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Polygamy has been practiced by mankind for thousands of
years. Many of the ancient Israelites were polygamous, some having hundreds of
wives. King Solomon is said to have had seven hundred wives and three hundred
concubines. His father, David had ninety-nine, and Jacob, from whom the tribes
of Israel descended, had four. Advice has
been given by some Jewish wise men stating that no man should marry more than
four wives.
No early society put any restrictions on the number of
wives or put any conditions about how they were to be treated. Jesus, himself,
was not known to have spoken against polygamy. As recently as the 17th century,
polygamy was practiced and accepted by some sects of the Christian Church. The
Mormons (Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints) have allowed and
practice polygamy in the United States, even today.
Monogamy was introduced into Christianity at the time of
Paul when many revisions took place in Christianity. This was done in order that
the church conform to the dominant Greco-Roman culture where men were
monogamous but owned many slaves, who were free for them to use: in other another
word, they as good as practiced unrestricted polygamy.
Early Christians invented ideas that women were “full of
sin” and man was better off to “never marry.” Since this would spell the end
of mankind if put into practice, these same people compromised and said “marry
only one.”
Many times in the American society when relations are
strained, the husband simply deserts his wife. He may then cohabit with a
prostitute or with another immoral woman without going through the legalizing
ritual of marriage. Women sometimes do the complementary act, deserting their
husbands and then living with a new partner in an immoral relationship. More
common, however, is the practice of ‘living together’ immorally before marriage,
possibly trying out several partners before settling on someone to marry.
Actually there are three kinds of polygamy practiced in
Western societies:
(1) Serial polygamy, that is; marriage, divorce,
marriage, divorce and so on any number of times;
(2) A man married to one woman but having and
supporting one or more mistresses;
(3) An unmarried man having a number of mistresses.
Islam condones but discourages the first and forbids the other two.
Wars cause the number of women to greatly exceed the
number of men. In a monogamous society these women, left without husbands or
support, resort to prostitution, illicit relationships with married men
resulting in illegitimate children with no responsibility for them being taken on
the part of the father, or lonely spinsterhood or widowhood.
Some Western men take the position that monogamy
protects the rights of women. But are these men really concerned about the
rights of women? Society has many practices that exploit and suppress women,
and this is what has lead to the formation of women’s liberation movements,
from the suffragettes of the early twentieth century to the feminists of today,
and which still drive these movements to continue their campaigns for equal
treatment socially, as well as before the law.
The truth of the matter is that monogamy protects men,
allowing them to “play around” without responsibility. Easy birth control and
easy legal abortion has opened the door for illicit sex to women and she has
been lured into the so-called sexual revolution. But she is still the one who
suffers the trauma of abortion and the side effects of birth control methods.
Taking aside the plagues of venereal disease, herpes and
AIDS, the male continues to enjoy himself free of worry. Men are the ones
protected by monogamy while women continue to be victims of men’s desires. Polygamy
is very much opposed by the male dominated society because it would force men
to face up to responsibility and fidelity. It would force them to take
responsibility for their polygamous inclinations and would protect and provide
for women and children.
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