Subject: Adultery always involves married woman? |
Bible Note: 1Ti 3:2 An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, prudent, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 1Ti 3:12 Deacons must be husbands of only one wife, and good managers of their children and their own households. These, of course, are limitations placed on otherwise good Christian people, that if they choose to have multiple wives, they already have too large a family to be able to effectively work with the family of God as well. Again, if there was no issue with people taking multiple wives, there is no reason to even bring up the idea. If no one ever got drunk, being overly fond of wine would not be an issue. This is not a condemnation of having multiple wives, it is a restriction upon those who are Christian who do want to take multiple wives, excluding them, not from the Christian body, but from areas of service that do take a major amount of work, dedication, and the lives, of those that desire these positions. Let me state that in areas where the law precludes polygamy, no Christian should ever pursue the issue of polygamy in this country, or any other that does not allow for it, as there is no "Command of God" to be a polygamist, and we are commanded to obey the laws of the land. To summarize, these 2 verses are merely restrictions upon those Christians who wish to take multiple wives. A practice that must have occured, but which, according to these verses, restricts them to non leadership roles in the church. In no place does it indicate that multiple wives are "sin", or that the issue should be avoided by Christians, but rather that that choice will limit their leadership options. As always, I am more than willing to consider something else as meaning, but I do believe that again, we would have to add meaning not clearly given in the passage in order to come to those other meanings. That said, without removing meaning, or adding any, what do you do with this passage where God is reproving David for his sin of adultery, i.e. taking the wife of a man still living: 2Sa 12:7 Nathan then said to David, "You are the man! Thus says the LORD God of Israel, 'It is I who anointed you king over Israel and it is I who delivered you from the hand of Saul. 2Sa 12:8 'I also gave you your master's house and your master's wives into your care, and I gave you the house of Israel and Judah; and if that had been too little, I would have added to you many more things like these! Does God participate in sin, and enable it? Does God not care one way or the other how many wives we have? Or does the passage have a different meaning than taking this passage at face value would imply? Lastly, why are our beliefs so important that we are willing to add, subtract, and distort the meaning of passages of scripture to force them to line up with our beliefs? As I stated, I am more than happy to get rid of my beliefs, based on scripture, on this issue, as long as I do not have to become a scriptural contortionist twisting the meaning to force it to conform to what I would rather believe. In truth, that which we love most will always be forced to conform to that which we love most. I have a saying: Most people honestly seek after truth the way most people honestly seek after things to step into in the farm yard. COme to think of it, most people have similar reactions when they find it as well. Kicking against the goads of truth is not an uncommon practice. I have had many a perfectly good belief destroyed by the clearly taught truths of scripture, and I have to admit, my beliefs do not change easilly. Being tossed to and fro with every wind and wave of doctrine is not my problem. That said, I am willing to alter my beliefs if the undistorted truth supports the need for a change. That you dislike my belief is clear. The evidence I see only lines up one way, unless we try and force it into a different hole lopping of meaning, adding meaning not there, or distorting it to fit our beliefs. |