Fidelity

At Drewdog’s prompting and his lending to me Doug Wilson’s book ‘Fidelity’ (I was too cheap to buy it), I will throw out some thoughts about plural marriage in the Bible.

First of all, I was impressed by Doug’s honest look at the subject. Many things he says in the book are radical and unlike any I have ever seen in print. Here are a few examples:

The polygamist and all his wives, if they profess faith, should be received into the membership of the church.

Polygamy cannot be considered a sin in the same way that adultery is.

… the church should forbid leadership to polygamists and reluctantly tolerate membership for polygamists.

I think these statements are good, consistent statements that do justice to the whole counsel of scripture, not just isolated sections.

There are also some arguments he makes that are very common and orthodox, but may commit some fallacies.

“We should start by understanding that monogamy is required by Creation Norm” - Hasty Generalization, Non sequitor
Perhaps polygamy was not intended before the fall, but that is irrelevant. The fall altered everything, and this side of resurrection, we cannot truly regain what was lost in the Garden:
- Most Christians don’t live in nudist colonies.
- Most Christians are not Vegetarians (Or Vegans, Gen 1:29-30)
- Incest is not allowed today as it would have been at that time.
Adam and Eve's marriage as an archetype should extend only as far as other passages (i.e. Matt 19) point to the first marriage as an ideal.
It seems strange to me that the cornerstone of such a major doctrine depends primarily on interpretation of a narrative and not a clearer, didactic teaching passage.

“If polygamy were a positive good, there would be no reason to restrict it.” (referring to the OT Law) - False Dilemma?
Food and Drink is a positive good, but there are limits.
Sleep is good, but the sluggard or lazy person is foolish.

"When a man is polygamous, it puts him in a position where he can father more children than he can be a father to." - Slippery Slope and Contradiction
If children were a positive good, there would be no reason to restrict it. Fathering children, of course, is a positive good, but Doug is adding restrictions to fathering children.

“God Forbids polygamy in the ordinances of creation and redemption, but polygamy may be tolerated only among those not suitable for leadership in the church.”
Polygamy has always been sinful...most of the time...

Much, much more could be said, but I don't want this post to get too long.

I'll just close by saying that polygamy is a tricky subject to harmonize in Scripture, and Doug Wilson's piece is the best I have read from a mainstream Christian scholar.