• Biblical Families is not a dating website. It is a forum to discuss issues relating to marriage and the Bible, and to offer guidance and support, not to find a wife. Click here for more information.

Two wives = best not to be senior leader at church?

JustAGuy

JustAGuy

Member
Male
Is the below a fair "real life" application of these verses? http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Timothy+3:2;1+Timothy+3:12


  • Once I have two wives, there's no way I'll have the resources (time & emotion) to do the kind of fellowship and mentoring needed to be a successful senior leader at church - not because I'm unskilled - but because w/two wives (or more) I already have a "small church" where I'm the "senior pastor" and I need to be fully engaged there.
 
Maybe. But it is highly debatable. I presume you are talking about the phrase 'husband of one wife' but you may not be as you have linked to a translation that does not actually state this.

There are two ways of looking at these verses, and it comes back to the meaning of the Greek word 'mia', often translated'one' in these verses. However it is not actually the numeral one, and commonly means 'a' or 'first'. Drop those words in and the application to polygyny changes drastically.

So it might be stating that a church leader should be monogamous, but this translation is far from certain. It more likely states that a church leader must be married. A clear statement that is ignored by many churches.

For more detail check out
http://www.biblicalfamilies.org/common_misconceptions#ref5
 
Thank you, I'll check that out - I've done a good bit of reading here (lots of good stuff!) but I missed that one, thanks for the help.
 
To expand upon what Samuel wrote, the corresponding context within which you find this passage identifies the reason for a man to have 'one, or a first' wife: examination of the fruit the potential overseer or deacon has produced in leading his family. Viewed within this context, it seems to me that the most-likely intention of this command is for a potential overseer or deacon to have 'at least' one wife, rather than 'but one' wife (as many translations render it). But, as others have pointed out here and elsewhere, this is far from certain.

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1 Timothy 3:4-5&version=ESV
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top