Basic to the idea of Weltanschauung[1] is that it is a point of view on the world, a perspective on things, a way of looking at the cosmos from a particular vantage point. It therefore tends to carry the connotation of being personal, dated, and private, limited in validity by its historical conditions. Even when a worldview is collective (that is, shared by everyone belonging to a given nation, class, or period), it nonetheless shares in the historical individuality of that particular nation or class or period.[2]
[Albert] Wolters reveals that ‘worldview’ is a fluid concept because each nation or people group in different eras throughout history perceived the world based on their own knowledge, customs and conditions. For example, in the Ancient Near East, many cultures operated in group-oriented societies. Families often lived under the same roof and men typically were leaders in the household. As Scripture demonstrates, a woman was under the authority of her father until she was married, which was usually arranged by her parents. The marriage itself not only united the man and the woman but the families as well. After marriage, bearing children was important for maintaining a man’s lineage, and they provided labor as a means to survive. Many people today also function within group-oriented societies.
In contrast, most modern Western societies are individualistic. Unmarried children can leave their parents to pursue their own dreams, and marriage is often between the man and woman only, not their families. The man does not usually assume the role as leader of the household, but the man and woman often share similar or equal roles. Divorce has become common in many of these societies, and the family size is usually small compared to group-oriented societies. Individualistic societies often view childbearing as a privilege, not a necessity. Neither of these types of cultures is necessarily better than the other, but they each offer a different view of the world. Because of these differing worldviews, both groups initially have difficulty understanding one another. Understanding the differences between worldviews is not only important for interacting with people from other cultures, but it is key for biblical interpretation. In particular to this book, a person’s worldview concerning marriage will usually affect his or her interpretation of biblical passages involving both monogamous and polygamous marriages, divorce, and remarriage.” ~ Excerpt from Evaluating Western Christianity’s Interpretation of Biblical Polygamy, pp. 13-14
“The popular Western worldview towards polygamy not only affects how people perceive polygamous cultures, but it also affects interpretation of Scripture. Daniel I. Block advocates that ‘modern Western notions of ‘family’ should not be imposed upon ancient evidence.’[3] He further explains that American evangelicals tend to promote the nuclear family consisting of a husband, wife, and children, but the family structures in many other cultures ‘bear a much closer resemblance to the biblical picture than patterns currently operative in Western countries.’[4] Western readers may not be capable of completely casting aside their own biases concerning polygamy, but Block encourages people to ‘be aware of their biases and try to interpret the data in the light of the values that prevailed at the time the documents were produced.’[5]
[Miriam Koktvedgaard] Zeitzen presents an anthropological perspective concerning the Western worldview and its perception of polygamy. She addresses that Christianity, ‘European-based legal codes,’ and ‘the imposition of state laws on aboriginal peoples living within the borders of modern nation-states’ have driven the practice of polygamy further to its end.[6] With this in perspective, Zeitzen exposes that
while polygamy is legally forbidden in the Western Christian world, it has long been argued that it exists there in various pseudo or de facto forms…People typically point to serial marriage or serial polygamy, which is marriage followed by divorce, remarriage followed by divorce and so on any number of times. Other forms include a man married to one woman, or indeed unmarried, while maintaining one or several mistresses.”[7]
~ Excerpt from Evaluating Western Christianity’s Interpretation of Biblical Polygamy, pp. 17-18
Evaluating Western Christianity’s Interpretation of Biblical Polygamy is available at:
http://www.patriarchpublishinghouse.com/9781629045214.htm or
An e-book version is still pending.
Footnotes:
[1] Weltanschauung is the German word for “worldview.” “The concept of worldview has several roots. One is in Western philosophy, where the German word Weltanschauung was introduced by Immanuel Kant and used by writers as Kierkegaard, Engels, and Dilthey as they reflected on Western culture. By the 1840s it had become a standard word in Germany.” Paul G. Hiebert, Transforming Worldviews: An Anthropological Understanding of How People Change (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2008), 13.
[2] Hiebert, Transforming Worldviews, 13-14. Quote from Albert Wolters, Creation Regained: Biblical Basis for a Reformational Worldview (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1985), 9.
[3] Daniel I. Block, “Marriage and Family in Ancient Israel,” in Marriage and Family in the Biblical World, ed. Ken Campbell (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2003), 34.
[4] Block, “Marriage and Family in Ancient Israel,” 34.
[5] Block, “Marriage and Family in Ancient Israel,” 34.
[6] Zeitzen, Polygamy: A Cross-Cultural Analysis, 4.
[7] Zeitzen, Polygamy: A Cross-Cultural Analysis, 15.
Aletheia_Word 
Hey Lauren! Thanks for your thoughts on this subject, unsure where I land on the topic at the time of writing this I was wondering if you’ve had to personally wrestle with this. My Husband and I have discussed this very thing and I don’t know if I agree with it because I like the thought of it or if I agree with it because its a good perspective and not a sin. Thanks again
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Thank you for your comment and interest! I want to take time to provide a thoughtful response so I will get back to you within the next couple of days.
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Hello again 🙂 The question regarding polygamy started when I was younger because of my love for missions. If a preacher came across a passage of Scripture that involved polygamy, the consensus was God tolerated the sin. This was just accepted. But knowing that a lot of groups, especially in Africa, practice this form of marriage, I wondered how we could tell people to divorce and break up their families. I believe God was planting a seed in my heart to look into this further (which happened later on in life). The idea of telling families to divorce (which is a clearly discussed sin- in most circumstances- in the Bible) rather than become Christians in a polygamous household didn’t make sense, but I didn’t know how to reconcile it with what I was taught. Fast forward to my college years, and I’m sitting in an anthropology class at a Christian school, and the professor shares that he didn’t think polygamy is a sin. That was the first time in my life I’ve ever heard a Christian say that. And I argued with him (I share more about this in my blog post The Story Behind the Book ). I used Scriptures that were taught to me to dismiss polygamy being OK. He then shared a story about his parents who were missionaries to Malawi. They were building a church and accepted money from a polygamous man in the community. But when it came time to open the church, the man was not allowed to participate because of his polygamy. This made me pause, and I began to wrestle with the question of polygamy. When I brought it up to close friends who were helping me grow spiritually, they agreed with the professor. Again, I was floored, and we delved into the Scriptures to see what it actually says. We found that there is nowhere in Scripture where polygamy (one man with multiple wives- not other worldly forms) is deemed a sin. Rather, God describes Himself as a husband to two wives, Judah and Samaria, in Ezekiel 23. As I studied other passages of Scriptures, I realized that the teaching that God tolerates sin is a lie. If God tolerated sin, He wouldn’t have sent His Son to die for our sins. But even more than that when I read Ezekiel 23, I realized how ludicrous and against God’s nature it is that He would use something deemed sinful to describe Himself. David also received penalty for his sin of adultery but not for his polygamy. This topic is controversial in Western Christianity because it’s been ingrained in our culture that it’s wrong, even though our culture accepts people having multiple sexual relationships without any long-term commitment. Our culture and worldview has led us to these conclusions about polygamy rather than the truth of Scripture. While it may not impact most Western Christian lives on a daily basis, it was heart-wrenching as I researched on this topic and found how many people groups and families have been torn apart in the name of Christianity. We think that by telling families to divorce instead of being polygamous that we’re liberating women and children. But in most cases, we leave them to be abandoned, and many women have resorted to prostitution to take care of their families. While divorce is accepted in our society (although is a sin in Scripture in most cases), it is frowned upon in many other societies and some women who have been divorced are not desirable to marry. I go into more detail in other posts and my book, but my point actually goes beyond polygamy. If we have let our culture and worldview shape our understanding of polygamy in the Bible, how many other things have we interpreted based on our culture and worldview? Are we willing to reexamine our approach and read Scripture while understanding the original audience (to the best of our ability)? Do we understand who God is and that He doesn’t tolerate sin? Do we understand that He is righteous and His actions against sin are because of righteousness? Should we be addressing actual sins within the church that our culture has found acceptable? This journey has further encouraged me, and hopefully others, to study Scripture for themselves. Too often we take everything we hear at face value rather than listening with discerning ears. It’s OK to question what we’re told. I encourage others to questions everything I write and look at it for themselves. Only then can we sharpen one another as believers and grow as a Church. Thank you again for your interest, and feel free to ask more questions 🙂 God bless!
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Thank you for the response. I’ll get the book and check it out. Learning about this thought process and how you would apply this type of relationship to daily life would be interesting to learn about as well.
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You’re welcome, and thank you for being interested in my book. This is the link if you have a Kindle or would prefer a hard copy: Evaluating Western Christianity’s Interpretation of Biblical Polygamy https://a.co/d/1n1CJJK . Also, if you want to continue this conversation, I’ll try to find a way through my desktop. The app doesn’t have a PM option I can find.
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I don’t see a private message option on my desktop either so if you have any further questions, you can email me at my business email charismacreations317@gmail.com. For the subject line you can use “Blog Post Questions” in case it goes to my spam folder.
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