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ORIGINAL INTENTION STUMPERS

JudahYAHites

JudahYAHites

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I am increasingly hearing this "original intention" argument against polygyny being used by people that I have easily refuted.

So I was just thinking about the myriad of questions that could cause them to think, because, invariably those peddling "original intention" present long convoluted rationals to support their thesis'.
The latest presented to me was that God created night and day that proves two, to which I simply responded, so what about the four seasons, their face went blank.

Anyway, I'm interested to read your potential counter stumper questions, my first two are below...

WHY IS THEIR NO ARGUMENT AGAINST POLYGYNY IN SCRIPTURE ?

WHY IS THERE NO CONDEMNATION IN SCRIPTURE OF POLYGYNY ?
 
FollowingHim2 said:
God's numbers that He uses over and over again are 7 and 12. If we're going by that rule we should have 7 or 12 wives lol.
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I actually responded a couple times that by their logic original intention could mean that the reason woman was made from the man's rib was because the original intention was to make man 12 to 24 wives
 
So if monogamy was God's "original" intention pre-fall, but he clearly allowed polygamy post-fall (e.g. Jacob, David):
- Why did he allow polygamy post-fall? What was the problem that he was addressing?
- Does that problem still exist anywhere in the world? If so, does the same allowance still apply there?
 
If God’s "original intent" was for a man to have at most one wife, and God intended us to follow that "intent", why didn't He outright say that was His intent, and not leave it to us to conjecture about it, when He was so crystal clear about a woman having at most one husband?

Did God actually say that a man having at most one wife was His intent? Or is that man's opinion of the the unstated meaning of God giving one wife to Adam?

Do opinions of God's unstated intent make for sound doctrine? What if opinions differ? Who's right?

How do we know God wasn't just showing a pattern, which can be repeated multiple times?

What if a man having at most one wife was God's original intent, but since it wasn't important enough to Him to outright say that, maybe we should follow His good example and also not say it?
[I was communicating with a man one time, and after I said that bit about following God's good example, he ended the discussion. It's a powerful retort]

If God giving one wife to Adam shows that His intend is that a man have at most one wife, then what other unstated "original intents" can we glean from that section of the bible? Must we also live in a garden? Be gardeners? Be naked? Be naked, in a garden, while being gardeners? Or maybe we must be clothed? God gave them coats of skin (but didn't say they were required to wear them) while it was still just them and no other humans, so by this example, then it might be that a husband and wife are required to cover up even from each other, and probably also using leather (skin), not cotton/polyester.

What about Eve being roughly the same age as Adam? Does that mean age gaps of more than about a day are contrary to God's intent? Or that the woman must be younger? About a day younger?

[This following is so absurd that I'm not sure it's usable, but I will mention it anyway]
What about God bringing Eve to Adam? Does this mean that God's original intent was that a man wait until God physically brings a woman to him? Is it therefore deviating from God's "original intent" for a man to go out and find himself a wife?
 
Asforme&myhouse said:
Take those disgusting clothes off... God’s original intent was for us to be naked... oh, no? Something changed? Do tell 😁
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And that is key. There's absolutely nothing wrong with someone thinking monogamy was God's original intention and it only changed because of the fall - provided they are consistent and maintain that it has changed because of the fall! The problem is the cognitive dissonance of saying "it changed at the fall - but it hasn't actually changed".

Hence my above questions - they take the original intent and get the person saying it to probe deeper into their own thinking, and apply it to real life. The result, if someone is to be consistent, will be to recognise that polygamy today, the the post-fall world we live in, is not condemned by God. The question of whether or not it was acceptable pre-fall is purely academic as we don't live in a pre-fall world - we could debate that with them, but it doesn't matter. All that matters for our behaviour today is whether it is permissible post-fall.
 
FollowingHim said:
And that is key. There's absolutely nothing wrong with someone thinking monogamy was God's original intention and it only changed because of the fall - provided they are consistent and maintain that it has changed because of the fall! The problem is the cognitive dissonance of saying "it changed at the fall - but it hasn't actually changed".

Hence my above questions - they take the original intent and get the person saying it to probe deeper into their own thinking, and apply it to real life. The result, if someone is to be consistent, will be to recognise that polygamy today, the the post-fall world we live in, is not condemned by God. The question of whether or not it was acceptable pre-fall is purely academic as we don't live in a pre-fall world - we could debate that with them, but it doesn't matter. All that matters for our behaviour today is whether it is permissible post-fall.
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I agree. And add to that this question, why does Scripture speak of the Lamb of God being slain BEFORE the foundations of the world? God knows the end from the beginning. He always knew what would be. We don’t know His exact intentions unless He directly tells us what they are. He never said, one woman only, was His intention, so anyone making that claim is presuming to know the mind of God beyond His written word... which is very shaky ground at best, at worst it’s adding to God’s word.
 
Asforme&myhouse said:
I agree. And add to that this question, why does Scripture speak of the Lamb of God being slain BEFORE the foundations of the world? God knows the end from the beginning. He always knew what would be. We don’t know His exact intentions unless He directly tells us what they are. He never said, one woman only, was His intention, so anyone making that claim is presuming to know the mind of God beyond His written word... which is very shaky ground at best, at worst it’s adding to God’s word.
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eye4them said:
What about Eve being roughly the same age as Adam? Does that mean age gaps of more than about a day are contrary to God's intent? Or that the woman must be younger? About a day younger?
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How do we know this. There is no time period given in the Genesis account. It could have been a day, but it also could have been years.

The book of Genesis covers a very large expanse of time.
 
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