Section A 14 FEBRUARY 2012 R ecently the popular reality show Sister Wives depicted Kody Brown and his our “wives.” Kody proclaimed repeatedly, “Love should be multiplied, not divided.” The show eatured him scrambling to connect with each o his our women and their 17 children. “It’s all about relationships.” Kody’s our women shared household tasks and childcare, and contributed f- nancial support. They interacted as sisters and best riends. Television’s polygamist drama Big Love ended in 2011 ater fve popular seasons. Movies and TV shows shape cultural values. Is polygamy wrong? Does polygamy multiply love and oster deep relationships? Are multiple valentines better than only one? A ttitudes Are ChAnging Investigations confrm that polygamy is currently thriv- ing in isolated communities in Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Wyo- ming, Missouri, Minnesota, South Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Washington, British Columbia, and northern Mexico. Polygamy is legal in 65 coun- tries and practiced in many more. In Senegal 47% o marriages are polygamous. Russians lobby to legalize polygamy be- cause women signifcantly outnumber men. Figuring “hal a man is better than none,” Russian nationalists think polygamy would fll Russia’s cribs through giv- ing 10 million women husbands. University o Alberta proessor Lois Harder avored decriminalizing polygamy (writing or the Vanier Institute o the Family in June 2011). Al- berta’s Civil Liberties Research Centre endorsed decriminalization. In 1878 the US Supreme Court upheld laws criminalizing polygamy, describing it as “an oense against society.” The Court ruled polygamy isn’t protected by religious reedom. But with pressure snowballing to redefne mar- riage, polygamy could become legal. In act, in July 2011 Kody Brown fled a ederal lawsuit to bar states rom enorcing polygamy laws. The lawsuit argues that such laws v iolate the Fourteenth Amendment’s due process and equal protection clauses, and the First Amendment’s ree exercise o association clauses. BiBliCAl e xAmples In the Bible some men had multiple wives and concubines. The frst was the murderer La- mech in the sixth generation rom Adam. Later Esau’s multiple wives vexed his parents. Jacob sired the 12 tribes o Israel by our dierent women. This led to bitter jealousy and strie and to Jo- seph being sold into Egyptian slavery by his resentul hal-brothers. King Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines. They turned his heart away rom God to idolatr y. Reporting polygamy does not constitute endorsement. The Bible reports many sins – including lying, blasphemy and murder – without ap- But this doesn’ t imply divine approval o polygamy. It simply means that God gave David as king jurisdiction over everything that belonged to the ormer king – the en- tire household and kingdom. David never married any o Saul ’s wives. In act, Yahweh had explicitly com- manded through Moses that kings should not have multiple wives (Deuteronomy 17:17). So Nathan’s message could not mean that God gave Saul’s wives to David or wives. David’s polygamy sowed disaster. His son Am- non assaulted hal-sister Tamar. Her brother Absa- lom avenged her by murdering Amnon. WhAt does sCienCe s Ay ? Studies show monogamy is healthier than multi- partner relationships. Researchers have discovered chemical actors involved in intimate relations with multiple people which cause immune-system reac- tions, especially or women. Multiple studies have demonstrated that women in polygamous relationships are more subject to depres- sion than those in monogamy. Polygamous men have a higher rate o alcoholism than monogamous men. soCiAl ConsequenCes Polygamy has deleterious eects on children. Girls are requently valued primarily as breeders and “married o” early – oten to much older men. T een boys are oten expelled because they rival older leaders or wives. Many children o poly gamists be- gin “adu lt” lie underage and poorl y educated. Polygamy entails economic challenges. The Sister Wives clan has been in bankruptcy and on ood stamps. In Under the Banner , author Jon Krakauer quotes a Utah Department o Social Services employee who estimated “300 polygamous amilies receive between $500 and $1600 worth o ood stamps each month” with amilies averaging 15 members. In 2003, one-third o a polygamous Arizona town was on ood stamps. WhAt does the BiBle s Ay ? Scripture’s message o monogamy is crystal clear: “ No man can serve two masters. ” The Creator gave the frst man Adam one sin- gle wie Eve. He did not give Adam both Eve and Genevieve. One wie was the inaugural pattern God set or marriage or Adam’s descendants. New Testament authors always went back to Genesis, back to the frst marriage as the authorita- tive source and normative model. When asked about marriage, Jesus quoted Gen- esis, “The two shall become one fesh.” According to Jesus, only two (male and emale) become one, not three or more. Moreover, God’s frst command to Adam was « Be ruitul and multiply and ill the earth .” Wouldn’t reproduction be aster using multiple wives or Adam, just as livestock breeders use many emales with each male? Yet God gave Adam exactly one wie. The Bible depicts consequences o violating the monogamous standard: jealousy, turmoil, ractured relationships and even murder. Samuel’s mother Hannah was tormented or years by her husband’s other wie. Abraham’s Ara- bic and Jewish descendants through three women (Hagar, Sarah, and Keturah) have ought or 4,000 years, and their disputes remain a powder keg. Modern polygamy exhibits the multiple dysunc- tions Scripture reports. These include controversy over avoritism, competition between hal-siblings The Apostle Paul instructs church leaders, as mentors and role models, to be “ the husband o one wie ” (1 Timothy 3:2,12; Titus 1:6). Paul expected men to ollow church leaders’ monoga- mous example. When giving marriage instructions in 1 Corin- thians 7:1-16, Paul always uses singular orms or “husband” and “wie.” He orders, “ Each man is to have his own wie, and each woman is to have her own husband. ” The use o singular orms throughout this passage means that Scripture prescribes an exclusive relationship . Polygamy is clearly excluded. Paul commands husbands to love their wives as their own bodies (Ephesians 5:32). Would a man love himsel by choosing to share his wie with mul- tiple men? Then loving a wie as one loves onesel means loving her exclusively . The same conclusion results rom Jesus’ Golden Rule: “Treat others the same way you want them to treat you.” (Luke 6:31) I a man doesn’t want to share his wie with another man, then he shouldn’t ask his wie to share him with another woman. It’s challenging enough to love one woman well. No man has resources to handle more than one. polygAmy : y es or no? Polygamy proanes the original Ad- am-Eve marriage model established by the Creator. It violates the Bible’s command to love one’s wie as one- sel. It defes Jesus’ Golden Rule. Polygamy is a perversion o mar- riage, not an enhancement. It’s de- grading to women and oten results in mistreatment o children. It has no place in a civilized society. Biblical marriage instituted at Creation is exclusive and permanent – one woman or one man or lie. d multpl valt ft g’ pla r marra? WilliaM T. What’s Wrong with Polygamy? tHE BIBLE AND sCIENCE by WilliaM T. PelleTier, Ph.d. [woodside news COLUMNIST] PelleTier, Ph.d. religion, free speech, and freedom of or Dad’s attention, and contention over resources.