Some attempt to establish the legitimacy of a man having only one wife by using the creation account in Genesis, Chapters 1 & 2. They suggest that since God created Adam and gave him only one wife, this sets the standard or God’s “creation ideal” for all subsequent marriages. But such logic is faulty, a naturalistic fallacy, proceeding from the particular to the universal without consideration of God’s specific instructions concerning marriage, and can be dangerous leading to cultic beliefs and practises. For example, using that same line of reasoning from Genesis 1 & 2, it could just as easily result in the condemnation of any who don’t follow a strict vegetarian diet since God told Adam; “See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food” (Gen. 1:29). Or it could be argued that all men are to be horticulturists because that is God’s “creation ideal” for work (cf. Gen. 2:15). Indeed, so-called Christian naturists use this very same erroneous logic to argue against wearing clothes since God created Adam and Eve; And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed (Gen. 2:25). Such faulty reasoning speaks for itself. God doesn’t require every man to be married monogamously, be a vegetarian, a horticulturist, or a nudist, having set these practises up as some sort of creation ideal. It is true God established marriage in the Creation Week but as we read through the Bible we learn that He never says it’s His creation ideal but rather, He allows some to remain unmarried, some to be polygynous, and others to be monogamous in their relationships. He doesn’t condemn any of these relationships and each has its place and purpose in His kingdom.
