Not quite. He seems thoroughly convinced that 1 Corinthians 7 proves monogamy, and I assume he is primarily basing this on 1 Corinthians 7:2. So he thinks he has a scriptural reason to believe this is sin. Have you addressed this verse with him? I have not read your conversation on YouTube.
Hi
@FollowingHim , I think I did. Though I'm not sure how well I did.
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Kai Chi Theng
2 days ago
@Ethan Hocking Oh. Sorry for missing out your question. I thought it was a rhetorical question. My answer is as said by Jesus in John 8:7, "Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.”". In other words, Jesus who is sinless could judge the adulterer or blasphemers. If we lived in the Kingdom of God, sin will deserve that kind of punishment. And, the Kingdom of God is coming soon.
I don't think we should paint all parables with a broad brush; we have to take each parable and analyse it according to the parable itself. But without any specific command or examples, I think it's quite dangerous to assume God's intention and thoughts. Any errors would lead to putting a stumbling block to brothers and sisters in Christ, which we shouldn't do. (1 Corinthians 8:9, Romans 14:1-23) That parable of the dishonest steward is in relation to the Kingdom of God. I think it shows that we should use the resources we have in this unrighteous world to gain wealth in our everlasting life. "And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by means of the wealth of unrighteousness, so that when it fails, they will receive you into the eternal dwellings."(Luke 16:9) It prescribes the conduct Christians have to do for our everlasting life in God's Kingdom. Of course, it is not reasonable to say we should steal from our employers as it breaches one of the ten commandments in Mosaic law. But the wealth of the unrighteous will also include the income you get from employment or business.
The New Testament is more like the clarifications how Christians ought to live with the power of the Holy Spirit and with the forgiveness of sins from Jesus. However, everything God says in the Old and New Testament still stands. I think the problem is many don't read the Greek meaning of the New Testament. For example, in 1 Cor 7, it says: "Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own (heautou) wife, and let every woman have her own (idios) husband." The Greek words for "own" in this passage have been added in brackets. In the Greek, two completely different words have been used to describe the relationship between a man and his wife, and a woman and her husband. But because of limitations in English vocabulary, both are translated as "own". In reality, both words have very different meanings. Therefore, probably after understanding the Greek meaning of the New Testament, you might come to a different conclusion on the text.
For me, this shouldn't be personal because it is not me who matters but what God wants that matters. I know the Churches are full of misleading teachings and fallacies that put many stumbling blocks to believers. I am only a truth seeker. Thank you for spending the time to answer my questions. I am deeply grateful. =)
He replied:
"Kai Chi Theng I don’t think you really evaluated my reasoning with regard to covenant requirements and expectations. Stoning transgressors was a requirement of the Covenant. What God is going to do with such people on the Day of Judgement is besides the point. The Covenant requirement was to stone people who violated the Covenant. It was compulsory on the part of the Israelites and it was written into the Mosaic law. It is not consistent for you to say that the Torah’s marriage laws and permissions continue to stand while the punitive stipulations don’t. Such a position is a double standard.
Also, could you please show me again how you have addressed my argument about the parables? The Parable of the Ten Virgins is not purposed to inform us of God’s definition of marriage. The parable is about watching and waiting in expectation of the imminent coming of Christ. In a similar way, the Parable of the Unjust Steward has nothing to do with the Christian use of financial or any other kind of material resources. It is about the urgency of escaping wrath. Parables ultimately make theological points. The Parable of the Good Samaritan is to answer the question: Who is my neighbour? The answer is that your neighbour is whoever needs your mercy. This is important because Christ has shown mercy to us in our sinful state and we are expected to extend the same mercy to other sinners. That is why I agree with everything Mike Winger said on the issue of polygamy.
In addition, I feel the need to point out the particular verse of 1 Corinthians 7 that I was referring to: “The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does; and likewise also the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does.” (1 Corinthians 7:4 NASB) Ignoring the word ‘own’, this verse establishes basic equality. The principle that is defined here is not at all consistent with a polygamous relationship. How can a woman have authority over her husband’s body if she has to share his body with any number of other women? Can a wife ask her husband for sex while he is in the process of having sex with one of his other wives? If not, then she does not have authority over his body, and the two-way relationship is unequal and disproportionate. Also, husbands are commanded to love their wives self-sacrificially. Yet, in this case, she is the one having to sacrifice and not him.
On top of all this, by supporting polygamy, you are supporting oppression. If you know much about how polygamy works in societies where it is legal, then you know that it entitles a man to be a sexually lecherous oligarch and forces women to be sexually submissive slaves. This reality cannot be defended with examples from the Old Testament. It is inconsistent with the nature and character of Jesus Christ Himself. I was not asking a rhetorical question when I asked you: Is there some reason why you would want polygamy to be accepted?"
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I will compile the whole conversation into an easy-to-browse document later.
