5/18: Polygamy

[warthog]

OK for the record...

- My faith is Christian. I most closely align myself with the southern baptists.

- My political affiliation is Libertarian (with a capital L). I'm not only registered as such, but I pay my dues every year.

If that unusual combination by itself wasn't enough to make your heart skip a beat, let's go another step.

Why do I align myself with the southern baptists? Because I think they are the denomination who most strictly adheres to Biblical law despite what the US of A thinks about it. They have done some really politically incorrect things, and upon closer examination I think that biblically it is the right thing.

There are a couple of key areas where I disagree with most southern baptists. I'll save one of them for another discussion if it ever comes up. The one that is relevant to this thread though is polygamy.

There is a lot of biblical support for polygamy. King David, the only man in the Bible described as "a man after God's own heart", was given a plethora of wives as a gift from God. Moses, too, had many wives. Throughout the old testament this is quite common and fine with God.

This isn't very common in the new testament but I think that is because of a natural change in customs in that time period and not because of any commandment in scripture. Remember, most of the people of that time period were not followers of Christ so there is no reason for one of Christ's commandments to have such a profound effect on culture during His own time.

I believe the only sort of plural marriage that the Bible expressly forbids is a union including multiple males.

As both a Christian and as a Libertarian, I wish our government would just lay off and let plural marriages happen as they have for thousands of years (or more). In a time where we're starting to accept homosexual unions (something decidedly un-Christian) what is the harm in accepting what really is a more traditional model in polygyny?

Back to Mr. Green. Why was he the first man prosecuted for polygamy in over 50 years in Utah? Surely he's not the first to have done this in all that time. It is estimated that there are 30,000 plural marriages in Utah today. There are other circumstances that set this man apart:

1) One of his wives was 13 when he consumated the relationship. I don't care what anyone says, this is sick.

2) He is a "deadbeat dad", approximately $50,000 behind on his child support. It is estimated he has at least 29 children, and not all of them live with him.

3) He is not able to keep the children in good means with his income. Four of his five wives were pregnant at the time of the trial. If he can't afford the kids he has, why have more? He's just breeding a good future for the Jerry Springer show at this point.


Ignoring Mr. Green's specific case at the moment, who is the victim in a plural marriage? Why is this a crime?