Quote:
|
The Bible doesn't demand that families be broken up, but by banning polygamous elders, it shows its disapproval for the practice.
|
That's the normal view of Reformed missionaries who have thought things out. There are practical decisions that come into play, and there's room for debate concerning some of those. The group I was with briefly in PNG never dreamed of breaking up families, but those men with more than one wife couldn't be Elders or Deacons, but in addition if a convert took an additional wife they would be censured by the church. To me that would be wrong because for something leading to excommunication you'd have to show something clearer than not living optimally.
And as an aside, CM has a good point about strife; co-wife fights are the worst.