• Biblical Families is not a dating website. It is a forum to discuss issues relating to marriage and the Bible, and to offer guidance and support, not to find a wife. Click here for more information.

We Want For Our Sisters What We Want For Ourselves

southernphotini

southernphotini

Member
Female
So in trying to gain a better understanding of polygyny I looked for resources and some of them were weird and scary. All of the polyamory books were a little bizarre and some of the polygamy books just seemed too Mormonish for me. (Nothing against Mormons but I'm Eastern Orthodox and it doesn't translate very well for my religious perspective.)

This book is a bit scholarly and not written from a religious perspective but focuses on three distinct religious communities: African Hebrew Israelites, a weird new age group that seemed fuzzy, and American Muslims. It's also with a very distinct ethnic and political bias.

BUT... I found it fascinating. The fuzzy group was just fuzzy, but the Hebrew group had the most fascinating testimonies of women, mostly positive but realistic about the struggles. I kept highlighting like crazy. It was very refreshing and reminded me of how I have seen some folks on here talk about polygyny.

The fuzzy group was just fuzzy, but the section on Muslims was also fascinating because the lack of communication usually results in the destruction of the first marriage when a man marries a second wife. It was handled very differently from either Hebrew groups or Mormons.

I'm curious if anyone else has read this book and what they thought of it.

Here's a quote I really liked because it reminded me of Psalm 113:

With regard to a third sister-wife, one woman explained, "She needed to get married; she had been single for awhile, and she was the type of sister that was so giving the she deserved a good family."
Click to expand...
 

Attachments

  • download.jpg
    download.jpg
    14.8 KB · Views: 9
I haven't read it but agree with the sentiment. In this life you have a unique opportunity to live out the golden rule, to support another women that you can build an intimate friendship with in her marriage, and get the same in return.
Raising children, fixing meals, pillow talk, or projects. Every aspect of life is easier and or richer shared. I can get away with hubby and know there is another MOM at home, not just a big sis babysitting. She can do the same. We trust each other with the children.....completely. I think much was lost when society opted for serial polygamy, as in divorce and remarriage, instead of concurrent polygyny.
 
Yes I have read it, great book. Love the statistics and the anecdotes with people's personal experiences. And I noticed that too. A lot of the problems with the Muslims was from total lack of communication about another wife coming in. Eradication of trust. And I couldn't identify with that 3rd group either, its some spiritualist idol worship something going on there. I'm an Israelite so I naturally identify with the Israelites and their experiences. And the title says it all as far as the overall message. I certainly recommend it to anyone!
 
southernphotini said:
So in trying to gain a better understanding of polygyny I looked for resources and some of them were weird and scary. All of the polyamory books were a little bizarre and some of the polygamy books just seemed too Mormonish for me. (Nothing against Mormons but I'm Eastern Orthodox and it doesn't translate very well for my religious perspective.)

This book is a bit scholarly and not written from a religious perspective but focuses on three distinct religious communities: African Hebrew Israelites, a weird new age group that seemed fuzzy, and American Muslims. It's also with a very distinct ethnic and political bias.

BUT... I found it fascinating. The fuzzy group was just fuzzy, but the Hebrew group had the most fascinating testimonies of women, mostly positive but realistic about the struggles. I kept highlighting like crazy. It was very refreshing and reminded me of how I have seen some folks on here talk about polygyny.

The fuzzy group was just fuzzy, but the section on Muslims was also fascinating because the lack of communication usually results in the destruction of the first marriage when a man marries a second wife. It was handled very differently from either Hebrew groups or Mormons.

I'm curious if anyone else has read this book and what they thought of it.

Here's a quote I really liked because it reminded me of Psalm 113:
Click to expand...
I have a copy of this on my shelf and haven't gotten around to it yet, but thanks a lot for this review (and by the way, I chuckled when I heard you speak of your Eastern Orthodox perspective because my soon-to-be-third-wife is Ukrainian so I know how odd some Western religions can look). From the synopsis on the back of the book, the author seems to be of the illusion that plural marriage is only suitable for those whose ancestry is from Africa and that put me off of reading it for a while, but after your review I think I'll give it a read.
 
@R.A. Harris just to let you know @southernphotini hasn't been on the Forum since April 2023 for various reasons, so not sure she will read and comment on your comment; just wanted to let you know. There are many great OLD threads/postings to read here, and you are free to post on any of them, just be aware of the date stamp in regards to some folks responding. FYI, some people like to post on an old thread just to put it "up front" for a while to remind folks it is a good read.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top