Polygamy and faith: Is Polygamy a sin?

[Kofi]

King Solomon and others in the Bible were polygamous and God still blessed them yet we are being told today that polygamy is a sin.In other words, the Bible hates polygamy according to my pastor yet God blessed polygamous families in the Bible. The Koran however allows Muslims to marry as many wives as they like. Most Muslims in Africa are polygamous.

What do you think? Is polygamy a sin? If not, Is polygamy a good idea at all? Are there any advantages in being polygamous? I personally don't see any advantages in being polygamous. Some Muslims believe polygamy helps prevent adultery which is a great sin in Islam. However, as we all know, that doesn't work in real life. A man who cannot control his sexual desires will go after other women no matter the number of wives he has.

Also, polygamous homes are mostly full of violence because the wives compete and sometimes battle among themselves to win their husband's love and trust which is very bad

God gave Adam one wife but God gave Solomon 300 wives and 700 concubines. Jesus did not marry at all and had no child yet God allowed Abraham (the father of the 3 major religions Christianity, Islam, and Judaism) to sleep with his maid (because his wife Sarah could not conceive) so that Abraham could have a son.

Being a Christian, I have been preached and I have been told several times that polygamy is a sin but I will like to know what the Bible actually says about polygamy? Is polygamy a sin?

[Andy]

I don't think polygamy is a sin, I think thats just based on the religion you believe in. But I do have a question and maybe someone can answer it .


Why is it ok for a man to have multiples wives? But its not ok for a woman to have multiple husbands? As a woman, I do think its possible for a wife to perform her "duties" to both husbands.

Do you think that the women in a polygamous relationship are truly happy? Lets pretend that no one thinks polygamy is a sin. It doesn't matter if a man has 1 wife or 10. How many of you think that each wife would be happy and no one would be jealous? I feel that when we all marry someone we don't want to "share" them with anyone.

I think thats why people get so upset when they find out their partner has been cheating on them, not because its considered "wrong" in the eyes of society, but because they didn't want to "share" and that they feel betrayed. I find it hard to believe that a woman in a polygamous relationship wouldn't feel the least bit jealous or hurt every time her husband went off to marry someone else. I know I would.

And I'm sure a man would feel the same way if it happened to him

I remember reading about something that the rulers of Israel have many wives themselves back on the old days. Now, they are considered as a sin to the eyes of many. I think that a sin is just on what you believe in. In Muslim countries this practice is just normal as long as you can support them. In fact the prophet Mohammed encouraged some of his followers to take on as many wives as they can support so that they can stay out of adultery but ofcourse this reason alone isn't enough as Kofi mentioned because a thief is always a thief. you can't prevent a thief from stealing by giving him more money so in effect this reason alone doesn't work so polygamy is bad although I can't say it is a sin.

Muslim gents are allowed to marry as many wives as they like,but the women are not allowed to do so.Here comes the real tragedy.Is it written in koran to discrimanate women than men ?Is it acceptable for them when their wives keep more than one husbands ?

Here polygamy is a sin,otherwise if polygamy rule is same for both men & women,then this isn't a sin.

well it is not fair to allow men to take many wives while a lady keeps just one husband. I think everyone deserves equal shot although polyandry is disgusting to be frank with you. As for being a sin, If it was a sin then no one would be able to date, right?

I don't see anything good in polygamy. The Bible says one man, one wife. King David, King Solomon and others in the Bible had many wives yet God was with them. Polygamy may not be a sin but Polygamy is not a sin but rather full of problems

Yes, Islam religion, to be honest, is filled with blindly wrong concepts and i have to say, Polygamy - both ethically and scientifically is sin. The last thing Africa needed was polygamy So it's irrelevant to ask Kofi, we shall raise our voices against it.

a wife having more than a husband and a husband having more than one wives have equal chances of transmitting sexually transmitted diseases. And I agree, Islam is not only the religion allowing polygamy, or polyginy, to be precise, but these practices shall not be encouraged since both are not good for nations like africa.

Dasaratha, yes, he had three wives, Sumithra, Kaikeyi, and Kausalya. In hindu puranas or epics, almost all the kings were having more than one wives, and one superior of them all. Yes, and these epics and religious books were written at the time of prosperity, but now the case is something different. I hope everyone takes the religious beliefs in the right sense.

And the terrorist issues, yes, these bloody butchers like Osama are considered like icons of islam. But what if George bush who killed lots of people in Iraq and executed saddam? So can we call christians terrorists and ear lovers? Stop muttering such blunders if you don't know anything about Muslims.

Prophet Mohammed married 4 wives so there is nothing wrong with polygamy in Islam. It depends on your money and your love. if you have enough love to cater for 4 wives then why not? marrying more can help avoid adultery that is why Islam supports it.

In my opinion, I would lean towards it possibly NOT being a sin if given in very strident circumstances. Of course there are hundreds or things to be said about it and that HAVE been said about it.

We all need to find our comfort zone! Casting stones and what-not.

I remember to be informed of something that the rules of Israel recover many wives themselves the old days. Now, they are regarded as sin with the eyes of much. I think that a sin is right on what you believe inside. In the Moslem countries this practice is right normal since you can support them.

No, I do not think its a good idea at all nor can I see any advantages to this type of relationships. The only thing I can see is a lot of problems that come out of it. That is my opinion.

[oxis]

Polygamy is absolutely by nature, a sin. Who would allow one's spouse to 'switch' partner at any given time? What a fleshly desire it is to link and/or be linked with more than one wife or husband! Truth hurts. Mendicacy and poverty rate continuously rise. Factors of it includes extended and expanded family, lack of education, broken family and a whole lot more. So how can one imagine the increase of population considering one irresponsible parent contribute to it?

If you follow an Abrahamic religion such as Christianity, Ba'hiism, Islam, or Judaism, then you cannot believe that Polygamy is inherently sinful. Examples of polygamy are found throughout the Bible. Abraham had multiple wives as did the majority of the Prophets.

It is important to remember that even if someone is involved in polygamy, that it does not mean that this person is free to move from woman to woman. Polygamous marriages are still marriages, and there is still a level of commitment involved. For example, in Islam a man may marry no more than four wives, and he should only enter into a polygamous marriage if he can divide his time equally among his wives and support them all.

Not that polygamy is a sin but the problems associated with polygamy rather make polygamy sinful. A man who marries more than one wife marries trouble and he will never know peace. God didn't create two or three women for Adam because God loved Adam and He didn't want to put Adam in trouble

[vivek]

I am not God to say that if it is a sin or not, but speaking in literal terms, this is nothing more than having multiple sexual partners. This can lead to transmission of all sorts of sexually transmitted diseases. Besides why does one need to have so many wives. infact in some parts of the world exactly the opposite is happening. Because of the skewed sex ratio, there are not many brides available for grooms and are being shared between brothers, which again is not a healthy trend. My views are not intended to hurt anyone, its just that being a doctor i look at this in such a way.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by Asad

In earlier times, Christian men were permitted as many wives as they wished, since the Bible puts no restriction on the number of wives. It was only a few centuries ago that the Church restricted the number of wives to one.

Actually you are very wrong

"that at the beginning the Creator 'made them male and female,' and said, 'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh'? So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate."


There are also only two conditions in which a man may marry another woman
1) If his wife dies [see Romans 7:2-3]
2) If his wife commits adultery [see Matthew 19:8-9]

So I ask, you please quit posting falsehoods about my faith sir - you clearly do not know what you are talking about.

[ThatGirl]

I don't think it is necessarily healthy for a relationship, or the psychological and emotional well beings of the wives, but I don't think it's a "sin", because that would have to be taken up in your particular religion.

You can't base another beliefs actions under your definition of what is and isn't sinful. It doesn't work that way. If your religion does not allow it, then don't do it. :P

There is polygamy because man cannot stick to one wife and woman wants to experience what it is like somewhere else almost all the time. The truth however is that, those who marry more than one wife of husbands do not live long. Several research studies have confirm this that people in polygamous marriages live less than their expected years on earth.

Don't be fooled. Polygamy to me is a blessing. My grandfather was polygamous My father was polygamous. Hopefully I'm going to be polygamous man because I will marry not less than three beautiful wives. One tall, One short and one in the middle. I'm all set

Polygamy can't be said to be a sin but it is definitely unfair towards women. More than anything it leads to exploitation of women. If suppose a Man has 3 wives then each of his wives doesn't get what she deserves. In order to compete with other wives she ends up working more as a slave than being a wife. Pity that this is allowed and there's no limit to it.

I think it is unfair to decide for people. Your best choice might not be good enough for me. you used Muhammed as an example but what worked for Mohammed over thousand years ago might not work for you because we are in a new millennium and things are far different than they were centuries ago. This is a computer age and the age of formal education so things are quite different. Let people decide for themselves what is best for them

[Doug]

:p Is polygamy a sin? Evil is sin. Is having more than one wife a sin? The bible does not say it is. What it does say is that getting rid of one of them after you have used her throughout her youth is evil. The problem lies in whether one chooses to rely on the word of the bible or the word of religion.

I don't care whether it's a sin or what any books say about it; it's wrong, and I hate everyone that think that it's right, they all deserve to die... In fact... If I had nothing to lose I would kill them myself... mormons, etc. I would become the hand of Satan if it would help....

Why is the world filled with so much useless evil humans...

If i knew who Malik was I'd beat him up and break off his arms and legs...

so much evil.... I hate it........................

[world-love]

Actually, polygamy is a common practice throughout many cultures and religions in the world, not only Islam. It is usually practiced simply because of economic reasons.

Polygamy, specifically polygyny (marriage to more than one wife) was originally permitted in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. Historical context is important to keep in mind when discussing these issues. For instance, Islam still permits it but under very strict guidelines. Men can marry up to four wives but are not encouraged to do so because they must truly love, finance, and care for each wife equally; a difficult and almost impossible task for most men. The practice was originally permitted (and still is) in Islam in its early days in order to spread the religion more rapidly and to provide care and protection for widows. In Christianity, the Old Testament states that men can marry as many wives as they wish and in Judaism today, polygamy is not a lawful practice but it was in the past.

The most common misinterpretation about this common form of marriage is that it is practiced by uneducated, poor, and barbaric people in third-world countries. However, there are many middle and upper-class Caucasian polygamous families in North America who follow this lifestyle even though it is not permitted by law in most cases.

Well the bible and Koran were both written by men and therefore bastardised by these men to indoctrinate people into believing that men are 'better' and more 'worthy' than females and should be allowed more wives to fulfil their 'needs.'

Polygamy itself is highly illogical as there is basically a 50/50 ratio of men and women on this earth meaning that if men were to have say 4 wives each, 3/4 of the population of men in the world would be without a wife.

as you pointed out polygamous homes are mostly full of violence and that answers the other part of your question.

one boar can service up to 40 sows so yes polygamy works in the animal population.

[Doug]

If you are going to judge this as a sin what are you judging this against? From what I read from you folks is that everyone is using a religion as a standard. Take the Jewish religion or the christian or Islamic religion which is based on the Jewish law of Moses. Jesus said the Jews and their religion is of the devil. He said their god is the devil. For heavens sake they gave sacrifice to their god, the devil, in the desert for 40 years after they told the true God to go shove his covenant up where the sun don't shine.

Wake up folks and look at the source of your religion. The Jewish religion is from satan and their god is satan or Jesus the Christ is one big fat lier. And because christianity and Islam are based on Satanic Jewry they are no better.

Read John 8:42-47 and if you believe Jesus you are a follower of his and if you do not you are a follower of a religion of the devil and not Jesus.

If these words are too strong for you all to bear then fold up your bible and go look at one of those pornographic movies or magazines the Jewish publishers serve you for your entertainment.