The following appeared on "Page Five" of the July 12, 2001 issue of
"The Intelligencer",
in Wheeling, West Virginia, U.S.
Because this is not the
Original Version
as it was written by the Founder of this ministry,
this edited version may NOT be published anywhere else.
Three (or More) Is a Crowd?
Pro:
Many Pre-Judge
Concept of Polygamy
By Mark [[ the Founder ]]
of the Christian Polygamy
ministry of Truth Bearer
To think...
The era of "dumbed-down males". Spiritually. Intellectually. Emotionally. "Dumbed-down males."
"Males", that is, because such ones are certainly not men. Males afraid of marriage and responsibilities. Males abandoning impregnated girlfriends. Males going from one woman to the next, leaving a trail of abandoned single moms with fatherless children. Males not taking a deliberative role in the spiritual, intellectual, and emotional growth of their families. Males abandoning single moms to the trap of either government welfare or being a "hamster-in-the-wheel", working for the children’s daycare, never getting ahead, never having time to meet a high-caliber, good man to be a husband for her and father for her children.
Biologically "male"? Yes, but certainly not men. "Dumbed down males" indeed.
And yet all such societally destructive actions are all considered legal.
Two mistakes in pre-judging
Viewed in that context, polygamy could indeed appear as "bad" to the untrained eye.
By such truly "low" standard, many people then pre-judge the concept of polygamy. Given the false stereotype that polygamy is supposedly "about flesh" (since when is marriage all "about flesh"?) which many wrongly have been taught to think, then imagining "dumbed down males" in the context of a flesh-based concept of polygamy, that brings a horrible picture indeed. (Most pro-polygamists agree!) This mistaken pre-judgement is also usually compounded with the thought that "everybody else believes against polygamy". Therewith, few people would question centuries of tradition.
That first mistake then leads to the next, the second mistake.
Namely, they "stop there" in their thinking, stop actively thinking for themselves.
Yet "stopping there" is the gravest threat to anyone and to freedom.
When thinking stops
On any issue, when one "stops there" in thinking for themselves, manipulative propaganda then has power to influence. Truthfulness becomes irrelevant, as the unquestioned propaganda then misleads listeners to support things which can actually bring great harm to even good people.
This rather frightening reality is not due to "message" content. Many listeners simply accept such propaganda without question.
This is the greatest hurdle and injustice faced by anyone honestly seeking to intellectually discuss good forms of polygamy.
Anti-polygamy propaganda
One primary, common method of anti-polygamy propaganda is that of "tying together" unrelated side-issues, such as abuse examples. This misleads listeners with the implication that such side-issues are supposedly the "definition" of polygamy itself.
God forbid. Abuse is abuse. Even most pro-polygamists vehemently oppose abuse.
The implication of pro-polygamists being "tied together" with abusers is as unjust as it would be if a loving "monogamist" was "tied together" by implication with cruel wife-beaters.
Polygamy, as a word, is only a definition of a relationship configuration, such as the polygamous marriages of such Biblical heros as Moses, Abraham, Israel, and David. The only defining difference between polygamy and monogamy is numerical.
Yet, anti-polygamy propaganda would propagandize otherwise. Domestic Violence. An example with a 13 year-old step-daughter. Welfare fraud. Other like negativities about which many pro-polygamists vehemently speak out against, too. These are purely side-issues. They have nothing to do with polygamy itself.
That’s just the beginning, though. Another propaganda method is a powerfully emotional one. The truly- heartbreaking experiences of a few women whose abusive marriages also happened to have some involvement with polygamy are exploited as if their experiences are somehow what "polygamy is about".
A deeper look into these truly heart-wrenching stories always reveals, though, that polygamy, by itself, was not the real issue. Abuse in one form or another is the issue in almost all cases.
Yet, listeners are not made to realize these specific facts pertaining to these abuses. (The hearts of a vast multitude of pro-polygamists go out to these hurt women, as abuse is wholly opposed indeed).
Truly, such heart-wrenching stories have a powerful influence indeed.
No wonder, then, that anyone not thinking for themselves about polygamy would be so easily influenced by such emotionally manipulative propaganda.
What is NOT being told?
But a lot is not being told in the propaganda.
Most of these unfortunately abused women have come from a "breakaway sect" situation with a specific presupposition in Mormon doctrine which religiously "obligates" women to polygamy (removing the consentual issue from the matter).
To say that "all" polygamy operates on the basis of a Mormon presupposition is as absurd as saying that "all" monogamy operates on the basis of being Catholic.
As well, banning polygamy because of a few "bad" anecdotal examples is as absurd as wanting to ban monogamy because of vicious wife-beaters.
Such propaganda creates such a chill factor that it actually "silences" others who could otherwise share their positive experiences of the advantages of polygamy.
It is a fact that there are indeed adult, non-promiscuous, life-long, consentual polygynous families in which polygyny has actually been a genuine God-send for all concerned.
But propaganda is so fierce that, if they dared share their positive experience publicly, a "reign of terror" could potentially be unleashed upon them, their children kidnapped by government, despite the fact that for the first time in their lives, a good and nurturing man is in the family!
It is that kind of propaganda "silencing" even of good people that creates the environment of secrecy in other places with not-so-good "polygamy" ways. And that is what leads to the "breakaway sects" where abuse of women has tragically occurred.
Criminalizing consentual polygamy, combined with this kind of "silencing", directly "pushes it underground", which is precisely what causes opportunities for such tragic abuse to occur.
But these things are not being told in the anti-polygamy propaganda.
Getting the truth out
Truth Bearer, a cross-denominational Christian Polygamy ministry is working to overcome such propaganda and issues, being successful in getting the truth out.
It is encouraging that the ministry’s experience is that, whenever a person truly does consider polygamy with thinking only for themselves, to help them see the truth and be persuaded of it, this is virtually always successful. This is very encouraging indeed.
Truth Bearer is not directly seeking "legalization", but rather "de-criminalization", of polygamy. This is due to not believing the rather idolatrous notion that government has any authority defining what God alone created. (If government is definer of marriage, then none of the men in the Bible were married. God forbid.)
Accomplishing de-criminalization requires building a constituency who will not oppose polygamy-friendly politicians.
Eyeing the spectrum of U.S. politics, it appears that the only adamant opposition to polygamy would be the very source from which most people who are involved within Christian Polygamy come: conservative, Scripture-believing Christians. (That’s right. Christian Polygamy is not a libertine concept by any means --- only scripture.)
Successfully persuading others
The Truth Bearer Agenda considers such fellow Scripture-believing Christians as being the proverbial "first floor" of the "house of cards" of "anti-polygamy thinking" in society. Once fellow Christians are persuaded that Christian Polygamy is both Scriptural beyond question and is pro-loving women only as life-long marriage, most other constituencies would likely be laissez faire about the issue.
The "tolerance" dogma of religious liberals requires their "tolerance" for such adult, consentual, non-abusive loving polygamy.
The "woman’s choice" view of feminists also says that women who genuinely consent to, and even want to, live polygynously must have that freedom to so choose.
Cultural conservatives, once conservative Scripture-believing Christians are first persuaded, would then see adult, consentual polygamy as a certainly better alternative to single moms on welfare, saving taxpayer dollars.
Most everyone else could then "care less" what consenting adults chose to do.
Hence, the Truth Bearer Mission is that of bringing Christian Polygamy to the Churches, to "remove" that "first floor" in that "house of cards".
This Mission is being done successfully with the "Truth Bearer Vision of love-not-force". Namely, a man must himself grow in being so selflessly loving toward his wife that she willingly embraces polygamy herself. To otherwise force it upon her is cruel, loveless. "Love-not-force" protects women. It does indeed both comfort and persuade women of the godliness and sinlessness of Christian Polygamy.
Therewith is Christian Polygamy gaining momentum.
Polygamy as solution
It’s a matter of thinking, thinking for one’s own self.
"Dumbed down males" are afraid of marriage, are destroying women. (That’s not a crime?)
Polygamy encourages men to grow, love, want marriage, willingly take marital responsibilities seriously. (That’s a crime?)
Presently, a "dumbed down male" is free to impregnate and abandon single mom after another. But a loving, pro-marriage polygamous man with freely-consenting wives is considered criminal.
Where’s the thinking in that?
Ironically, it is this absurdity that caused this present era of "dumbed down males".
If such "dumbed down males" knew that women would no longer settle for them because of women having the polygamy option to marry married men ("proven quantities"), such males would have incentive to grow up!
Spiritually. Intellectually. Emotionally. Men should start loving women rightly.
Polygamy could overturn this era of "dumbed down males".
Upon comparing the above with that of the
ORIGINAL version, it can be noted that there were a few short edits made in the edited version (above). Unfortunately, some important comments and intended meanings were subsequently lost.
It can be immediately noted, for example, that the title was changed. And a few rather key instructive comments were "cut". The effective conclusion-quote from Dr. Joyce Brothers as well as the explanation-paragraph that the web-site of TruthBearer.org answers all the sinlessness and godliness issues of Christian Polygamy.
(It is understandable as possible, of course, that the editor had not had time to confirm that that quote was accurately bibliographed and that newspaper may have an acceptably understandable policy about such things until obtaining such confirmation. This ministry will be seeking to solve that kind of concern for any future concerns about that very exact, provably bibliographed quote.)
Additionally, the cutting out of the very last sentence, "That's thinking!," in combination with changing the op-ed's title, the edited version unfortunately was then left with being a bit of a changed concept. The intended meaning of the op-ed which was to encourage people to THINK. That's why the FIRST sentence of the op-ed starts with, "To think...," so as to be in an intellectual "matching pair" with the op-ed's ending sentence, "That's thinking!") Lastly, the edited version also ended up with a "cut" of the very reference by which readers could know how to locate TruthBearer.org for more information. Unfortunately, not once does the
edited version reveal the web-site's URL of "TruthBearer.org" at any place in the newspaper.
Ah, but these things can happen at times when space is limited in a newspaper. And it is observable that some of the paragraphs had been "merged" together for the sake of "tightening" space, so these things are understandable.
(Any other periodical publisher/editor, however, who might now be interested in hereinafter ALSO publishing the
ORIGINAL version of this OP-ED,
will only be granted permission to do so under the express requirement of their only publishing that
ORIGINAL version ***AS IS*** and unedited.)
For specific reference, therefore, in comparing the original version with the above edited version of this op-ed, the following key paragraphs from the original version of this op-ed can be nated as being missing in the above edited published version:
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The web-site of Truth Bearer (www.TruthBearer.org) is a comprehensive resource of every Scriptural matter and question about the issue of sin and godliness pertaining to Christian Polygamy. It makes it clear that this cross-denominational organization is Christ-centered, Spirit-led, Scripture-believing; that Christian Polygamy is only about non-promiscuous, life-long marriage, following the marriage model of Christ selflessly loving His Churches.
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... More and more Christians are finding and participating at TruthBearer.org every month.
Thereby, de-criminalization will eventually come indeed.
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On Bill Maher’s "Politically Incorrect" (Comedy Channel, December 22, 1994), Dr. Joyce Brothers offered her woman’s point of view, "I would rather be third in line of a good man than the only wife of a jerk."
That’s thinking!
Howbeit, notwithstanding the unfortunate edited "cuts", it is most definitely a blessing to have had this opportunity to get out all of the rest of the content of the op-ed that was indeed read by the readers of that newspaper. For that unsolicited opportunity,
this ministry is truly appreciative (and says a hearty "thank you!") to
"The Intelligencer" newspaper of
Wheeling, West Virginia, U.S.
Read the ORIGINAL version of this op-ed, as it had been written on June 22, 2001.
