Friday, June 27, 2008

Polygamy

Does anyone else find it ironic that the American Public is so rabidly against polygamy when our culture (primarily media such as movies, sitcoms, and music) implicitly condones, if not outright advocates sexual promiscuity?

I don't think you could find a bigger double-standard if you tried. Sure, be outraged about exploitation of minors or people being forced into polygamy against their will. That's fine--and the only real reasons I could find that anyone should be concerned about the FLDS compound.

But don't complain about the institution of polygamy itself. For the Christians: at times it's condoned by God himself in the bible. Go look it up. For the secularists: at least when polygamists sleep around, they do it after being married and the man sticks around to support his family.

Despite my own belief that the Lord has commanded that we NOT practice polygamy at the current time, I do NOT believe there is inherently anything wrong with it.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

i disagree with you comrade.

The only reason that Mormons started practicing polygamy was to increase their numbers. The FLDS cult claims they practice polygamy for religious reasons but in reality the reasons are probably sexual. They take advantage of girls and women that have no say in who they marry and end up abusing them both physically and emotionally.

While you say that polygamy is better than promiscuity I would argue it is the other way around. a polygamist relationship is bad for the women because in a polygamist relationship the women are not equal. The man does not have to practice monogamy though they do. When a man has several women answering to him only I would imagine the possibility of problems would be astronomical.

With promiscuity, there is not long term relationship. There is no legal binding. A woman that is offended by a man simply moves on, no divorce to worry about. Done.

Polygamy is not natural, it is the result of man's perverted fantasy. The fact that there was polygamy in the bible does not make it any better, and is all the more reason to despise it. I am sure you aware of the atrocitys committed in the bible that were commissioned by this god person.
Humans are naturally monogamous. Even in just a boyfriend girlfriend relationship one is quite upset if the other cheats.

I believe that polygamy is criminal and we should make every attempt to halt its practice.

The Writer said...

I agree with some of what you said, but I have to disagree with other parts.

>The only reason that Mormons started practicing polygamy was to increase their numbers.

Says who?

>The FLDS cult claims they practice polygamy for religious reasons but in reality the reasons are probably sexual. They take advantage of girls and women that have no say in who they marry and end up abusing them both physically and emotionally.

I agree. This is exactly what I said was the trouble with the FLDS compound.

>...in a polygamist relationship the women are not equal.

Equal to each other, or equal to the man? Either way, wouldn't that depend on the relationship?

>When a man has several women answering to him only I would imagine the possibility of problems would be astronomical.

Do you have any examples of a polygamous relationship having astronomical problems? Just going off history and even current societies that practice polygamy, I don't think they have astronomical problems.

>With promiscuity, there is not long term relationship. There is no legal binding. A woman that is offended by a man simply moves on, no divorce to worry about. Done.

Done...except for the potential babies that have no fathers, the psychological problems that frequently attend "break-ups", dividing jointly-owned possessions, sexually-transmitted diseases...need I go on?

>Polygamy is not natural, it is the result of man's perverted fantasy.

I would suggest that nature disagrees with you. Horses? Cows? A million other species? Perhaps I am just misunderstanding you here.

>The fact that there was polygamy in the bible does not make it any better

I agree with this if it's slightly rephrased: "The fact that there was polygamy in the bible does not make it right."

However, the fact that God condoned it or commanded it DOES make it right--from a believer's point of view.

> ...and is all the more reason to despise it.

Is there something inherently despicable about the Bible?

>Humans are naturally monogamous.

I disagree. Our particular modern-day American *society* is monogamous--not our species. History is FULL of non-monogamous human societies, as is the present time. To be more blunt: who says humans are naturally monogamous?

>I believe that polygamy is criminal

It IS criminal (at least in the USA). Who doesn't believe that? You can look it up in the law books.

Did you mean that you believe it is morally wrong? Careful here--if you profess to have morals, then you're getting into religious grounds. :)

>we should make every attempt to halt its practice.

I agree. Although obviously for very different reasons than you have.