The Polygamy Question | Immoralities in the Bible

This episode examines the moral case against polygamy from a natural law and Eastern Orthodox perspective, then addresses why polygamous practices appear in the Old Testament. Dr. Jacobs distinguishes between biological and psychological dimensions of sexual ethics, critiques Thomistic approaches for neglecting reason's role in human sexuality, and argues that ancient Near Eastern circumstances created conditions where polygamy functioned as a lesser evil tolerated but never endorsed by God. The Eastern patristic framework is presented as recognizing concessions to human weakness while maintaining monogamy as the scriptural ideal from Genesis through the early Church.

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00:00:00 Intro 

00:00:25 Recap 

00:08:50 Four levels of discourse 

00:18:24 Natural law analysis

00:27:41 Reason & psychological reality 

00:45:39 Orthodox framework 

01:04:24 Providence through missteps 

01:09:40 Ancient Near East context