I.Forms of Polygamy
Polygamy is a general term that may refer to three things. Polyandry is where a woman may have more than one husband. Open Marriage is where either gender may marry an additional spouse. Polygyny is where a man may have more than one wife. Open Marriage has not been prevalent in any studied culture, and polyandry is extremely rare. In the context of Jewish, Catholic, Islamic, Protestant, or Mormon polygamy polygyny is always strictly meant. In this article when the term polygamy is used it specifically means one man with many women, or polygyny, unless otherwise stated.
II. History of Godly Polygamy and Polygamy\Monogamy contreversies
A. Polygamy among the Patriarchs
#Numbers on Numbers should go here, as it is before Isreal established its territory.
B. Polygamy in Ancient Israel
#Post Pentateuch examples
C. Polygamy and Monogamy in Early Christian and Late Pre-Christian History
Polygamy began to fall into decline among Gods people in the time before Christ due to Rabbinical tradition and Greceo-Roman Custom. The schools of Hillel and Akiba (1) allowed for increasingly permissive divorce that circumvented God's protection on marriage and allowed men to abandon women they where done with instead of carrying through with their obligation to care for them for life. Hillel allowed divorce for any reason, such as 'if she did not dress his victuals well, or if he found another woman he liked better'(1) Akiba went still further saying 'it was sufficient cause for a man to put away his wife if she where not agreeable to her husband' (1). Once men where so easily freed of their marital duties only caring and ethical men would actually commit to the obligations of polygamy, and polygamy in general became less common.
Due to varied interpretations of Christs teaching on divorce and St.Paul's instructions to Timothy concerning selecting elders and deacons for the church polygamy was controversial in the early Church. However, the first designated anti-polygamy work did not arise until the year 211 (2) when Tretullian began his anti-Catholic works which included De Monogamia (3). In this work Tertullian condemns second marriage, both simultaneous polygamy (which is what we mean by polygamy today) and successive polygamy (which Christians in general practice today). He notes in the second chapter that his doctrine of Monogamy is considered a heresy, and the second and third chapter of De Monogamia are spent trying to deflect the charge of novelty which was placed on his doctrine. His argument against the novelty of his doctrine consists of invoking inspiration of the Holy Spirit followed by adding "Nothing of novelty is the Paraclete introducing". The ascetic bent in his work is shown in his view on marriage in general: "Finally, when he (St.Paul) says, "Better it is to marry than to burn," what sort of good must that be understood to be which is better than a penalty? Which cannot seem "better" except when compared to a thing very bad? " and continues to explain that 'better' does not mean 'good' and thus first marridge, while not evil, is not good and merely an indulgence God allows in deference to human weakness. While this argument against marriage in general was not maintained by Christianity at large, it still exists as a form of argument against simultaneous polygamy.
The survival of these ascetic views of marriage is evident in the work of St. Augustine of Hippo (358-395 A.D.) who published a two book work entitled On Marriage and Concupiscence (4). His fourteenth chapter was titled "Before Christ It Was a Time for Marrying; Since Christ It Has Been a Time for Continence" though he does allow in Chapter 16 that if married people should come together in the nuptial embrace for reasons other than procreation it is forgivable, though contains some amount of sin. To that end he acknowledges that a plurality of wives was permitted to the Holy Fathers such as Abraham by God, but he maintains their motive was for multiplication of offspring, not desire for gratification. Concerning polygamy in general he said 'When it was a Custom, it was no crime'(5)
The Council of Toledo in 400 (10) was the first Christian council to indirectly ban polygamy in that it prohibited married Christians from keeping a concubine on pain of excommunication. Unmarried Christians could still have a concubine and not be refused communion. The first direct prohibition against Polygamy is found in the Code of Justinian in the sixth century (8*).
D. Polygamy in Midevil History
Over time monogamy became so ingrained in Christian culture and theology that it became grounds for antisemitism. Around 1000 A.D this caused a decree (6) that European Jews should have only one wife until the Jewish Year 5000, or 1240 A.D. so that they may ease the tensions with Christian neighbors. While this decree was only for European Jews for a set amount of time, it was latter extended to the majority of the Jewish population and was not repealed.
The case for polygamy among Christians was not re-opened until the Protestant Reformation brought with it an emphasis on fidelity to scripture over fidelity to tradition.
E. Polygamy and the Reformation
Martian Luther re-opened the debate by encouraging Landgrave Philip De Hesse (1504-1567) to take a second wife. Philip had been given in political marriage to the daughter of Duke George at the age of nineteen, and lacking romance in his marriage he found a lover outside of his marriage. After his conversion his conscience grieved him and he would not come before the Lords Table. He consulted Luther on his problem. Luther took Christs teachings on divorce in Matthew very seriously and would not allow him a divorce to marry the woman he loved. But Luther did feel that there should be some remedy, and he discovered it by a reversion to the mores of the Old Testament patriarchs, who had practiced bigamy and even polygamy without any manifestation of divine displeasure. Luther counciled Philip that he may take a second wife without divine displeasure, though he also advised that he should keep it a secret because it was against the law of the land. The new bride's mother declined to keep the secret and ultimately Luther worked to disassociate himself from this advice because of its severe political ramifications. (7)
In Feburary of 1534 Anabaptist forces took control of the German city of Munster. Discontent among the peasant and plebeian classes against the nobles and clergy lead to a violent revolt, and when the Anabaptist's secured the city they established a socialist economy.(*) On July 23rd the leadership proclaimed Polygamy the ideal form of marridge. One of the Anabaptist preachers said "the wives were such good friends with their husbands that they went out and got wives for them like Sarah for Abraham or Jacob." and a later Catholic historian noted "the theoretical inferiority of women (due to polygamy) in the town ran parallel to a status which in practice was in many ways uniquely high at that time."(8) The very next year the Munsterite Anabaptists where crushed in seige and most of its people where killed. The Later Mennonite Anabaptists did not carry on the practice of polygamy.
The Italian reformer Bernardino Ochino was the next to raise the subject. Ochino was a Capuchin Monk and a talented orator who quickly gained fame due to his skill and style. His conversion to the Protestant cause was a gradual one, the transition took place between 1539 and 1541 when he was over 50 years old. In 1542 he fled to Geneva, where he was cordially received by Calvin. Though Calvin was said to mistrust Italians after careful inquiry Calvin was impressed by Ochino's "eminent learning and exemplary life". For two decades he published and preached for the Reformation throughout Europe. In 1563 he published his 'thirty dialogues' in which he would place himself in an argument with an imaginary objector to a given Christian or Protestant doctrine. While several where very controversial, the most objectionable of these was his twenty first dialogue, the Dialogue on Polygamy (9). In Ochino declares Monogamy the only form of marriage and defends it with the whole repudiator contemporary arguments for monogamy while his imaginary opponent draws from the Old Testament, counters arguments form the New Testament, and draws extensively from practical considerations leaving Ochino in the end merely restating his support for Monogamy in an empty way. A similar work to this appeared in 1541 under the fictitious name "Huldericus Neobulus" in defense of Philip de Hesse, it seems that Ochino borrowed many of its arguments from this anonymous work. Despite Ochinos unblemished moral character he was banished from one protestant city after another after the publication of these works. In his last days he fell out of public grace, and died in exile in 1564, his last known words where “I wish to be neither a Bullingerite, nor a Calvinist, nor a Papist, but simply a Christian.”
The nineteenth ecumenical council opened in Trent opened on December 13th, 1545 and closed December 4th, 1563 (10) In the third period of this council a decree for the Sacrament of Matrimony was drafted containing twelve cannons. It Anathematized polygamy directly.
F. Polygamy Post Reformation
On February 14th, 1650 the Parliament at Nuremberg decreed that because of massive depopulation during the 30 years war every man was allowed to marry up to ten women (12*). This applied to both Protestants and Catholics. This was a short term one-generation provision, but it shows an underlying general acceptance of polygamy when circumstances promote it, and that when things really come down to it, polygamy is part of God's natural law that supersedes theological speculation (Is that way too preachy?)
Throughout his works the poet John Milton defends Polygamy, both past and present. In his History of Briton (13) he calls polygyny a ‘liberty, not unnatural, to have many wives’ in contrast to the alleged polyandry of ancient Brittons of which he says ‘as much more absurd and preposterous in their license’. In De Doctrina Christiana (14) he defends polygamy vigorously on the basis that calling it fornication or adultery would be an affront the the Holy Patriarchs and would cause the Holy Line to crumble. He notes that Deuteronomy 23v2 prevents a bastard from entering the congregation of the Lord, and so says ‘either polygamy is a true marriage, or all the children born in that state are spurious, which would include the whole race of Jacob’ and ‘as such an assertion would be absurd in the extreme, not to say impious, it appears to me that, so far from the lawfulness of polygamy being trivial, it is of the highest importance that it should be decided’.
(A good section needs to be made on Madan to close the history section, Post Mormon stuff should probably get its own section. )
III. Criticism of the practice of polygamy
IV. Polygamy in the Mission feild
V. Contemporary Christian Polygamy
(*) This only means I would like a better reference for this point or I have no good reference yet.
(1) ant. univ. hist. vol. X p429, p469
(2)Catholic Encyclopedia, Tertullian,
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14520c.htm
(3) Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 4.
(4) Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, Vol. 5. Edited by Philip Schaff.
(5) St. Augustine, lib.XXII. C47 against Faustus
(6) R. Gershom b. Judah, "the Light of the Exile"
(7) Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther, Roland Bainton
(8) After Polygamy Was Made a Sin, John Cairncross
(9) History of the Christian Church, Philip Schaff Vol 8. Section 129
(10)
http://www.adialogonpolygamy.com/
(11) The Catholic Encyclopedia,
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04423f.htm
(12) A Genealogical Handbook of German Research
http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Search/ ... search.pdf (This book is so not on topic, it has the information I need and is accurate, but there must be a better reference somewhere)
(13) History of Briton, John Milton, 1670
(14) De Doctrina Christiana, John Milton
