Polygamy and the Adultery Connection: What Did Jesus Really Mean When He Taught About Adultery and Divorce? (Jesus or Erasmus? Two Doctrines)

One of the chief cornerstones that a solid Biblical response supporting a repeal of polygamous behaviour for New Covenant believers is built on has been muddied by a wide-spread and little known "adjustment" made in the Greek manuscripts used to translate our English Bibles.  Dr. Leslie McFall makes the case in the lengthy article linked below that the owner of that manuscript, a humanist named Erasmus, wanted to promote a doctrine he felt was "less harsh" than that of blood covenant one-flesh marriage being dissolvable only by death which necessitates the radical practice of extreme forgiveness towards those who have wronged us and a lifestyle of faithfulness and enduring prayer to change and restore even the behaviour of estranged spouses.

McFall (2014) makes a compelling case that the position of Christ clearly teaches that only God can separate a one-flesh union.  As far as human choice or effort are concerned the two are joined as one until death, period, and all other "marital" unions are identified as adulterous which is a sobering truth that has far-reaching implications for the choices, in the light of eternity, that we make with our adult human relationships.

Read The Biblical Teaching on Divorce and Remarriage for yourself off-site or read a shorter but similar explanation that references this matter here.


What does this mean for our defense against so-called "Christian" polygamy? A lot, as it turns out. Consider the scenarios in the "divorce" passages of the Gospels: Matthew 5&19; Mark 10; Luke 18.  The spouses, regardless of gender, who marry other people after they've been legally divorced by state and/or synagogue, are declared guilty of breaking the seventh commandment and committing adultery.  The "exclusion" in Matthew 19 is the spouse of one who has already committed fornication (in this context, sex by a married person with someone who isn't themselves married), adultery (sex by a married person with someone who is married to someone else) or some other form of sexual violation of their blood covenant with their first spouse.  The person who remarries after that isn't accused of adultery.  Why?  Consider Jesus' audience of religious Jews.  What is the penalty for adultery under Mosaic Law?  Death.  Why isn't the remarriage after a first case of adultery considered a second case of adultery?  Because that first marriage is already broken in the only way that a first marriage can be broken -- the death of one of the spouses!  The Jews of that day knew you do not end your marriage by divorcing your wife for adultery, your marriage is ended because the penalty for that adultery is death (Isaacs, 2017).

So now we can consider the other cases where they are guilty of adultery after divorce.  What do all these people with second spouses have in common?  They all have a living first spouse.  Jesus changes the Old Covenant Mosaic Law about divorce when He expounds that God is done tolerating that hard-hearted solution Moses wrote for the unregenerate nation of Israel who were understandably unable, due to their stony hearts, to forgive transgressions by their spouse.  Tradition adds that some of these men had even gone so far as to abuse the writing of Moses and divorce their wife for any little misdemeanour like burning dinner (Rich, 2011).  Jesus' statement is revolutionary for New Covenant disciples because the implication is clear -- the Creator God, the One who instituted marriage, does not recognize legal or religious divorce.

Visualize it this way:

THEN

Old Covenant Mosaic Law: Provision for Divorce 

divorce dissolves marital union and creates an ex-spouse

=

OC Mosaic Law: Remarriage/Serial Monogamy Morally Possible

can create a second monogamous marriage union once the first union is dissolved

NOW

New Covenant Messianic Law: NO Provision for Divorce

divorce does not dissolve a marital union, no ex-spouse created, both spouses remain in covenant

=

NC Messianic Law: NO Remarriage/Serial Monogamy Morally Possible 

since first union remains intact the second union is POLYGAMY 

What has previously been called "serial monogamy" is actually a situation more accurately termed "serial polygamy" because even though the first union does not continue engaging in a sexual relationship both spouses are still morally and spiritually joined in a one-flesh blood-covenant marriage while their first spouse lives.  This is polygamy because, according Jesus, the Creator, in His eyes the spouse who is legally or spiritually divorced is actually still married to their first spouse while simultaneously engaging in a second marriage relationship with another person, literally having two (or more if their second marriage ended in divorce as well) spouses in God's eyes.  The moral trespass of adultery is no different from those who wish to engage in "concurrent" polygamy.  Both forms of polygamy, under the Messianic Law as laid down in the New Testament are condemned.

Thus, for those who would ask where the New Testament explicitly condemns polygamy, a proper understanding of Jesus' new teachings on divorce and adultery means that EVERY PLACE THE NEW TESTAMENT EXPLICITLY CONDEMNS DIVORCE OR ADULTERY IS A SIMULTANEOUS CONDEMNATION OF POLYGAMY.

Citations*

Isaacs, R. (2017). Adultery | My Jewish Learning. My Jewish Learning. Retrieved 1 April 2017, from 
        http://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/adultery/

McFall, L. (2014). The Biblical Teaching on Divorce and Remarriage (1st ed.). Comberton, 
         Cambrideshire, England: lmf12. Retrieved from  
         https://lmf12.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/divorce_aug_2014.pdf

@mrsp31wannabe. (2013). no-divorce-marriage.jpg. Retrieved from
          https://teachingwhatisgood.com/no-divorce-marriage-part-2/

myjewishlearning.com (2017). civil-divorce-hp.jpg. Retrieved from
          http://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/is-civil-divorce-enough/

Oterhals, J. (2009). Divorce.jpg. Retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/photos/oter/3560209936/

Rich, T. (2011). Judaism 101: Divorce. Jewfaq.org. Retrieved 1 April 2017, from 
          http://www.jewfaq.org/divorce.htm

Ta B, Oj. (2014). on the cross of calvary. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/jGupb8ePWlU

TJS Deemer Dana. divorce2.jpg. Retrieved from http://www.tjsdd.com/divorce-income-tax-issues/

*Note: The author of this blog does not necessarily agree with or support the views expressed in the articles or on the website sources for images used on this blog.  Efforts at properly crediting sources do not indicate adherence to or promotion of the views expressed by those sources.