The media in Australia seems to be obsessed at present with the subject of gay marriage. Recently a Baptist pastor was sacked over the issue (for supporting gay marriage), and the ALP national conference voted to legalise gay marriage. This certainly is a current “hot” issue.
The Anglican Archbishop of Sydney, Peter Jensen, was shown several weeks ago on a national morning breakfast TV show making a comment on this issue. He noted that legalising gay marriage would fundamentally change the definition of marriage and open up marriages in Australia to all sorts of other possibilities, including polygamous marriage. This is clearly a ‘thin-edge-of-the-wedge’ argument. The morning breakfast show hosts ridiculed him for such arrant nonsense.
In last weekend’s Australian newspaper there was an article on the polygamous community in Australia: “Three in marriage bed more of a good thing” by Ean Higgins. Of course these polygamists don’t call themselves polygamists, but the polyamorous community! They are on about love: just more of it!
Slogans are powerful. The gay community have pushed that legalising gay marriage is about “equality”. Polygamists have jumped on the band-wagon by calling themselves the polyamorous community. Let me quote to you from Higgins’ article. Higgins quotes psychologist Nina Melksham as saying: “The polyamory community has always been supportive of the values of equality and acceptance”. The polyamorous community joined the Mardi Gras this year and believes that: “last weekend’s vote by the ALP national conference to change the party platform to legalise same-sex marriage is a base on which they can build.”
There are nuances I am leaving out from Higgins’ article, but you get the idea. Peter Jensen was right. Our society does not seem to understand what they are doing when they change the definition of “family”. Legalised polyamorous marriage may not be as far off as we may like to think. What’s next? Lowering the age at which children can be married? Arrant nonsense? What do you think?
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6 Comments
NotAScientist
“Legalised polyamorous marriage may not be as far off as we may like to think.”
So what?
Can you demonstrate that polyamorous marriage is a definitively bad thing or causes harm?
Martin Pakula (Author)
As a Christian I sit under the authority of the Bible’s teaching. Interestingly, in the Old Testament there is in fact polygamy. I think there are hints that it is not good. But in the New Testament it’s quite clear that marriage is to be between one man and one woman. But even in the Old Testament jealousy is constantly aroused in such marriages and tensions. It seems that God did not create us to be with more than one person at a time. Sometimes men had more than one wife in order to care for those women (no social services back then). In the end, it seems that loyalty to one spouse is a key teaching in the Bible. I would think that children would come off worse in a polygamous situation too.
Simon (Author)
Martin, thanks for your comments. I’m really glad you’ve written something on the marriage issue. As Christians, I believe we should be deeply concerned about what occurs in the public/social/political sphere. I also believe the church has seriously dropped the ball on this particular issue. Bill Muehlenberg has written a good article on that here.
I hope that Hills can be a place where we make a stand for the truth and goodness of God’s law. I also hope that Hills can be faithful to the Word of God both inside the church, and in the public sphere. Keep it up!
Denis Saveliev
As far as I know some Australian Muslim leaders already spoke for legalisation of polygamy in Australia a few years ago. Won’t be surprised if they will try to raise this question if future again, especially if there will be other non-Muslim groups in Australia pushing for this.
“What’s next? Lowering the age at which children can be married?”
More than sure that Muslims will support this as well (based on the example of their prophet).
Martin Pakula (Author)
Thanks Denis. I’m sure you’re right. The problem for Western liberal democracies is that we have no real moral reason to say no to any of these things once we jettison Christianity. Unless we can show that such changes will harm families, it will all go ahead.
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