St Paul to Zuma: Only one wife

by Letters Editor · February 26, 2010

From John Lee, Johannesburg:

I refer to Jacob Zuma and his many children from his several wives and other children from illicit liaisons. President Zuma has been quoted as saying: �We will rule till Jesus Christ returns�. It seems he has at least heard of Jesus Christ, but does he know the Gospel?

In 1 Tim 4:12, St Paul writes that �a deacon must be the husband of one wife�, meaning not more than one wife at the same time, such as was common among the pagans of the time. What Paul specified for deacons applied to lay folk too.

Jesus� clear teaching on monogamous marriage in Mt 19:6: �What God has joined together [in marriage] let no one put asunder�, and his nullifying of the Mosaic permitting of divorce and remarriage �because of the hardness of the peoples� hearts�, is clear.

In 1 Cor 7:2 St Paul is clear that �each man should have his own [one] wife, since there is so much immorality�.

Adultery � sexual relations with someone who is not your marriage partner � and fornication are forbidden by the Gospel of Jesus.

Whatever traditions may be acceptable in various world cultures, the moral teaching in Christian culture, especially in regard to faithfulness in marriage, is quite clear.