Wrong framing. God told Hosea to marry a prostitute, Gomer, who remained a prostitute post-marriage. Even if we conceded your very weak argument, that wouldn't make plural marriage a divine institution any more than Gomer's "cottage industry." Lots of things are "biblical" -- idolatry, murder, warfare, etc. -- doesn't make them "god-ordained."
The Lord blessed Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, polygamists all.
Well, first of all, you've taken Smith at his word that Isaac was a polygamist. All you've done, though, is slander him. The Bible says nothing about Isaac being a polygamist. (You need to apologize to Isaac re: your reputation mongering). He had one wife, Rebekah.
Secondly, Jacob became a polygamist by way of deception. Is that what you'd like to do as a future father-in-law? Deal your 2nd daughter into the honeymoon picture when your son-in-law is expecting your other daughter? You want to institutionalize that as an "ideal"? And then you want them to have such a baby-making competition so that they bring their slaves into the picture, too? (Wow!)
There was a need to build up Abraham’s posterity. The Lord obviously approved, perhaps to build up the kingdom.
#1 As you mentioned, Hagar never married when Sarah gave her to Abraham to bear children ... if you're going to assume that this is what prompts God to bless you -- how you are having sex -- then boy, you need to re-read the life of David. I can tell you that the Bathsheba incident coupled w/what happened to Bathsheba's husband was not something we should emulate just because "God blessed David."
#2 False assumption. Abraham didn't have that many children, did he? Let's take a more contemporary example of someone you may regard as a "posterity...builder of the kingdom" -- Brigham Young. He had 27 women. 57 kids. In 19th century America, that only worked out to an average of just barely over 2 kids per bedpartner -- well below the demographic average of the times in the U.S.
Young had 57 kids divided by two dozen bedpartners = less than 2.4 kids per partner. When you consider that 9 partners aged 19-29 at marriage collectively gave Brigham Young "zero" children...
...and another six women gave him six TOTAL children (and these were women aged 18-25 at marriage)...
...and then another two women only gave him two children per (ages 18 & 20, respectively at marriage)...
...for a total of 17 women who had 2 or less children...
...you realize that Brigham probably kept another 50 children from being born by being a "female consumer" of plural bedpartners.
No. For the most part, polygamy lowered the avg. # of children born by each plural "partner" by robbing other men of a wife & family.
Some of the greatest people I know came from these families. (I know you will love that statement)
(Well, a personal "thank you" for this compliment! :) )
Some of the greatest people I know came from these families. (I know you will love that statement)
(Well, a personal “thank you” for this compliment! :) )
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See lawsone ???
In spite of yourself kid...
You CAN say nice things about the Christians...
We love colofornian too...
and the other FReepers from polygamous families...
Their lives are miracles...
God help them to escape the foul practice...
and their posts here are a blessing...
Thank you for your compliments to my lovely FRiends...
:)