Where in the Bible does it say that polygamy is not allowed?
The Bible’s stance on polygamy is best demonstrated in its proclamation of God’s ideal for marriage. From the very beginning of Creation, His ideal was one man, one woman. Anything beyond this, while at times tolerated by God, was never instituted by God. The hardships and heartache that resulted from polygamy are also clearly presented (see the life of Jacob in Genesis 29 and following). God’s dim view of the polygamist lifestyle can also be seen in his prohibition that the king should amass a harem (see Deuteronomy 17:17). And the New Testament clearly shows that polygamy is not a lifestyle becoming a leader in the church (see 1 Timothy 3). Elsewhere in Jesus’ teachings (e.g., Matthew 19), the one-husband, one-wife marriage is presented as God’s expectation and goal for marriage. The issue with fundamentalism, however, is that the claim is made that God commands polygamy, a claim which is completely untenable, biblically speaking. God’s attitude toward polygamy in the Bible is at bes
