A Scenario for our Male Apologists to Consider...

[_SteelHead]

Not pagan converts, but actual congregations in Africa where.it is practiced.

Google is your friend.

[_madeleine]

Not pagan converts, but actual congregations in Africa where.it is practiced.

Google is your friend.

I did google. What I read were of Protestant congregations with African pagan/tribal cultural roots. Not as Mormons, and a few other polygamous Christan groups, who did not originally come from polygamous cultures, but believe they should emulate the cultures of the Old Testament.

[_SteelHead]

Well the argument can be made that all protestant denominations in Africas have pagan roots. We could make the same argument for virtually every religion.

[_madeleine]

Well the argument can be made that all protestant denominations in Africas have pagan roots. We could make the same argument for virtually every religion.

By from, I mean the people in Africa live in a polygamous tribal culture, now. They're polygamy is not an emulation of an ancient Old Testament culture. They aren't polygamous because that is what their religion is teaching them.

19th century Mormons were living in monogamous cultures. Their polygamy was an emulation of an ancient culture that was not their own. Based on what their religion was teaching them.

[_SteelHead]

There are African congregations who practice polygamy specifically because it was practiced in the Old Testament. Some even go so far as to teach it is the correct order of things.

[_madeleine]

There are African congregations who practice polygamy specifically because it was practiced in the Old Testament. Some even go so far as to teach it is the correct order of things.

Right, that is why I said, I would need to know what groups you are talking about. But, you wanted to be mysterious, and make me guess! I googled, I didn't see anything but tribal polygamists.

For groups like this, I view them like Mormons...making up new religions and calling them a restoration of primitive Christianity. Can't say they're apostate as first they would have needed to been orthodox. I haven't seen a group yet that didn't come from many iterations removed from orthodoxy...the result of denominational Protestantism.

[_SteelHead]

I painted with to broad a brush..... Sorry but I am only slightly familiar with African polygamy and am in no means any way qualified to speak to the history, sociology etc of the topic.

I would say that arguing the validity of polygamy based on the Bible is an exercise in tail chasing. Pick your flavor.

My personal belief it is more a cultural manifestation more practiced in cultures where women are viewed as either chattel or subservient to men, than it is a manifestation of a religious edict.

But what do I know?

Morally, as long as everyone involved is a consenting adult, who cares?

[_LDSToronto]

Interesting. This is the same reasoning Tobin uses to explain the bad stuff (like racism) in the Book of Mormon. It sort of follows the Mormon "a prophet is a prophet only when he was acting as such" approach to determining the will and mind of God, but applies it to scriptures. Sometimes inspired scriptures are telling us what not to do or believe, but they don't tell us when they are doing it.

-JV

Indeed, it is why I believe the need for an authoritative interpreter of scripture, that is guided by the Holy Spirit. :) It is one of the things that drew me to Catholicism.

Let's be clear - Mormon's only say, "a prophet is a prophet only when he was acting as such" when a doctrine is socially unacceptable.

Catholics, on the other hand, blatantly ignore the Pope if he says something they don't like and make no bones about it.

Once again proving the point that we are all guided by our own inner moral code.

H.

[_Drifting]

Let's be clear - Mormon's only say, "a prophet is a prophet only when he was acting as such" when a doctrine is socially unacceptable.

Doesn't the said prophet also have to be dead before his inspired words are ditched and claimed as only personal opinion?

[_madeleine]

Let's be clear - Mormon's only say, "a prophet is a prophet only when he was acting as such" when a doctrine is socially unacceptable.

Catholics, on the other hand, just blatantly ignore the Pope if he says something they don't like and make no bones about it.

Once again proving the point that we are all guided by our own inner moral code.

H.

Ha, you made me laugh out loud on that one. Too funny and so right.

But it is Catholic teaching that our fallen nature gives us the unending tendency to put ourselves in the center.