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So... I told my pastor that I believe a man having more than one wife is not a sin

Mojo said:
Is it possible that it's coincidental? I mean, the English translators may have not realized the significance of hovah and did their best to Anglicize the Tetragrammaton?
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It is possible. I don't know the whole history. I do believe that there is a group who does not want us to know the power that is in God's name.

Tim
 
At present, pastor hasn't brought it up again. It kind of seems like he's not sure what to do. He's friendly, but i can tell he feels awkward.
 
Asforme&myhouse said:
At present, pastor hasn't brought it up again. It kind of seems like he's not sure what to do. He's friendly, but i can tell he feels awkward.
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Smiles and handshakes, but not much conversation?
How large is the congregation?
How long have you been associated with him/congregation?

I only ask because if you have enough built in equity, it may make things different if it escalates into a discipline issue over "beliefs" at a later time....or even actions if you do take another.
 
About 6 years, and yes smiles and handshakes. I don't sense the comradery we had before.

An interesting note on this topic is that one of the main founders of this "non-denominational" denomination Lightly covered the topic of plural marriage and he was at least honest in saying that it is not forbidden scripturally, not a sin, and then went on to say that he didn't think it was a good idea. Personal opinions are fine as long as you are clear that it is only your opinion and not The Word of God. I know that my pastor has heard this particular teaching and I find it interesting that he has come to a different conclusion with any evidence whatsoever. I am not sure what will happen. I think after some time has passed and I haven't changed my mind, they will through us out. But, we will have to wait and see.
 
Asforme&myhouse said:
An interesting note on this topic is that one of the main founders of this "non-denominational" denomination Lightly covered the topic of plural marriage and he was at least honest in saying that it is not forbidden scripturally, not a sin, and then went on to say that he didn't think it was a good idea. Personal opinions are fine as long as you are clear that it is only your opinion and not The Word of God.
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I agree with this 100%. It is when folks teach their opinions as equivelent or even better than the Bible that I take issue. We can debate all day long whether plural marriage is a good idea or not, but there is little legitimate debating of the Bible's take on it - none once you really get into it.

I'm just thinking here: This topic makes me wonder about how we should approach this better with those we are sharing it with, specifically church leaders. I wonder if beginning the discussion with statements like the following might frame the discussion a little better:

Pastor so-and-so, I've asked for this time today because I respect you, and I believe you are a man seeking more of God in your life. I am sure you would agree that the first place we should turn in understanding God's stance on difficult social challenges is the Bible, right? (Presuming one gets a yes to this ...) I am also sure that you also agree that there is a difference in milk and meat, just like Paul referenced in 1 Corinthians 3. The meat takes more chewing and is a bit harder to digest, which I take to mean we need to dig in and really study topics out. (Wait for a response, which is hopefully a yes, and then present a well thought out case).
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First off, I am not at all suggesting this will sway every discussion, nor am I saying this is THE framework or the only way to begin a discussion. It would largely depend on the personalities of those discussing it. I also do not like the idea of scripted conversations, BUT I do think if we prepare these discussions by laying a framework reminding all parties of the ultimate source for truth and that some topics require us to dig in, it might help.

Sadly, there is another factor at play here for most pastors - job security. While the discussion I had with my former pastor went fairly good, other unrelated discussions we have had led me to believe there were certain controversial non-eternal-impacting topics he was not going to broach because of the long-standing members' lack of reception to such topics. I was pleased to see he didn't take that stance on eternal-impacting topics, but this is a reminder to me of how many different influences make up someone's response.
 
It is so hard to determine someone's motivation. I attended a church years ago where the pastor/wife (both called themselves pastor) seemed to genuinely be in for loving and helping people. After confronting them on the "woman pastor" issue I discovered how position and money hungry they were, I was shocked. So, I think sometimes wanting to "protect the sheep" is a cover for protecting their own interests.

I think too, monogamy only is so ingrained that the thought of polygamy seems like it has to be sinful and evil. You know, "only a pervert would want more than one wife". Saying you believe the Bible teaches it is no less pure than monogamy sounds blasphemous. There is a complete shutdown, they don't even want to look as if looking to see what the Bible actually says would make them complicit in your "sin". They also don't think there is any point in such a teaching, if it drives people away from church, that's a bad thing right?! And, they completely forget that God is more concerned with truth than he is with numbers.
 
I'm personally convinced they're most concerned with ignoring what God says about their marriages. The implications for monogamy is foundation shattering if a biblical marriage is one that can be scaled up to accommodate additional wives.

The church would have to get serious about reforming adultery, divorce, "pre-marital" sex, parent child relations and of course the rampant feminism.

It would be too hard and the church would lose vast swaths of it donors. The problem isn't with the men who can make it happen, the problem is with what it means for everyone else.
 
aineo said:
This topic makes me wonder about how we should approach this better with those we are sharing it with, specifically church leaders. I wonder if beginning the discussion with statements like the following might frame the discussion a little better:
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Somewhere here, one of the senior forum members drafted an 'Open Letter to Church Leaders'. I'll see if I can find the post and link to it here.

EDIT: HA! well, it seems that @FollowingHim already did that and in this very thread no less. It's located in the Resources section. Here's the link.
 
ZecAustin said:
I'm personally convinced they're most concerned with ignoring what God says about their marriages. The implications for monogamy is foundation shattering if a biblical marriage is one that can be scaled up to accommodate additional wives.

The church would have to get serious about reforming adultery, divorce, "pre-marital" sex, parent child relations and of course the rampant feminism.

It would be too hard and the church would lose vast swaths of it donors. The problem isn't with the men who can make it happen, the problem is with what it means for everyone else.
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This is all very true, and those who think deeply may well be turned off by those wider implications. But I don't think most people think much more deeply than "polygamy? yuck!", so they probably don't even realise those wider implications exist.
 
So this came up in my men's group tonight. One of the men was sharing about his marriage and the next thing I know I'm telling them about Polygyny (briefly) and adultery and a Biblical definition of marriage. They were incredibly receptive and want to spend the next few weeks talking about it.

These guys know me fairly well and we've brushed up close to this before but we just waded ankle deep into it tonight. We'll see how it goes. The group is part of a mainstream denomination and closely watched by an associate pastor that does not like me or the group even so it could all still end in tears. I'll keep you updated.
 
Keep us up to date!

Nothing new to report here. We have been avoiding the plague... The terrible flu, that is. Seems like everyone is proud that they are the only one in their house who "hasn't gotten it". Germ theory has been around for quite some time now, you would think folks would realise that they are spreading it. Anywho, we are the unspiritual ones who stay home when everyone is posting about how sick they are.
 
ZecAustin said:
So this came up in my men's group tonight. One of the men was sharing about his marriage and the next thing I know I'm telling them about Polygyny (briefly) and adultery and a Biblical definition of marriage. They were incredibly receptive and want to spend the next few weeks talking about it.

These guys know me fairly well and we've brushed up close to this before but we just waded ankle deep into it tonight. We'll see how it goes. The group is part of a mainstream denomination and closely watched by an associate pastor that does not like me or the group even so it could all still end in tears. I'll keep you updated.
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So what came of this?
 
NetWatchR said:
Do not get stuck in the debate between God's Law and Man's Law. He will say at some point, "Well, it's not legal anyway, what's the point?" You can address that it you want, but it's a trick to divert the topic.
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This seems like a good time to point out that the legand of Saint Valentine was about a Christian who married lovers illegally because the Romans did not allow Christians to get married.

Ask them, "If they made monogamous marriage illegal would you obey the law or would you break the law and why?"

Remember: The Bible word for Polygamy is "marriage" and forbidding marriage is a sin (1 Timothy 4:3).

Face that question head on. It is an easy one.
 
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