Meghan Markle
I hope the title of this blog offends you. It should make you mad as a hornet. And yet, enter the Biblical world and you are in a world that accepts the existence of concubines. So don’t forget to also be offended by parts of the Bible.
Often when I hear people arguing about the Bible they look solely at the texts that they think apply directly to a particular subject. Biblical ethics requires a broader examination of the Bible and must account for the presence of embarrassing, horrific texts. Or put another way, all sources for a modern theological method are problematic, and that includes the Bible.
On CBS evening news last night a report was made on women in India fed up with the treatment of women, including gang rape. As we pray for the full equality of all people and the protection of the vulnerable in our society, let us be honest about the church’s book and its flaws.
I know that the Holy Bible has examples of concubines. Unfortunately, many of these examples were good, God-fear men.
Is that fact alone, alone, enough to say that concubines were justified in the bible?
Cullen
p.s. I’d like to check them out in my NIV. Where can I find them?
It is not hard to find men with concubines in the Bible. Start with
Abraham and Hagar. There are so many more, but the more
well known are Jacob, Gideon, King David, and Solomon (with 700 wives and 300 concubines).