Nigerian Cathloic Priest Supports Polygamy

[Nikud]

Nigerian Catholic Priest Supports Polygamy, Says It Is Better To Have Many Wives At Home

December 12, 2016 – Nigerian Priest Rev Father Ngbe Urges Catholic Church To Embrace Polygamy & Incorporate African Culture In Its Doctrine

Nigerian Catholic Priest Supports Polygamy, Says It Is Better To Have Many Wives At Home Than Have Many Girlfriends Outside

• Rev. Father Gabriel Ngbe of Akwangwa Catholic Church, in Nasarawa State, on Sunday canvassed the need for the Catholic Church to incorporate polygamy and some good aspects of African culture in its doctrine.
• The Catholic Priest made this known while celebrating Acculturation Mass at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church Akwanga.
• Ngbe insisted that the Catholic doctrine must be amended, especially in the African Catholic churches in order to accommodate every member of the Church.

“The Whiteman that brought Christianity to us mixed the religion with his culture and Africans just accepted it like that at the expense of our culture.

“If we did not incorporate parts of our culture into the way we worship God, our culture would in no distant time go into extinction,” he said.

Ngbe explained that local foods should henceforth be used for communion in the Catholic Church instead of using products imported from Europe.

The priest also said meaningful local names should be given to people during Baptism and Confirmation in Catholic Churches as against using “English names.”

Ngbe urged members to imbibe the habit of wearing local dresses during weddings as well as using local languages for Mass.

He said that anybody who practiced polygamy before accepting Christ should be given equal treatment in the Church with those that have only one wife.

“It is better to have many wives at home than to have only one and yet have many girl friends and lovers outside,” the priest said.

Ngbe therefore commended the Yoruba people for incorporating their culture in the way they practiced both Christianity and Islam and urged others to emulate them.

 

[frederick]

Since it was the Catholics that pronounced the anathema on polygamy in 1563, I think he's got his work cut out for him getting them to change it!

 

[Quartus]

“The Whiteman that brought Christianity to us mixed the religion with his culture and Africans just accepted it like that at the expense of our culture.

“If we did not incorporate parts of our culture into the way we worship God, our culture would in no distant time go into extinction,” he said.

Better if he wanted to throw out white man's culture and replace it with God's culture. He would still get polygamy back.

 

[Curtis Gerhart]

I would say it is not an African culture argument and incorporating cultural views into their worship. I would argue that the Word of God teaches polygyny plainly and stand “souly” on the Word alone. It’s kinda funny, the incorporating of culture into worship is what got religions away from God, especially Catholicism. Jesus Christ said in Matthew 15:3-9, that even then by traditions they were nullifying the Word.

 

[Mojo]

He's right on a few things, but mixing Christianity and Islam as a model?

 

[Nikud]

He's right on a few things, but mixing Christianity and Islam as a model?

I believe he was talking about the way they incorporated their culture with Christianty and the way incorporated their culture with Islam. Not a blendinding of the two.

 

[rockfox]

This is a good example of how the Africans are much more acutely aware than we are of how much of what we think is Christianity is actually just European culture. Marriage is one of those areas.

He has a strong argument in that the Catholic church has a long syncritic history and what he is asking for is very Biblical (about marriage anyway). However it is an uphill battle because Catholics hold tradition as authoritative while denying the obvious syncretism in their religion.

 

[Nikud]

Ngbe therefore commended the Yoruba people for incorporating their culture in the way they practiced both Christianity and Islam and urged others to emulate them.

I just want to say while I applaud his beleifs about reforming the Catholic Church to accept polygyny and his recognition that it is biblical therefore not sinful. I'm not one to advocate anyone adding the their cultural beleifs to Christianity (although we all do it, usally with out realising it). I do however enjoy seeing it when people recognize that parts of their cultural beleifs are supported in scripture.

 

[Nikud]

However it is an uphill battle because Catholics hold tradition as authoritative while denying the obvious syncretism in their religion.

Not all have held to that tradition. Cardinal Cajetan held the beleif that there was no scriptural prohibition against Polygyny. He was the Papal legate that advised the Pope on the request from King Henry the VIII on the annulment of his Marraige to Cathrine of Aragon. Some of King Henry's advisors had proposed that King Henry be allowed to take Anne Boelyn as a second wife. Cardinal Cajetan proposed the same thing to Pope Clement VII who was originally willing to grant papal dispensation for King Henry to take a second wife until other adivisors got involved.

Here's some more about Cardinal Cajetan.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://digitalcommons.providence.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1000&context=comm_scholar_pubs&ved=2ahUKEwjS5dDqmJfZAhUSgK0KHQwOA7AQFjABegQIDxAB&usg=AOvVaw2EgfFwa4Y5-hiJ7NcOi1sW

I'm willing to beleive that many more have shared the beleif but lacked to fortitude to go against the establishment or did a Cost-effectiveness analysis and came to the conclusion it benefited them most to keep head down instead of doing what would be more beneficial for the faithful.

 

[Mojo]

I just want to say while I applaud his beleifs about reforming the Catholic Church to accept polygyny and his recognition that it is biblical therefore not sinful. I'm not one to advocate anyone adding the their cultural beleifs to Christianity (although we all do it, usally with out realising it). I do however enjoy seeing it when people recognize that parts of their cultural beleifs are supported in scripture.

Okay, I see. I think I may have read it too quickly on my way to work.