PolyPride said:
Polygamy promotes and equals infidelity - the husband violates his marriage fidelity and promises to his wife when he has romantic/sexual engagements with any other woman outside of his marriage. Therefore, polygamy damages the value of marriage by allowing for 'married' men to cheat, and some times openly on their wife by having romantic/sexual acts with multiple women.
Ok, I will tackle this.
Infidelity: "Infidelity is a violation of the mutually agreed-upon rules or boundaries of an intimate relationship" (
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infidelity). In the majority of the cases polygamy is agreed upon in advance so it would not be infidelity.
Further, in Christian polygamy the goal is to not agree to arbitrary mutually agreed upon boundaries but to discover and live boundaries set by God. As near as I can tell God's boundaries are (paraphrased):
1. Any single adult Christian woman is available for marriage. Women already married are not available (See David and Bathsheba).
2. If you take a woman in marriage you have to keep her ("God hates divorce", No sampling the merchandise).
3. If you keep a woman you have to love and support her.
It is pretty simple really. If you live and follow the boundaries set by God and assume the considerable obligations thereof you are not "cheating" but in fact you are behaving honorably and properly and you get to partake of the joys and benefits of marriage including sex.
There is no arbitrary limit, but every man has to consider his own situation and ability to meet the required obligations.
How is this different than any man who sleeps around?
The big difference is that the man who sleeps around is not assuming the obligations. Certainly not #2 or #3, and often not #1 either. That is a big difference.
Is this a good example for children and women in our sex-crazed world?
Yes, it is an excellent and much needed example in our sex-crazed world.
A couple of points:
1. Living in a monogamous world a man in his ignorance of God's truth may have promised to be monogamous. Couples need to work out this issue together.
2. I have seen people say that want to live polygamously and the find another woman and she moves in for a few months and then they decided they do not like it and kick her out. I think this is against the rules (No sampling the merchandise!)
3. To be clear that one is not taking advantage of the system or the woman I think it is an honorable and good idea to have a written marital agreement and/or witnesses to the marriage (but not a state license). If a man is not willing to do this that is a danger sign of a man who is saying one thing but doing another.
Chris
