-lom avenged her by murdering Amnon.
WhAt does sCienCe s Ay ?Studies show monogamy is healthier than multi-
partner relationships. Researchers have discoveredchemical actors involved in intimate relations withmultiple people which cause immune-system reac-tions, especially or women.
Multiple studies have demonstrated that women inpolygamous relationships are more subject to depres-sion than those in monogamy. Polygamous men havea higher rate o alcoholism than monogamous men.
soCiAl ConsequenCes
Polygamy has deleterious eects on children. Girlsare requently valued primarily as breeders and“married o” early – oten to much older men.
Teen boys are oten expelled because they rival olderleaders or wives. Many children o polygamists be-gin “adult” lie underage and poorly educated.
Polygamy entails economic challenges. The Sister Wives clan has been in bankruptcy and on ood stamps.
In Under the Banner , author Jon Krakauer quotesa Utah Department o Social Services employee
who estimated “300 polygamous amilies receivebetween $500 and $1600 worth o ood stampseach month” with amilies averaging 15 members.
In 2003, one-third o a polygamous Arizona town was on ood stamps.
WhAt does the BiBle s Ay ?Scripture’s message o monogamy is crystal clear:“ No man can serve two masters.”
The Creator gave the frst man Adam one sin-gle wie Eve. He did not give Adam both Eve andGenevieve. One wie was the inaugural pattern Godset or marriage or Adam’s descendants.
New Testament authors always went back toGenesis, back to the frst marriage as the authorita-tive source and normative model.
When asked about marriage, Jesus quoted Gen-esis, “The two shall become one fesh.” According to
Jesus, only two (male and emale) become one, notthree or more.
Moreover, God’s frst command to Adam
was «Be ruitul and multiply and ill the earth.” Wouldn’t reproduction be aster using multiple wives or Adam, just as livestock breeders usemany emales with each male? Yet God gaveAdam exactly one wie.
The Bible depicts consequences o violating themonogamous standard: jealousy, turmoil, racturedrelationships and even murder.
Samuel’s mother Hannah was tormented or years by her husband’s other wie. Abraham’s Ara-bic and Jewish descendants through three women(Hagar, Sarah, and Keturah) have ought or 4,000
years, and their disputes remain a powder keg.Modern polygamy exhibits the multiple dysunc-
tions Scripture reports. These include controversy over avoritism, competition between hal-siblings
The Apostle Paul instructs church leaders,as mentors and role models, to be “ the husband o one wie ” (1 Timothy 3:2,12; Titus 1:6). Paulexpected men to ollow church leaders’ monoga-mous example.
When giving marriage instructions in 1 Corin-thians 7:1-16, Paul always uses singular orms or“husband” and “wie.” He orders, “ Each man is tohave his own wie, and each woman is to have her ownhusband.” The use o singular orms throughout thispassage means that Scripture prescribes an exclusiverelationship. Polygamy is clearly excluded.
Paul commands husbands to love their wives astheir own bodies (Ephesians 5:32). Would a manlove himsel by choosing to share his wie with mul-tiple men? Then loving a wie as one loves onesel means loving her exclusively.
The same conclusion results rom Jesus’ GoldenRule: “Treat others the same way you want them to
treat you.” (Luke 6:31)I a man doesn’t want to share
his wie with another man, then heshouldn’t ask his wie to share him
with another woman.It’s challenging enough to love one
woman well. No man has resources tohandle more than one.
polygAmy : y es or no?Polygamy proanes the original Ad-
am-Eve marriage model establishedby the Creator. It violates the Bible’scommand to love one’s wie as one-sel. It defes Jesus’ Golden Rule.
Polygamy is a perversion o mar-riage, not an enhancement. It’s de-grading to women and oten resultsin mistreatment o children. It has noplace in a civilized society.
Biblical marriage instituted atCreation is exclusive and permanent – one woman or one man or lie.
Happy Valentine’s Day, Jo! You’rethe only girl or me. Soli Deo Gloria.
E-mail Dr. Pelletier at [email protected] the Bible-Science Guy blog at http://BibleScienceGuy.wordpress.comand ollow him at http://twitter.com/ BibleScienceGuy.
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WilliaM T.
What’s Wrong with Polygamy?
tHE BIBLE AND sCIENCE by WilliaM T. PelleTier, Ph.d. [woodside news COLUMNIST]
PelleTier, Ph.d.
religion, free speech, and freedom of
or Dad’s attention, and contention over resources.
©©2012 William T. Pelletier
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