During a live talk show on NTV Uganda, Moses Solomon Male, an outspoken faith leader, strongly advocate for polygyny, saying “there is no single scripture that openly condemns” the practice.
Male asserted “if its true” God in the Old Testament allowed the practice, then how can one say that marriage is defined as being only between one man and one woman.
This week, Rt. Rev. Johnson Twinomujuni of West Ankole Diocese, Church of Uganda, issued a lengthy statement responding to Pastor Male in regard to polygyny and dissolution of a marriage.
Full Statement
These days we continue to see a number of ‘men of God’, making an attempt to dislodge the core teachings of Christianity as applied to our daily lives. Unfortunately, the institution of marriage is the most targeted.
From the talk show clip I’ve watched, Pastor Male mentions a number of polygamous men in the Bible as if they did right. Because they are recorded in the Bible, it doesn’t follow that their acts were legitimate. Unless otherwise stated therein, stories in the Bible are a record of historical events, from which God intends us to learn, not necessarily a record of what He approves.
It makes a difference when we take time to examine the specifics of each of these polygamous men’s life stories, what happened in their families, and how it all ended. Polygamy and promiscuity caused a lot of harm to these people’s lives and families, no doubt!
Even in our society many polygamous relationships are never without regrets and heartaches. The parties live in a series of recurrent familial dissensions and discord. Certainly, God could not intend that marriage becomes such a chaotic relationship. As it is evident all throughout scripture, convenantal monogamy was and still is God’s primary intent. Polygamy is a social disaster, and it came about as a result of man’s fall.
- The consequences of polygamy are many and continuously painful. I can’t mention all, but below are a few examples of polygamous relationships in the Bible and their consequences:
a. Jacob had four wives. His sons ended up having tension to a point of selling their brother Joseph.
b. Gideon had many wives and sons, but it caused conflict that ended in a nasty murderous act (Judges 9:1-5).
c. David had eight wives, but his royal family became a mess with rape and murder.
d. Abraham’s sexual relationship with a maid brought about hatred in the home and set a ground for an interesting history.
e. Pastor Male mentions one thousand women that Solomon had. I’m concerned that he does it with no regret, at all! To understand God’s whole counsel over King Solomon’s story, one ought to look at how it all ended. It is a tragedy!
The Bible clearly states that “as Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father had been” (1 Kings 11:4).
With all those examples of polygamy and its consequences, plus the many more I have not mentioned, can we conclude that God is showing us how good polygamy is?! What befell all these great men of the Bible indicates to us how disastrous polygamy can be.
- Pastor Male says that the Bible does not explicitly condemn polygamy. Please, let us understand that not every biblical principle or truth is stated declaratively. What do we make of Gen. 2:18, where God says, “I shall make him (Adam) a helper (not helpers), suitable for him? Does the singular form of this statement ring any worthwhile implication in our minds?
Does the Bible state ‘explicitly’ that a man should have wives? Note the singularity with which God launched biblical marriage: From verse 22 of Genesis 18 we read “Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib He had taken out of the man, and He brought her to the man. The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.” That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh. Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.”
Jesus echoed that and made an assertion in Mat. 19 verses 5 and 6. Note his emphasis – “they are no longer two” and “the two shall become one.” When we look at these texts objectively, we find it clearly evident that God intended marriage to be monogamous.
- Pastor Male accuses the church of hypocrisy, for not separating the married, but bless them in church when they contract a civil wedding. In my view, that accusation lacks a true truth value due to the following:
a. The church doesn’t separate the wedded, because our Lord Jesus Christ commanded us not to. He stated, “Those that God has joined together, let no man separate” (Mat. 19:6). The church regards marriage as a lifelong contract. It disregards divorce, because God Himself says, “I hate divorce” (Mal. 2:16). That’s why the church treats it with disapproval and regret.
b. After contracting civil marriage it is not mandatory that the couple should come to church. For the Church of Uganda, our Canon states, “If any persons have contracted marriage before the Civil Registrar and shall afterwards desire to have their marriage blessed…” (2.39.1). So coming to church for a blessing after a civil marriage is entirely at the couple’s discretion. It is not a requirement of the church.
c. The blessing of this marriage is not a resolemnization or a repeat of the church rite. For such a marriage, as a church, we don’t publish the banns, we don’t enter the couple in the Register, we don’t offer any license or certificate. The differences of the manner in which ministers handle the specifics of that function notwithstanding, what is key is that the church prays for a blessing upon the two, like it would do to any other couple whose marriage is legitimate.
d. This blessing is not intended to make the marriage a Christian one. To uphold this act, which is voluntary, we derive from a premise that a Christian who contracts a civil marriage does not cease to be Christian. The two are not in a Christian marriage; they are Christians in a civil marriage.
- Pastor Male indicates that a man should have several wives because when one is in her periods or pregnant, the man would still need to have sex. By this he implies that there should always be a woman he should have sex with, in an unbreakable copulation! This is an interesting and risible opinion!
Sexual restraint is healthy for both an individual and the society. It has been proved that promiscuity can affect a society. J. D. Unwin, a British ethnologist and social anthropologist, as recorded in his work Sex and Culture, (1934), found out that there is a positive correlation between cultural achievements of a people and the amount of sexual restraint they observe. According to his research, most culturally successful groups always exhibit lifelong monogamous relationships which include sexual abstinence.
- Solomon states that in the Bible marriage was never solemnized by ministers, and so “we went wrong” in taking up the Roman methods. By both implication and association, we cannot conclude that Pastor Male recognizes the legality of marriage, when it is conducted in church or by the Civil Registrar, because the Bible doesn’t mention that they should.
Let us remember that we are created human, intelligent, and moral. We are charged with an obligation to rule over creation. This gives man a duty and mandate to organize and order creation.
Church ministers are called, ordained and given authority to lead the Lord’s flock guided by His wisdom, and to carry out His ministry amongst His people, on His behalf and as His servants. Church and legal authorities solemnize marriage, deriving from and in accordance with the authority entrusted to them. Such authority is God given (Rom. 13:1-9).
In conclusion, dear brethren, many false and twisted teachings continue to hit hard on the banks of our spirituality. It is clear that they are intended to remove the natural and moral blockades in order to give way to promiscuity, and lead to the destruction of marriage and the body of Christ. Stand and stay firm, dear Christian! In Christ, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, we shall overcome!
Lord Jesus, continue to guide and protect your church.
Amen.
