Topic: Can Christian men marry more than one wife? (Read 2188 times)

Is christian doctrine that doesn't allow polygamy Bible based? Or is it church tradition?

If it is Bible based, do you have any Bible passage that is for people today, that bars people from polygamy?

Well as long as it's consensual, I think it's okay. Though that's just to live under the same roof. Of course, when it comes to the Christian doctrine, they're only allowed one wife. If you're going to strictly follow that, then of course, the answer is no. And most laws also don't find it acceptable. It would be between the parties involved if they can stomach the fact that they're sharing their wives/ husbands with other people.

Are you not confusing promiscuity with polygamy? The whole point of marriage is so they don't go to other partners, and precisely avoid what you describe. Else they wouldn't bother with marriage at all.

This is very dangerous for the world. If anyone should be allowed to marry as many people as they want there would be a lot of society anomalies.
Also, due to the fact that sexual activity is something that transfers a lot of diseases it may create pandemia or something that would infect the global population.

Some people here wrote Christians won't do it, but you would be surprised. There are exceptions...


Thing is, Christianity comes from Judaism, and Judaism practiced it. It was especially common in rulers, not just because they were rich, but to forge pacts and alliances with other countries etc.

By the time Islam came into being, polygamy was still practiced among their contemporaries, even Christians. But some simply never got married, because of celibate etc.

Today some Christian denominations/sects practice it. Most secular laws in the west forbid it, and in that case they do it "in private", to avoid the (secular) legal troubles.

In more recent times you see for instance kings in Africa, convert to Christianity, but they happen to have like 15 wives or so, they make exceptions (not letting him marry more, etc).

The Bible never said anything about polygamy so to my understanding in general, everyone is free to do what he/she likes but the law has a totally different view of thing where polygamy is strongly forbidden but when you go to most Islamic countries, there is nothing wrong with that but it's pegged at a man having five wives at most.

In the USA, people have the polygamy right. What they don't have is the right to do it in a formally legal fashion. How do we know this? Because there are multitudes of court cases that show consenting adults have the right to get together.

The getting together of consenting adults throws the responsibility of what these adults do, back onto the people. People need to use something else other than government as their guide if they consent to be together. The guide should be the religions, and especially the religious idea that if they get together, they stay together.

When people stay together, they are essentially married, even if it isn't formally spoken like this. But they can't say that they are married polygamy-style to government if government won't accept it. But because government says "consenting adults," they can say marriage among themselves. This means that marriage means something different to government and the public, than it means to people in private.

We want peace in our lives. If the local community where polygamy is taking place says that it's wrong, they are talking as a community, a government. Why? Because government formally says "consenting adults." But people don't understand this about government. So they still think that private polygamy is wrong, legally. The point is, if you know that the community isn't going to accept it, even if the community is wrong to not accept it, why would you do it and create turmoil in the community? Work for peace in the community. Don't even do private polygamy if it is going to disrupt the community.

If you DO polygamy, realize that marriage is supposed to be for life, and that you are doing it until "death do us part." So, move away from people who won't accept it, so you don't offend them. And don't call it polygamy to government, because most governments (in the West, at least) won't accept it. Don't even call it polygamy if you are taken to court. Simply call it what is in the eyes of government, consenting adults.

I feel people make religion and some follow them blindly or as per own self motives. Anyone, irrespective of religion should be allowed to marry however how many people they want. Should be left to personal choice and of the partner(s). If polygamy is allowed and common in one religion, it should be allowed in other religion too.

And we know that only Islam has a right for that if they can sustain every women that they want. All of us we know or the Christians know about you cannot or you don't have to perform marriage to others if there are papers that you are marriage to someone so you need to assure that you unvalid your marriage for your wife before marrying again.

If there is a national law against it, then it is punishable by the government.
If there is a particular church law against it, then it is punishable by excommunication.
If there is a custom against it, then it is punishable by community rejection and ousting.

But that is essentially all. If the parties live in areas where there are no laws or customs against it, then multiple wives are acceptable. More than one wife is not a violation of a direct law given by God.

HOWEVER, the warnings given by St. Paul, Solomon (if only by example), and others that more than one wife will be troublesome, should be a warning for all people. These days people can barely stay married. And many of them don't. So, it will take lots of fortitude to stay married with multiple wives. So, don't do it.

That is prohibited to the christian preach base from the bible, and Aside from the bible marry more than one wife is punishable by the law if I am not its called bigame. That is under hrein my location because we need to respect also the feeling of the women.

People can do the "assunder" thing without a second wife. Having a second wife doesn't suddenly make assunder happen, especially if all the parties involved are in agreement with the second and additional marriages.

I'm the old testament, Polygamy was supported and even encouraged but as humans we tend to take advantage of every situation we find ourselves in and that is why a man with power married 709 wives and still had 300 concubines on top, even if he rotates his wives and concubines, he wouldn't be able to visit anyone twice for 3 years, that's human excess.

The new testament is quite different, "what God has joined together, let no man out assunder" is as good as any confirmation that a man should be monogamous, because a second wife can definitely out assunder between a married couple, we might all read the same thing but like we all know, it's open to interpretation depending on each individual.

^^^ But the point is that Christian men CAN marry more than one wife. Sure, there will be more trouble, generally. Sure none of the wives will feel fulfilled unless the guy is almost a superman. Sure it should be by agreement of the wife or all the wives. Sure, it might have to be marriage in private rather than marriage by the State's meaning of the word "marriage."

But since polygamy was required in some circumstances by the people of the Old Testament and the people of the early New Testament, the only change is by today's agreements of Christians.

Before opening this thread, the answer that came up to my mind, is no. Since that's the Christians belief, and I haven't seen somebody embodying polygamy on their households. And it's more like a muslim thing, having more than one wife.

But, with BADecker's answer:


With this, this would be troublesome lol. I believe that two half should find each other to be built as one. Well, that can't be helped if a person isn't contented with one wife.

Except that God never forbids being married to more than one wife, except in the case of a church leader. Or do you have a reference?

The problem with a woman having more than one husband is, there would be no easy way to determine who the father of each child was. At least, that was the way it was in the past. DNA testing could answer this question today.

The question seems to be too one sided and male dominated. My question to forum is that are we concerned with christian man having more than two wives. Why cant we debate on polygamy practices and freedom for christian woman. I strongly feel that such choices and arrangements depends on an individual and should be respected for whatever it is until it does not hurt anyone.

Bit this is your opinion. And I commend you for continuing in what you believe.

But find the law that says that men can't have more than one wife? If you can't find it, how do you really know it exists?

In both the Old and early New Testament times, more than one wife was law at times, and at least acceptable at other times.

Christians cannot be married to more than 1 women at the same time. If they get a divorce then of course officially(legally) they can marry another woman. I am not sure if there is anything in the Bible against remarriage and divorce, but I do know the vows both the groom and the bride need to say and between them is that they need to love and support each other through bad and good times no matter what until death will divide them.