I love how everyone just assumes a polygamous relationship is always a man with multiple wives. It's just as possible that a woman could have multiple husbands.

 

Polyandry is comparatively uncommon historically. Lots of cases of polygyny, however. Doesn't change the public policy concepts of hoarding spouses to be anti-egalitarian and undemocratic.

What's next, suit over the age of marriage?

 

Alabama -- The age of consent is sixteen. With parental consent, parties can marry at age fourteen. However, this parental consent is not required if the minor has already been married.

 

Looks like if you are married and divorced at 14 in Alabama you don't need parental permission to get married again at 14 or 15 years old.

Though it's barely even dicta, it's worth noting as we descend into this discussion of slippery slopes, that -- if it wasn't before -- the Court's opinion enshrined the monogamous marriage as the preferred social institution for loving couples living under the jurisdiction of the United States government.

 

"No union is more profound than marriage, for it embodies the highest ideals of love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice, and family. In forming a marital union, two people become something greater than what they once were."

What's next, suit over the age of marriage?

 

Alabama -- The age of consent is sixteen. With parental consent, parties can marry at age fourteen. However, this parental consent is not required if the minor has already been married.

 

Looks like if you are married and divorced at 14 in Alabama you don't need parental permission to get married again at 14 or 15 years old.

 

Sounds like a 28-year-old grandma waiting to happen.

Sounds like a 28-year-old grandma waiting to happen.

 

Hey in Massachusetts a female can get married at 12 but males not until 14...She could be a grandma at 24

What's next, suit over the age of marriage?

 

Alabama -- The age of consent is sixteen. With parental consent, parties can marry at age fourteen. However, this parental consent is not required if the minor has already been married.

 

Looks like if you are married and divorced at 14 in Alabama you don't need parental permission to get married again at 14 or 15 years old.

 

Don't think it will go there as everyone likes to key on the consenting adults angle. Unless the definition of adult is changed to a lower age.

Don't think it will go there as everyone likes to key on the consenting adults angle. Unless the definition of adult is changed to a lower age.

 

If anything, we're extending adolescence even further as a culture, even if laws haven't caught up as much. I don't think age of consent laws are the next thing to drop.

I don't have enough time for 1 wife much less 2.

I've never understood why polygamy was illegal. Isn't it really just between the parties and their church? If I want to be married to 10 women and my church supports it why does the government care?

 

As far as tax benefits the man and only one of 10 women would be able to file as "married".

 

This has led to some big welfare fraud in Mormon communities. A man has multiple wives but only one of which is recognized by the government. The church recognizes the other marriages, but not the government. Those other "wives" are in effect single moms drawing from the welfare trough. And "child support" from dad is basically just taking money from his left pocket and putting it in his right.

The same thing was said about same sex marriage 10 years ago.

 

Not "they." It was evident that same sex was going to change. The Constitutional issue was like a neon light. Polygamy???? Your guess is as good as mine on this. I don't care one way or the other, but it does open up a lot of fraud options. I'm thinking along the lines of marrying an illegal immigrant to keep them in the country, or tax breaks, or.... kind of messy.

I've never understood why polygamy was illegal. Isn't it really just between the parties and their church? If I want to be married to 10 women and my church supports it why does the government care?

 

As far as tax benefits the man and only one of 10 women would be able to file as "married".

 

I could agree with that. I mean, we can't ask the Court to not touch our religious freedoms when it comes to keeping churches from refusing to perform same-sex marriages, and then ask the government to prevent religiously recognized marriages

I don't have enough time for 1 wife much less 2.

 

.....plus, who wants 2 times the headaches as well.

Abraham, Solomon, David, Jacob. Just saying.....

 

:laugh:

 

This... You would think the Biblical argument would be pro-polygamy.

 

Why the need to ridicule the Bible in almost every thread? One would think you didn't know the Bible actually calls polygamy into question and the stories of the Patriarchs demonstrate some of the reasons polygamy is a bad idea. Narrative, which is what Genesis is, makes its point by the story it tells. The recurrence of ill consequences from polygamy begins to make a point.

 

This is what I said in the thread on slavery and the Bible. I'll copy it here:

 

...The same kind of argument may be made about whether the Bible supported polygamy or not. The Patriarchs had multiple wives. But again, one must realize that this was the norm for their society. What the Bible does is tell stories about these families and from the stories you can see that bad consequences came from having multiple wives and the kinds of jealousies and rivalries this inevitably caused. While the Hebrew Scriptures do not outright outlaw it, the point being made by the narrative is that it is not conducive for families and the community as a whole.

 

When it comes to the New Testament, Jesus said marriage was to be between one man and one woman. He saw this as the original intention of God at creation. Later, the Apostles would say that any one considered for church leadership must be the husband of one wife. In other words, pagans who had multiple wives, upon conversion to Christianity were welcomed into the church but they were not to be appointed to leadership because their family structure did not represent God's intention for marriage. To tell these converted pagans to separate from their multiple wives would have been disastrous for the women. Best thing to do was to keep polygamists from leadership and Christians would realize polygamy was not right and it would die out among Christians.

 

Sometimes, when the Bible is relaying information, like the condition of family in patriarchal times, it is being descriptive, not prescriptive. The difference is huge.

Why the need to ridicule the Bible in almost every thread?

 

Whoa...I'm not ridiculing the Bible only the tendency of some to throw in every argument. Polygamy was prevalent in Biblical times and spoke about in the Bible. Some would take that as enough to justify polygamy, BUT from your quotes as civilization grew we figured out that polygamy doesn't work.

Edited July 2, 201511 yr by True blue (and gold)
fixed quote tags

Thank you for the clarification, Helicats. I am sorry I misunderstood your point and misrepresented your intention.