Monogamania is really a pernicious thing. Forget white picket fences and happily ever after. It really IS surprising, and disconcerting, to see just how complete the idolatry of monogamy -- at the expense of what God actually has to say in the Bible -- has become.
An example has recently made that clear to me.
I have a friend, a wonderful woman with a love for God, and an interest in studying His Word, who has come to understand that a number of things she was brought up to believe, both at home and in "Sunday school", are simply not true. Jeremiah 16:19 sums it up nicely:
"O YHVH, my strength, and my fortress, and my refuge in the day of affliction, the Gentiles shall come unto thee from the ends of the earth, and shall say, Surely our fathers have inherited lies, vanity, and [things] wherein [there is] no profit.
...Shall a man make gods unto himself, and they [are] no gods? "
We have talked about a number of such things - from what the Bible says about divorce, to the way in which His Perfect Sacrifice for us as the Passover Lamb has been (to put it mildly) paganized by being re-named after a fertility goddess. She demonstrated a "zeal" for the Word, and found the same Berean-like excitement that I had at "searching the Scriptures" for the Truth.
That is - up to a point. In spite of having told me that there were no traditions that she held which would supersede the Word of God, the truth was otherwise. Exposed to the fact that God "permits" a man to have more than one wife, she decided to ask other MEN who claimed to be "Messianic" what they believed - but did not want to ask which Scriptures to read for herself. Better not to know. The emotions ran too deep. That particular idol -- one which she did not even know she worshipped! -- proved untouchable. Remember what Paul said about "itching ears"?
For my part, I was not, and AM not, trying to "convert" anyone to a particular viewpoint**. I believe that Scripture speaks for itself. If God's Word is not ALLOWED to witness to someone, who am I to try to force them? (Unlike a wife, she has not submitted to my authority. I will answer questions when asked.)
I do believe that His Word is consistent, however! I became a Believer when I realized that "not one yod nor tiddle" had been changed; like a tapestry woven by the Hand of the Creator, the Bible is a complete Whole - and every part matters. One certainly cannot understand His plan for marriage, for example, without reading ALL of it in context.
Whether she, or any individual woman or man, would WANT to be a second wife, is not the question. After all, as Paul notes, not everyone should even marry at all! It is an individual choice. But what He WROTE about it is True - whether we personally like it or not, or even understand it.
All of which leads up to the question which I never asked her -- simply because it IS so important, and so compelling. But I will ask it here, so that others may think about it:
What about your daughter?
Would you rather she be an unmarried mother, unloved and without covering? Would you rather she "burn" in lust as Paul discussed, engage in the modern practice of a series of meaningless affairs, or participate in the many other practices God condemns as fornication? (So long as they're serial -- "one at a time", of course.)
How about marrying an unbeliever? An abuser? An alchoholic, or a drug abuser? Those choices abound - as many such single mothers are painfully aware.
Would you rather that she be alone, or the single wife to a "husband" of which society approves, but God does not? Or would you choose to close off to her, and others like her, an acceptable option which God made available for blessing and covering?
(And, of course, for other women as well - from widows, to rape victims, to others who simply know a good thing when they see one.)
Is it really better for your daughter to be a unwed mother than the plural wife of a man who, by his fruit, has shown that He loves God and understands His Word?
Do the math. And then read the Book.
Blessings in His Name,
Mark
--------------------
**
Lest you smile at me on this one...
It is one thing to teach, and to give effective account of what we believe and why, and another to "force" someone not under our authority. What I love about both Biblical Families, and doing a radio talk show, was that people come here, or tune in, of their own free will!
An example has recently made that clear to me.
I have a friend, a wonderful woman with a love for God, and an interest in studying His Word, who has come to understand that a number of things she was brought up to believe, both at home and in "Sunday school", are simply not true. Jeremiah 16:19 sums it up nicely:
"O YHVH, my strength, and my fortress, and my refuge in the day of affliction, the Gentiles shall come unto thee from the ends of the earth, and shall say, Surely our fathers have inherited lies, vanity, and [things] wherein [there is] no profit.
...Shall a man make gods unto himself, and they [are] no gods? "
We have talked about a number of such things - from what the Bible says about divorce, to the way in which His Perfect Sacrifice for us as the Passover Lamb has been (to put it mildly) paganized by being re-named after a fertility goddess. She demonstrated a "zeal" for the Word, and found the same Berean-like excitement that I had at "searching the Scriptures" for the Truth.
That is - up to a point. In spite of having told me that there were no traditions that she held which would supersede the Word of God, the truth was otherwise. Exposed to the fact that God "permits" a man to have more than one wife, she decided to ask other MEN who claimed to be "Messianic" what they believed - but did not want to ask which Scriptures to read for herself. Better not to know. The emotions ran too deep. That particular idol -- one which she did not even know she worshipped! -- proved untouchable. Remember what Paul said about "itching ears"?
For my part, I was not, and AM not, trying to "convert" anyone to a particular viewpoint**. I believe that Scripture speaks for itself. If God's Word is not ALLOWED to witness to someone, who am I to try to force them? (Unlike a wife, she has not submitted to my authority. I will answer questions when asked.)
I do believe that His Word is consistent, however! I became a Believer when I realized that "not one yod nor tiddle" had been changed; like a tapestry woven by the Hand of the Creator, the Bible is a complete Whole - and every part matters. One certainly cannot understand His plan for marriage, for example, without reading ALL of it in context.
Whether she, or any individual woman or man, would WANT to be a second wife, is not the question. After all, as Paul notes, not everyone should even marry at all! It is an individual choice. But what He WROTE about it is True - whether we personally like it or not, or even understand it.
All of which leads up to the question which I never asked her -- simply because it IS so important, and so compelling. But I will ask it here, so that others may think about it:
What about your daughter?
Would you rather she be an unmarried mother, unloved and without covering? Would you rather she "burn" in lust as Paul discussed, engage in the modern practice of a series of meaningless affairs, or participate in the many other practices God condemns as fornication? (So long as they're serial -- "one at a time", of course.)
How about marrying an unbeliever? An abuser? An alchoholic, or a drug abuser? Those choices abound - as many such single mothers are painfully aware.
Would you rather that she be alone, or the single wife to a "husband" of which society approves, but God does not? Or would you choose to close off to her, and others like her, an acceptable option which God made available for blessing and covering?
(And, of course, for other women as well - from widows, to rape victims, to others who simply know a good thing when they see one.)
Is it really better for your daughter to be a unwed mother than the plural wife of a man who, by his fruit, has shown that He loves God and understands His Word?
Do the math. And then read the Book.
Blessings in His Name,
Mark
--------------------
**
Lest you smile at me on this one...It is one thing to teach, and to give effective account of what we believe and why, and another to "force" someone not under our authority. What I love about both Biblical Families, and doing a radio talk show, was that people come here, or tune in, of their own free will!
