In the Book of Romans, the apostle Paul admonishes believers in Christ to submit to the civil authorities over them. The relevant passage comes from chapter 13:
Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. 2Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. 3For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, 4for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. 5Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. 6For because of this you also pay taxers, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. 7Pay to all what is owed them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed. Romans 13:1–7
This is the principle of obeying the “law of the land,” sometimes called by the Latin phrase lex terrae. Much of the time, this law is a great blessing, curbing the tide of anarchism which would otherwise wreck the nations. And we as Christians certainly ought to obey the law of the land, not only because disobeying it brings God’s wrath upon us by way of civil punishment, but also because our consciences reveal to us that obedience is right.
Paul goes further than simply declaring the principle, he makes it the responsibility of other Christian leaders to do so as well, such as Titus, who is exhorted to “Remind [Christians] to be submissive to rulers and authorities…” (Titus 3:1). The apostle Peter concurs with Paul when he exhorts, “Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, 14or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good” (1 Peter 2:13).
The fact that Christians are to obey the law of the land is not disputed.
And that has led many an opponent of polygyny to claim that Christians should not engage in polygyny because it is against the law of the land in the United States and other countries. These laws come in a variety of forms, whether laws against polygamy, bigamy, cohabitation, or some mix of the above.
Unfortunately for the opponents of polygyny, biblical polygyny does not require the breaking of man’s law. If one defines marriage as a union codified by a state-certified marriage license, then yes, biblical polygyny would be against the law. Obtaining multiple marriage licenses in order to have multiple living spouses is bigamy.
However, the state does not define marriage. God does. And biblical marriage is much simpler than what people often try to make it today: the permission of the bride’s father is the only requirement, no license required.
As such, a polygynous man could cohabitate with his wives in a biblically valid marriage, and as far as the state is concerned, they’re just a group of people living together. No marriage licenses obtained means no bigamy committed.
The unfortunate side effect of this is that the privileges granted to spouses by the state would not be bestowed.
It’s because of that the law of the land should be changed so a man can have legally recognized marriages to multiple women. In the United States and other democracies, that is a goal which can be worked toward by anyone who would want the full, biblical definition of marriage recognized by the state.
It should also be noted that the day polygyny becomes a legally recognized lifestyle — and that day is coming rather quickly — the argument that it is a sin because of it is against the law of the land would instantly be defeated.
At best, the law of the land makes polygyny rather impractical in nations such as the United States. In other nations or societies, polygyny is accepted.
In the Scriptures, sin is not defined by the apostles or others by the law of Babylon or the law of Ethiopia, but rather it is said that sin is the transgression of the Law, specifically the Law of God as given to Moses.
And in that Law, which is binding on all men wherever they may be, polygyny is not condemned nor discouraged.
http://friendofpolygyny.com/articles/le ... -the-land/
Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. 2Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. 3For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, 4for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. 5Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. 6For because of this you also pay taxers, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. 7Pay to all what is owed them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed. Romans 13:1–7
This is the principle of obeying the “law of the land,” sometimes called by the Latin phrase lex terrae. Much of the time, this law is a great blessing, curbing the tide of anarchism which would otherwise wreck the nations. And we as Christians certainly ought to obey the law of the land, not only because disobeying it brings God’s wrath upon us by way of civil punishment, but also because our consciences reveal to us that obedience is right.
Paul goes further than simply declaring the principle, he makes it the responsibility of other Christian leaders to do so as well, such as Titus, who is exhorted to “Remind [Christians] to be submissive to rulers and authorities…” (Titus 3:1). The apostle Peter concurs with Paul when he exhorts, “Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, 14or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good” (1 Peter 2:13).
The fact that Christians are to obey the law of the land is not disputed.
And that has led many an opponent of polygyny to claim that Christians should not engage in polygyny because it is against the law of the land in the United States and other countries. These laws come in a variety of forms, whether laws against polygamy, bigamy, cohabitation, or some mix of the above.
Unfortunately for the opponents of polygyny, biblical polygyny does not require the breaking of man’s law. If one defines marriage as a union codified by a state-certified marriage license, then yes, biblical polygyny would be against the law. Obtaining multiple marriage licenses in order to have multiple living spouses is bigamy.
However, the state does not define marriage. God does. And biblical marriage is much simpler than what people often try to make it today: the permission of the bride’s father is the only requirement, no license required.
As such, a polygynous man could cohabitate with his wives in a biblically valid marriage, and as far as the state is concerned, they’re just a group of people living together. No marriage licenses obtained means no bigamy committed.
The unfortunate side effect of this is that the privileges granted to spouses by the state would not be bestowed.
It’s because of that the law of the land should be changed so a man can have legally recognized marriages to multiple women. In the United States and other democracies, that is a goal which can be worked toward by anyone who would want the full, biblical definition of marriage recognized by the state.
It should also be noted that the day polygyny becomes a legally recognized lifestyle — and that day is coming rather quickly — the argument that it is a sin because of it is against the law of the land would instantly be defeated.
At best, the law of the land makes polygyny rather impractical in nations such as the United States. In other nations or societies, polygyny is accepted.
In the Scriptures, sin is not defined by the apostles or others by the law of Babylon or the law of Ethiopia, but rather it is said that sin is the transgression of the Law, specifically the Law of God as given to Moses.
And in that Law, which is binding on all men wherever they may be, polygyny is not condemned nor discouraged.
http://friendofpolygyny.com/articles/le ... -the-land/
