Rich Tidwell, a Missouri pastor, is arguing that the Bible allows for polygamy after announcing his marriage to a second wife, who is expecting his eighth child.
Tidwell, the pastor of Ormond Church in Canton, argues extensively in a sermon titled “David’s Two Wife” and a long-form article titled “On Plural Marriage” that the Scriptures nowhere prohibit men from marrying multiple wives. In fact, he argues, polygamous marriages are “divinely ordained.”
Ormond Church describes itself as a place “to hear God’s Word, to grow strong in faith, and to serve Jesus together in love…as we draw closer to the Resurrection!”
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The congregation holds its worship services on Saturdays rather than Sundays but does not appear to be affiliated with the Seventh-day Adventist denomination. The church’s website does not include a statement of beliefs.
ChurchLeaders has reached out to Ormond Church regarding its doctrinal positions and will update this article in the event of a response.
In his argument for the moral virtue of polygamy, Tidwell points out that numerous biblical figures in the Old Testament were married to more than one woman, including the patriarchs of the nation of Israel, as well as several of Israel’s kings.
In his written defense of polygamy, Tidwell writes:
In 2019 I discovered the surprising fact that God not only never prohibited polygyny throughout the entire Biblical narrative (as He did with polyandry or homosexuality), He divinely ordained it in several cases including David (2 Sam 12:7-8), Jacob (Gen 30:18), and Joash (2 Chron 24:2-3), among others. In contrast with homosexuality—which is outright prohibited (Lev 18:22, Rom 1:26-27)—God lawfully regulated the practice of plural marriage (Ex 21:10, Deut 21:15-17, Lev 18:18).
Tidwell further points out that in Exodus 20:10, God instructs men who marry a second wife that they must not deny their first wife “food, clothing, or marital rights.” He also highlights that in the case of Levirate marriages, in which God instructed men to marry the widows of their brothers in order to ensure that the widows would not fall into destitution, those marriages were polygamous if the man was already married.
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When it comes to the New Testament, Tidwell acknowledges that scholars and Bible teachers have argued that while God accommodated for polygamy in the context of the ancient culture of the Old Testament, it was not part of his original design for marriage. However, Tidwell questions whether the New Testament condemns the practice.
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