From: IN%"
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After Polygamy Was Made A Sin:
The Social History of Christian Polygamy
John Cairncross, 1974
Published by Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd, London
"Orthodoxy in Western Europe, or for that matter in the
Christian world as a whole, has been fiercely opposed to
polygamy in any shape or form since at least A.D.600, and has
shown itself particularly ruthless in suppressing the hated
monster whenever it raised its head in their
own ranks. This constant opposition explains both why the
Christian polygamists rarely put their views into practice and
why their writings are often to be found in scarce, or out
-of-the-way editions." PREFACE
With this introduction, Mr. Cairncross launches into a very
scholarly, thoroughly researched, exposition on Christian
polygamy, as can be attested to by the Bibliography of more
than 90 references, some dating back as far as the 16th
century. Ostensibly, Mr. Cairncross is a historian, merely laying
out the (albeit fascinating) account of a suprisingly large
number of arguments made in favor of, and even attempts to
introduce, polygamy, in the Protestant world, some by well
known theologians or authors. But to this, admittedly unbiased,
reviewer, within the overview of centuries of debate on this
issue, it is possible to see a pattern emerging: that of men who
truly believe in the righteousness of their cause, willing to take
a stand for the Truth, to boldly express that which is often
considered Heresy by the powers that be. Some of them would
pay the ultimate price for their vision. Their contribution is not
lessened, nor their Cause weakened, by the fact that a few who
would take up their arguments were merely interested in their
own gratification or justification of their dubious lifestyles.
Most of those who would pick up this standard were men above
reproach.
It is no coincidence that this issue was first brought to the fore
in Europe, after a silence of many centuries, soon after the
beginning of the Protestant Reformation in the early
1500s. It was at this time that men begin to really seek God
for themselves, and to take His Word as a personal source
of Revelation, once again. What many found there could not
be denied: Their was nothing against polygamy in the Bible,
and indeed much to suggest it was one type of marriage that
God had ordained for his people. "When the great Reformer,
Martin Luther nailed his protest against papal indulgences
to the church door in Wittenburg in 1517, he started an
earthquake. .the Catholic hierarchy was rapidly undermined,
and in its place was set the Gospel. .both the Old and New Tes
to be literally inspired and deserving of reverence."(pg.2)
Thus it was that in 1534, the "German city of Munster
proclaimed polygamy as the ideal form of marriage. The event
is unique in the history of Christian Europe, and the reaction to
this announcement explains why the experiment was never
repeated. For it was greeted with a unanimous revulsion and
horror."(pg.1) Mr. Cairncross never adequately examines the
reason for this opposition, (perhaps because a purely
historic look would never be able to discover the true source),
but he makes it clear that this opposition was always present
(both from the Catholic church, and future Protestant leaders)
to meet what ever person or group would dare to propose
such a thing.
The Munsterites were one radical group of a new Protestant
sect, the Anabaptists. Much of the knowledge we have of them,
and their year-long polygamist experiment, comes directly from
the historians of their enemies, for they were besieged by
Catholic and Protestant foes immediately, and when they fell a
year late! Some were put to death. The accounts of this time
are filled with vitriolic denunciations of the Musterites and
their morals, "in fact, Munster under Anabaptist rule was a
centre of extremely austere morality. It's only crime, by
orthodox standards, was to have introduced polygamy, and a
highly Puritan type at that!" (pg .24) While this episode was
over quickly, "Puritan polygamy was not extinguished under
the ashes of the ruined city. The influence of the Munsterite
ideas was profound." (pg.27)
So it was that the stage was set for repeated serious forays
into the debate on polygamy. A few years later, "Phillip of Hesse
felt impelled by his reverence for the sacraments to mend his
first marriage by contracting a second one even while his wife
was alive. And he did so with the sanction of the Fathers of the
Reformation. The first palidin of German Protestantism (Phillip)
was, with Luther's and Melanchthon's permission, a bigamist.
Protestant historians have never recovered from the shock."
(pg. 31) Phillip debated this issue with the Reformer's for many
years before and after his (supposedly secret) 2nd marriage.
"If, he asked, it should suddenly be possible to overthrow
the celibacy of the clergy, why should the institution of bigamy
be a priori excluded? The only effective answer would
have been that polygamy is condemned by Christian doctrine.
But this was a stand that Luther and his colleagues never
took - and for very good reasons. They could not. They
themselves did not believe that polygamy was against divine or
natural law." (pg. 48) Luther did state that "A Christian, before
adopting polygamy, must first have a calling from God." (pg. 49)
Fair enough. We should all hear from God before daring
to any God-ordained true "holy" matrimony. Singular or Plural.
The Italian Ochino, a Franciscan until the age of 55, was
a fiery orator, and a "man distinguished by the sanctity of
his life, of a vast culture, venerable, white-haired, and tall, of a
majestic bearing". It was only when Ochino left the Catholic
church and "fled to Switzerland where he became a Calvinist
that the move towards Anabaptism began". (pg.65- 66) He
wrote a brilliant thesis on polygamy that was "effervescent,
witty, and convincing." Many of the points contained in this
paper are very similar to those found on God's Free Men
website. He was eventually exiled for his teachings,
along with his four children, during winter 1563, by the City
Fathers of Zurich. 3 of his children died as a result.
(Chapter IV.)
The Christian polygamist story moves eventually to France and
England. European life, in many arguments for polygamy, is
contrasted unfavorably with that of primitive cultures, and
Islamic lands, where it is practiced. Prostitution, divorce
early unheard of in these places, but they flourish, and are
implicitly approved of, in Europe, where monogamy is the
standard. "Between about 1680 and 1750, the campaign for
polygamy (in England) was in full swing, and plural marriage
was almost as vigorously canvassed as in Germany during the
same period." (pg. 126)
Milton, author of Paradise Lost, wrote a manuscript in the
1650s, "Da Doctrina", a lengthy theological document. It was
lost until 1825, when it was discovered and translated, creating
a pre-Victorian uproar in London. The famous author had
dared to justify polygamy! His arguments are lucid and concise:
" Polygamy is prohibited to no one, even under the gospel."
Milton "administers the coup de grace to his opponents when he
observed that God himself (in Ezekiel 23:4) represents Himself
as having `espoused two wives' which would have been
unthinkable had `the practice been dishonourable or shameful'.
On the contrary, he maintains, polygamy is `lawful and
honourable'." (pg.129)
"In England of the 1730s, the disease had turned into an
epidemic. Pk dated 1737, an Irish clergyman, polygamy is a
doctrine daily defended in common conversation and often in
print by a great variety of plausible arguments." (pg.141)
Two chapters on the Mormons, and their persecution. " Mormon
wives considerable justification, that their conditions of life
were far superior to those of the corresponding classes in the
counties from which they had come and indeed to those in
most parts of America". (pg. 193) A huge home for Mormon
polygamous wives, expected to provide a haven for those
escaping from their husbands' tyranny, was left without
occupants.
In the nineteenth century, Protestant missions were expanding
rapidly, and missionaries around the globe were confronting
polygamy among their new converts. In 1844, a conference
of missionaries of various denominations "unanimously agreed
that `if a convert, before becoming a Christian, has married
more than wives than one, he shall be permitted to keep them
all; but such a person shall not be eligible to any office in the
church'." (pg.198)
An American traveler of this time propagated his polygamous
convictions in print in his home country, but chose to remain
anonymous. A "Christian Philanthropist", published Philosophy
of Marriage, or Polygamy and Monogamy Compared", it ran
to a 2nd edition and 1875 and apparently even to a third. "
Like almost all of his predecessors, he does not realize that he is
part of a long tradition." (pg.198) This work can be found
elsewhere on this website.
It would appear that there is a common bond between many of
these Christian polygamists that cannot be accounted for, since
they were often unfamiliar with each other's works. Is it
possible that there is a more subtle, more powerful force at
work in these men's lives, binding them together in a
remarkable quest to restore a Divine plan to our Western
society?
[Note: The above is also true of the author of this website.
All arguments in favor of polygamy found here were first
discovered by direct inspection of God's Word - before any of
the earlier authors mentioned in this report were ever known
to the author of God's Free Men. Only after this truth was
first revealed from the Scriptures alone were the confirmations
of earlier writers discovered.]
Some Christian churches in Africa today allow polygamy. A
pastor in Cameroon stated: "People have no right to condemn
polygamy which even Christ did not condemn in the case of
Abraham". (pg.214)
Cairncross sums up "for a long time to come, there will still be
an imbalance between the number of men and women able or
willing to marry. Which may explain why, even now, some
Catholic theologians in Germany are reported to be giving
consideration to the possibility of sanctioning polygamy." He
closes with a quote from Shaw: "Women will always prefer a
tenth share of a first-rate man to the exclusive claim to a third
rate one." (pg.218)
Reviewed and contributed by: neb
