Got your attention with that title, eh?
I must admit, I love playing devil's advocate. I don't know what it is about it, perhaps it's the exercise of looking at a topic from all angles. Maybe it's because I'm a generally empathetic person and I can see a situation from someone else's vantage point. Maybe it's because I don't love the status quo. Maybe I'm just a jerk who likes to make people mad. Whatever it is, I thrive in being in discussions with people who aren't afraid to think and be challenged and challenge me as well.
Chris & I were talking a few nights ago about proverbs (we're trying to read it together and glean some wisdom), which led us talking about David, which led us to talking about polygamy and taking mistresses. Neither adultery or polygamy seem to be frowned upon much in the Old Testament. In fact, it was pretty much a given. There were various reasons for this (aside from good ol' male hubris) -- women were vulnerable in society with no rights to property and little legal rights. The richer and more powerful the man, the more protected the women were.
However, pretty much every one of the exalted Jewish men in the OT was involved in some kind of sexual sin, from Noah to Abraham to Jacob to David. Of course, there was David's egregious sin with Bathsheba, which is not to be overlooked and for which David and Bathsheba paid with the life of their baby. But, outside of them, not much is said in negative terms in the bible about the sexual sin of the men in the OT (that I can see).
And here's where my devil's advocate comes in: I think Paul is very clear that we are to flee from sexual immorality (not sure on the greek here, but I'm thinking that includes polygamy). And Jesus tells us that if we look on another lustfully, we have committed adultery in our hearts. God said in no uncertain terms in the 10 commandments that adultery was off-limits, so it's not that He was silent on the issue, but apparently no one really took that commandment seriously? What I don't get is that if polygamy/adultery is so bad, then why didn't God do something about it in the OT? Is sexual sin really the worst kind of sin? Should we as Christians really be making as big of a stink as we are about gay marriage?
***For those who know me, you know that I don't endorse polygamy/adultery/sexual sin. In fact, it makes me laugh thinking about Chris trying to have more than just me as a wife! I think I'm handful enough for him as it is :)
Anyhow, I'm interested in your thoughts...
2 comments:
I think John Calvin's principle of "Accomodation" is helpful here, and the polygamy issue is very relevant today as well.
If you're a missionary in a polygamous culture and a polygamous man with 2 wives becomes a Christian - what should he do? Is he called to divorce one of his wives? I don't think so - I think we would tell him that he should endeavor to be a godly husband to both, and to not take anymore wives, and to teach his children to have only one wife/husband. But there would be no sin in him sleeping with each wife and having children with them.
I see it similarly to the OT. I wouldn't call polygamy sexual sin, though I would say it is less than ideal and leads to negative consequences on several levels. Adultery is definitely something condemned from the beginning though. But there definitely is the concept of progressive revelation in the Bible and I would put the things you raised under that category - and also that the Bible is often being descriptive not prescriptive as it describes family relationships and such.
So those are my thoughts...I think God uses the messiness of our lives and redeems it for his divine purposes - like the mess of Jacob's many wives were used to build the tribes of Israel.
Very interesting thoughts, Kindra! I agree with the comment above. However, I would also say that there is validity to the idea that we're a little fixated on sexual sin. That's a strange thing to say in view of our belief that adultery/fornication, etc are indeed sinful with no qualifications. But the church's stand on the issue is interesting considering the other sins that we let slide. We hear a lot about Sodom and Gommorah in regard to their sexual sin, but very little about the passage in the prophets telling us the OTHER primary reason for their destruction.
In my view, things such as pride and hate are "worse" in some sense, but they're not so easily seen or defined as is sexual sin.
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