There are situations recorded in the Bible where we see Jesus using a question or questions to confront people in their erroneous thinking or attitudes about something. For example, in Luke 6:6-11 Jesus was in the synagogue and was about to heal a man on the Sabbath. Knowing the minds of those present, He said to them, “I ask you, is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save a life or to destroy it?” I'd like to follow His example and be able to have questions to challenge or even confront those who are caught up in error regarding a man having more than one wife.
I'm wondering, are there specific questions you have used or might use to confront anti-polygamists in their erroneous thinking or attitudes about this topic? What were the circumstances or line of discussion and what did/would you ask?
I'm keen to get ideas of the sorts of questions you ask from both men and women here, and especially from women who e.g. have been accused of supporting her husband in 'adultery' by allowing him to have another wife? What questions do you ask? I'm more interested in questions than in lines of argument.
A question I asked when someone was using the 'creation ideal' argument for one man married to only one woman is; Why didn't Jesus Christ live up to your creation ideal? A related question; How could He be sinless if He didn't live up to your creation ideal?
Look forward to your ideas however I do realize we will probably get a similar reaction to what Jesus got. In Luke 6:11 we are told, But they themselves were filled with rage, and were discussing together what they might do to Jesus.
I think the questions will be dependent on where the person is at in their knowledge of the topic. If the people in question are not aware that you or anyone in particular are in polygamy, you can ask questions like: "What should the church's response be if a polygamist family converted to Christianity and sought fellowship by joining the church?" Or "What would and what should the church's response be if King David, a man after God's own heart, sought to join the fellowship?" Without seeming defensive of yourself or any particular individuals.
For those who already know of your connections with a polygamist situation or family, you could pose questions like:
"Would you condone divorce as a better alternative?"
"If you claim the plural marriages are invalid from the beginning of them, then what makes a marriage valid then?"
"Could you give a biblical definition of marriage?"
"Does God view polygyny as a valid form of marriage?"
"Likewise, how does God view the vows a man makes to each of his wives?"
"If you condone divorce, how do you decide which wife he keeps?"
After these questions, you open the door to say things like:
"Wouldn't it be more glorifying to God that the man would uphold his vows to each of his wives?"
"Wouldn't it be more glorifying to God that the man remains a father figure to all of his children and keeps from having a broken house?"
Once this has been done, it opens the door for more direct paths of Scriptural questions, as you will have a better understanding of their worldview and may have even begun to get them to question their previously held convictions. Once you can see where the person is at on a lot of things, as any one answer will usually reveal a lot more than the question simply asked, you can be more targeted and specific with your Scriptural questions going forward.
