Previously published in C/Hive book club
(Apparently it has been updated and re-released as "The Biblical Case for Polygamy")
Get Your Western Greco-Roman Ideals Out of My Middle Eastern Religion!
"From My Studies, I have found that God never prohibited polygyny. The Catholic Church, however, did!" (Page 2)
Imagine, for a moment, that a Christian, the same sect of society whose rallying cry is to protect so-called "traditional marriage," which they define as "one man one woman," wrote a book saying "actually, that's not what the Bible says about marriage at all." Well, it's happened more than once, actually. And this is one of them.
I think this book's title lays out quite plainly what it is. The author, like I said, is a Christian, and some form of lawyer, who has laid out a case against the contemporary Western Socio-Religious establishment's notion that the Ibrahimic God intended for marriage to be one-man-one-woman. Much of it was not new. I've already written an article affirming my support for polygny. What I wasn't expecting was to find an author saying "yeah, the Bible does too," with Biblical evidence that God (and yes, that's THE Judeo-Christian God, singular, with a capital "G," as in the Monotheistic God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) not only tolerates polygyny but that monogamy is actually an affront to Him!
But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's dive in, shall we?
Goes Straight For the Jugular
The book doesn't take long getting to its titular point. The thesis is laid out early on, with some disclaimers and warnings to read the book prayerfully (as any book regarding Religious belief should be read). But after luring the reader in with the intriguing and rather scandalous title, the author drops 10 megatons of "everything you thought you knew is wrong" on pages 18 and 19 by calling this prohibition on polygyny the second-greatest deception in the history of Humanity, putting it on almost-equal footing with Original Sin, and further asserting that both Monogamy and Modern Feminism are rooted in Pagan cultures that practiced Goddess-worship.
To show that God allows polygyny is one thing, but to state that He monogamy is from the same Pagan roots that are typically associated with Satan (thereby calling the reader to question whether God approves of monogamy), is bold indeed. And yet, the author insists that he will prove this citing Biblical evidence! Admittedly, this "proof" of the second, stronger point is a bit long in coming, appearing on page 142 of a 159 page book, but it is well worth the journey there.
Needs More New Testament Examples
One of the biggest arguments used by Western Christians to insist polygyny is a sin is the statement that it was tolerated in the Old Testament but Jesus changed things in the New Testament, and the author admits he is aware of this argument against his thesis (p. 124). However, being aware that this argument exists, the author should spend more time building a defense against it.
He does eventually get around to citing New Testament examples of polygyny, even referring to several times when Jesus Himself casually declares Himself a polygynist. For example, showing that in the "Parable of the Ten Virgins," the ten virgins aren't bridesmaids but are in fact brides (p. 113 - 120). Also, he does make note of a point I already asserted in my earlier article that Paul's admonitions against multiple wives were not because of any proscription from God but rather from the need to NOT draw any negative attention from the monotheistic Romans who needed little motivation to crack down on the fledgling Church (p. 145, 147-8, 150). But considering the centrality of this defense to the Biblical validity of his main idea, the book should have emphasized it a bit more.
Brings Back the Fiery Point, With Gusto!
The biggest gauntlet the book throws down in front of Western Christianity, mentioned above, is the assertion that Monogamy is absolutely nowhere mandated in the text of the Bible, and actually stems from Pagan Goddess-worship. The author makes this point early on, lets you almost forget about it, and then hits the reader in the back of the head with it near the end of the book sneakily, with a twist.
"Nothing in the Bible alludes to the fact that His followers were 'monogamists.' But history does show a group of people, in Jesus' time, that WERE monogamists. It was, in fact, the Greek and Roman rules against polygamy that spread (along with the Grecian and Roman Empires) and became the culture...It was these two huge historical forces that established monogamy in our society--not something born of God but something born of pagan societies... Keep in mind they worshipped a pantheon of "other gods [and goddesses]." ...By following pagan societies, their customs slowly creep into our way of life. This is the same thing as God warning Solomon not to marry women from foreign countries because they would turn their hearts away from God.
-P. 142
Admit it, Girls: We Like it Too
"Women cry out: "where are all the real men?" The real men have been forced to deny their nature and have become goddess serving monogamists." (p. 157)
I won't spoil it for you but the author points out an elephant in the room at the end (p. 156 and 157) that absolutely made my toes curl and made me thankful to be in a Patriarchal Polygynous marriage myself. To any woman reading this review, all I can say is "quit pouting and read through, because at the end you'll see that it's better for us this way too." I'll give you a hint: I alluded to it in my article.
Honestly, I'd recommend this book to every woman who has ever thought "he's a great guy but he's married," to every man who has ever thought "I like her but I'm married," and to every married man who has ever been browbeaten because he felt affection for (and desire to take care of) another woman. It ought to be required reading for every Christian in the Western Hemisphere...
...And every woman anywhere!