332. POLYGAMY
If you inquire into why polygamous marriages have been completely banned from the Christian world, no one - by whatever gift he has been given for discerning matters astutely and keenly - is able to see the reason as plain, unless he has first been taught that there is such a thing as truly conjugial love; that it is not possible except between two; that neither is it possible between two except from the Lord alone; and that engraved on this love is heaven with all its blessings. Unless these concepts precede and, so to speak, lay the first stone, the mind labors in vain to draw from its intellect any reasons to satisfy it, and on which to stand as a house on its rock or foundation, as to why polygamy has been banned from the Christian world.
People know that the institution of monogamous marriage is founded on the Word of the Lord, that anyone who divorces his wife, excepting for licentiousness, and marries another, commits adultery; that from the beginning or from the first inauguration of marriage, it was ordained that the two become one flesh; and that man is not to separate what God has joined together. (Matthew 19:3-11) But although the Lord made these declarations from the Divine law engraved on marriage, still, if the intellect cannot support it by some reason of its own, by the circumvolutions customary to it and by wrong interpretations it is nevertheless possible for it to draw the Divine law around and bring it into hazy uncertainty, and finally into an affirmative-negative estimation - affirmative, because monogamy is enjoined also by civil law, and negative, because it does not accord with people's own rational sight.
The human mind falls inevitably into this state unless it is first instructed in respect to the aforementioned concepts, concepts given to serve the intellect as an introduction to its own reasonings; namely, that there is such a thing as truly conjugial love; that it is not possible except between two; that neither is it possible between two except from the Lord alone; and that engraved on this love is heaven with all its blessings.
But to explain the banishment of polygamy from the Christian world, these and more must be shown in turn in the order of the succeeding sections. The headings are as follows:
1. Truly conjugial love is not possible with more than one wife, consequently neither is truly conjugial friendship, trust, potency and such union of minds that the two become one flesh.
2. Thus with more than one wife the celestial blessings, spiritual felicities and natural delights are not possible which from the beginning have been provided for people who are in a state of truly conjugial love.
3. None of these states is possible except from the Lord alone; and they are possible only with people who go to Him alone and at the same time live according to His commandments.
4. Consequently truly conjugial love with its felicities is not possible except with people who are of the Christian Church.
5. That is why it is not lawful for a Christian to have more than one wife.
6. If a Christian takes more than one wife, he commits not only natural adultery but spiritual adultery as well.
7. The Israelite nation was permitted to take more than one wife because in it the Christian Church did not exist, and so neither was truly conjugial love possible.
8. Muslims today are permitted to take more than one wife because they do not acknowledge the Lord Jesus Christ as being one with Jehovah the Father and thus God of heaven and earth; and they cannot for that reason receive truly conjugial love.
9. The Muslim heaven exists outside the Christian heaven and is divided into two heavens, a lower and a higher; and only those Muslims are raised up into their higher heaven who renounce concubines, live with one wife, and acknowledge our Lord as equal to God the Father, who has given Him dominion over heaven and earth.
10. Polygamy is lechery.
11. Conjugial chastity, purity and sanctity are not possible with polygamists.
12. Polygamists cannot become spiritual as long as they remain polygamists.
13. Polygamy is not a sin among people for whom it is in accordance with their religion.
14. Polygamy is not a sin among people who are in ignorance regarding the Lord.
15. Of the latter, even though polygamous, those are saved who acknowledge God and from religion live according to civil laws of justice.
16. But no polygamists of any kind can be affiliated with angels in the Christian heavens.
Explanation of these statements now follows.
