If you know of a free ebook, that would go nicely in the collection, please share it with us. God never approved of polygamy nor did he intend it to be the norm. Against that advice, and with a certain feeling of personal uneasiness, i offer the following to those interested in what the bible says on those subjects. Bible first bible ever printed oldest bible historical bible society evidence for the bible scripture manuscripts christian apologetics gutenberg bible king james.
Christian apologetics is not about being apologetic about what we believe. Furthermore, we read in the old testament of people who were greatly used by god who had multiple wives. Then please read entire article before making your final conclusion. Polygamy has been practiced by many cultures throughout history 3 there are numerous examples of polygamy among close followers, devotees, and the faithful to god in the old testament, but it is generally not accepted by most contemporary christians, though other christian groups permit the. Was the sabbath changed or taken to a spiritual level, replacing the literal application of the commandment. This article by the institute for religious research documents mormons beliefs regarding polygamy. While it is surely an uncomfortable topic to discuss, a man having multiple wives is something that one encounters in reading various parts of the tanach. God authorized jesus christ to reinstitute his original standard of monogamy. I strive to make sure that my apologetics are biblical and i make no apologies for. How should we as messiah followers approach this topic. Plural marriage, or polygamy, continues to be one of the most wellknown doctrines and practices associated with the mormon tradition. Should 1 enoch be considered inspired scriptureon the same level as the biblical books of daniel or jeremiah. Scripture, liturgy, apologetics, ecumenism and current affairs in the catholic church. Prophet muhammad peace be upon him was a messenger of god filled with sympathy and mercy to people and a leader for all muslims.
Bible verses related to polygamy from the king james version kjv by relevance sort by book order exodus 21. The new testament, in like fashion, says that elders and deacons are called to be the husband of but one wife. Tackling christian apologetics on polygamy polygyny in the bible and the quran weve seen mark henkels presentation and arguments for polygamy in the bible. Difficult questions for mormons catholic apologetics.
The first reference to polygamy is found in genesis 4 in the lineage of cain. However, polyandry is the technical word for having more than one husband. I decided to put them all together into one collection. In the bible there are about 15 examples of polygamy from the time of lamech to the first century. May 24, 2011 god intended, from the beginning, for marriages to consist of one man and one woman for the duration of their lives.
So much for arguing against polygamy using the bible alone. Did the ot writers promote polygamy or prohibit it. The complications introduced into morals by polygamy are not often considered. Nevertheless, god permitted polygamy, just as he permits people to do other sinful acts.
What are the top academic books on the bible and sean. First, description is not the same as prescription. Apologetics apologetics is the study, defense, and proving of facts by evidence. Matt slick is the president and founder of the christian apologetics and. The church did recognize the authority in all the books we have in the bible today but not in other books. Cain was cursed, lamech is a descendent of cain and the first to practice polygamy. Polygamy was never established by god for any people under any circumstances.
The bible is a faithful record of historical events, and its principles are grounded upon historical reality e. While ive been over this quote before, lets take a fresh look. This is the latest free chapter from my bible contexts books published by lexham. More accurately, polygyny would be one man with multiple wives, while polyandry would be one. There is no condemnation of polygamy in the old testament. The reformed community is unique in its general though not total advocacy of a presuppositional approach to apologetics. In biblical times it was common to find the custom of having more than one wife or husband at the same time. David wilber and john mckee unpack biblical egalitarianism, whether or not the bible promotes misogyny, and the roles of men and women in ministry. He didnt practice polygamy for the sake of sexual pleasure at all. That made everyone aware that many of the friends of god in the old testament were polygamous. In fact, he specifically said not to have more than one wife because, in part, they can turn a persons heart away from god. Polygamy is the practice or custom of having more than one wife or husband at the same time. There are also scientific, archeological, and historical proofs that provide the reasonable person with sufficient proof that god. In fact, the bible reveals that god severely punished those who practiced it, as is evidenced by the following.
As we speculate about gods silence, there is at least one key factor to consider. Not only does the bible not provide very good reasons to reject polygamy, it might be seen to argue for it. Analogy apologetics apostasy aquinas atheism baptism bible bible scripture books calvinism canon catechesis christian orthodoxy early church eucharist evangelicalism faith hermeneutics jehovahs witnesses john macarthur justification latterday saints lds logic martin luther mormonism new world translation norman geisler paradigm shift. Germany at the time if they made his religion the official religion of the principality and sanctioned abuses, such as polygamy, to further his political cause. He who created them from the beginning made them male and female and said, for this reason a man will leave his father and his mother and will stick to his wife, and the two will be one flesh. What is apologetics and why is it so important that. In other words, this legislation prohibits all polygamy. Dec 30, 2016 by nick jun 7, 2016 apologetics, bible, bible study, read the bible, word of god. Or is religious truth ascertainable and knowable based on objective assessment. Grids and charts heresies lost books objections and answers. Must a person rely on subjective inner inclinations and feelings. The books homepage helps you explore earths biggest bookstore without ever leaving the comfort of your couch.
As a result a lot of people are asking questions about polygamy, questions like is this not consistent with what the founder of the mormons taught. So says one skeptic, who goes in to cite instances of polygamy in the bible, ranging from the mild jacob, two to the outrageous solomon, who knows. And yet as paul says, everything in the bible was written for us. The real question is why was polygamy considered essential for exaltation in the early lds church while its practice today is grounds for excommunication. Posted by christian research institute jun 16, 2009. In fact, it is not advisable for any theologian to write favorably of bigamy two spouses, polygamy multiple marriages, or polygyny multiple wives.
Tackling christian apologetics on polygamy polygyny in. Polygamy was not considered wrong in ancient cultures, but was a departure from the divine institution god ordained. Apologetics is the study, defense, and proving of facts by evidence. Divorce and polygamy were regulated in the laws given to moses, but polygamy was recorded long before then. Although monogamy was clearly gods intent genesis 2. I havent read it, but ive also seen positive references to the dissertation by ronald a. In fact, he specifically said not to have more than one wife because, in.
Listener email regarding the age of the earth, apologetics. From the very beginning god created one woman for one man see genesis 1. These articles will cover issues such as how we can know the old and new testaments are reliable, how we can trust the bible in light of the history of translation, how to understand the issue of polygamy in the bible, how to respond to the popular idea that genesis 1 was written in some form of poetry and whether or not genesis was derived. Not only that, but the bible explicitly condemns the polygamy of old testament kings. Apr 20, 2020 was the sabbath changed or taken to a spiritual level, replacing the literal application of the commandment. Even utah politicians are fuzzy on whether the constitution permits polygamy as. Ad gloriam ecclesiae is the musings of a lay catholic on various topics such as. Though lds president wilford woodruff announced the official end of the practice in 1890, mormon leaders continued to quietly marry plural wives up until the. Joseph smith, who used a number of books, including the bible, to create it. Faithlife staff wed, august 21, 2019 biblical studies, books, featured, lexham publishing, products. Mar 11, 2020 that would totally leave out polygamy and make it not ok and sinful. The bible is a realistic book, and it doesnt spare any of the gory details.
How may a person distinguish between truth and error. The bible is an incredibly candid book when compared to the religious writings of other traditions. More than that, one should be able to claim the bible and not be eyed suspiciously. Abraham and sarah would have been monogamous apart from a low point in their faith when hagar became a second wife note how much strife this caused later. The cosmological argument, the the ontological argument, the teleological argument and the moral argument. In my last post, i listed my top five popular books on the bible and homosexuality. What the bible says about polygamy there are many polygamists in the bible. The first time polygamous relationship is found in the bible is with a thriving rebellious society in sin. After all, this foundational premise was drawn directly from the bible genesis 2. While the bible acknowledges polygamy, it doesnt approve of it. Does it mean that only the books of genesisdeuteronomy are relevant to ones faith thus making us sadducees who deny the resurrection. A brief course on apologetics sunday school notes christoph kreitz. The term has also come to mean having more than one husband. Apologetics training is our main focus here at new york apologetics.
There are serious problems with drawing that conclusion. Written by joe carter the bible is a book about god, not a book about us. In still another case, several men who wished to register to vote in the territory of idaho took the preparatory oath that required them to swear that they neither practiced polygamy nor belonged to any organization that encouraged its practice. The common response to this is to note that god nowhere endorses polygamy. The problem stated since the bible doesnt directly say that polygamy is prohibited, many presume that it is not forbidden in scripture. We offer hundreds of articles with an apologetic focus as well as many resources. Further the false assertion that one should have only one wife unless the lord declared otherwise is a clear. Polygamy in the bible doesnt mean god endorses polygamy. In this book, bahnsen outlines a consistent presuppositional approach to apologetics and in the process critiques other apologetic systems that claim to be presuppositional. The bible comes together like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. Although biblical does not say nearly enough about what one means by biblical, theres not a better place from which to start in apologetics, is there. Polygamy called plural marriage by mormons in the 19th century or the principle by modern fundamentalist practitioners of polygamy was practiced by leaders of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints lds church for more than half of the 19th century, and practiced publicly from 1852 to 1890 by between 20 and 30 percent of latterday saint families.
This is an excellent coverage of its topicpolygamy, bigamy, and human rights law. Polygamy is the practice of having more than one wife. I hope you find these books helpful in your search for truth. Further, it may very well not be referring to polygamy at all in fact, most protestants see it as an issue for divorce. Biblical law and ethics as developed from malachi leiden, the netherlands. Apr, 2017 in other words, just because it is in the bible doesnt mean that its good. From the very first book of the bible, gods plan for monogamous marriage is laid out, a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to. Just as the requirements for church leaders set the standards of.
In 1 kings 11, verse 3, we read that solomon, the king who ruled at the pinnacle of israelite power, had 700 wives and 300 concubines. Polygamy and the bible the liberated christians group has made the following claims. The goal of christian apologetics is not just to present the truth although truth is a good thing. Polygamy international standard bible encyclopedia. Harem or polygamy fiction, polygamist cults, male lead with multiple lover, space opera erotic romance, polygamy, erotic harem polygamy fan. Now second of all, as paul copan points out in his book, is god a moral monster. The bible does not specifically say why god allowed polygamy. Truthbomb apologetics strives to offer apologetics resources to encourage and challenge both believer and unbeliever. Polygamy in the bible polygamy is widely condemned as repugnant, if not immoral. Third, apologetics as refutation shows that nonchristian thought is unreasonable.
In, a dialog on polygamy, the famous italian reformer. Chapman points out that the debate kicked off in the 17th century, with the translation of the authorised version of the christian bible. Muslim apologist osama abdallah offered the following justification for muhammads polygamy. For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the. Some of them were gods favorite people including abraham, jacob, gideon, solomon, and david.
Jun 16, 2009 polygamy has been in the news as a result of warren jeffs and the child custody case thats become so prevalent in the news. Todays messianic people do read the torah on a fairly consistent basis, and doubtlessly encounter polygamy. Due to patriarchal societies, it was nearly impossible for an unmarried woman to provide for herself. That would totally leave out polygamy and make it not ok and sinful. If they desired to please god, their only recourse would be to cease their sexual. Brett, for a serious account of the relevant ane material, see gordon p. Apologetics as defense shows that christianity is not unreasonable. The purpose of refuting nonchristian belief systems. This article explores the changes to the mormon churchs doctrines regarding polygamy, and the dilemma this nonchristian church will face should polygamy be legalized. That doctrine was the obvious downfall of joseph smith, and he was killed in 1844 as a result of the polygamy controversy.
Best blog refuting roman catholic apologetics 7 bible 10 bible interpretation 1. Does scripture or god allow polygamy let us reason. Some of the bibles passages are deeply troubling, and despite the wishful thinking of some christians, are difficult to reason away. The discussion regarding polygamy has been unleashed in a messianic movement that is largely unsure about how what it means to recapture a torah foundation for ones faith in yeshua. Luther appears to be stating polygamy doesnt contradict scripture and that one should simply rely on their conscience and personal interpretation of the word of god to justify it. Jesus used the same old testament text to teach monogamy as used by the jews of the diaspora and at qumran. There are four primary arguments in apologetics for the existence of god. Tagged biblical characters and polygamy, catholic view of polygamy, polygamy and the bible search for. Jan 29, 2018 in the old testament we read of the practice of having many wives. The smithsonian on the bible and the book of mormon on the. The bible and homosexual practice, robert gagnon abingdon press, 2002. Indeed it was common to the cultures of the ancient near east to have more than one wife.
I was blessed to speak with pastor matthew vander els of founded in truth ministries on the topic of polygamy in the bible. And if you are using bible verses, make sure it doesnt include the word divorce because you can commit polygamy and still be married and not divorced. Every seminary student worth his salt knows that the bible doesnt approve of everything it records. The bible does not say we should live in monogamous only with one other person marriages. What the bible says about polygamy the annotated bible. This article will take a closer look at this important topic. This post is designed for those who want to go deeper and explore the academic sources firsthand. Apologetics training for small groups mountain street media. God allowed polygamy in the old testament because of the sinfulness.
Catholic apologetics the truth of the matter is and remains so that joseph smith did indeed preach in favor of polygamy and this was indeed practiced by a fair number of mormons in the early days until it was legally checked. The truth is that the story of polygamy in the old testament is, well, a problem. If you are going to read one academic book on this subject, this should probably be it. Polygamy had been useful in times of war for childless widows, but now it was causing hardship. The marriage of abraham and sarah seems to have been an original love match, and even to have preserved something of that character through life.
God allowed polygamy as well as diviorce in the old testament because of the hardness of peoples hearts matt. I want to know if there are any catholic articles, videos, etc. The bible discusses lots of things that is doesnt permit. The bible does not say anything against premarital sex. Jacob was tricked through laban, into taking leah first, and then rachel, to whom he had been betrothed. Moore, art 2002, nothing new in book condoning child sex, world net. The word comes from poly meaning many and gamos meaning marriage. Does jesus contradict the old testament on polygamy.
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