Including those in office, but also drawing on the opinions of Republicans that I personally know. I think that matters and is valid, considering these are the people that will potentially vote for people that will enforce these RIDICULOUS things.




I disagree on several points in here (namely condemnation of male homosexuality, outside of the context of idolatry, from the viewpoint of the Jews). But that is not the point of this post so I'm not going to go there. I just wanted to mention it.




Gotta agree with you here. Genesis actually speaks against many things we are "told" that it says (my favorite: the purpose of the first Biblical "marriage" is NOT baby-making! It's companionship!)



I feel like what you refer to as sex culture is in part what I'm talking about. The culture we live in makes people feel entitled to sex whether it is wanted by the partner or not. Definitely. The other part involves on our legal system. It's incredibly difficult to prove that you were raped, and yes, even though there are false rape accusations happening, there are also many men and women who do not come forward because of how our society shames them. THEN there are lovely gems such as this case ( http://www.ctpost.com/news/article/Supreme-Court-sets-accused-rapist-free-3910077.php ) where the Supreme Court decided this woman was "able" to fight off her rapist but "didn't" so they sent him on his merry raping way. They are implying that women live in a constant state of consent which is WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG. NOTHING means "yes" except "yes," and the fact that the Supreme Court says otherwise is just... astounding. Watching people get away with rape DOES encourage others. This topic isn't just about women being raped, despite the fact that this rape culture is closely tied to the patriarchy and misogyny. Male rape victims rarely come forward and are often encouraged NOT to come forward. What more proof do you need?



The issue here is that the legal system does not take rape or any kind of sexual assault seriously. It shames the people who do come forward and sometimes punishes them financially as well (women/their insurance companies often have to pay for "rape kits" to be collected. What other crimes require this of the victim?).





Believing only un-wed whores want an abortion is hilarious to me, considering there have been a few articles/essays written on pro-life women coming and getting an abortion because "their case was different" than all the other women in the waiting room. Please. Classism at its finest!




Note I said the people the Bible is speaking about, not the Bible itself. I think this should be just as relevant to the conversation if you're looking to the Bible for answers. Although maybe I'm just one of those crazy people that thinks everyone should actually study the Bible, its time frame, the people it speaks of, and their culture before you go thumping it.

The Mishnah explicitly states that if the mother's life is in danger, the fetus should be aborted because her life is more valuable (so long as the "greater part" of the fetus is still inside her, implying, at least, late term abortions being okay). It does draw the line at the "greater part" of the fetus being outside of the mother, in the likelihood that the fetus has taken a breath and is therefore a human. That would be murder.

In the case of marriage being religious (especially in the Hebrew Bible), you're actually quite mistaken. Marriages within such a patriarchal construct were almost completely secular, and certainly not religious in the way marriages are performed today. And love is certainly not a requirement, and, in fact, the minority. They were agreements between houses, needed for economic survival. Bride prices were paid, as well as a dowry, both of which were likely one of the largest sources of income families would receive in their lifetime. The greatest value of a marriage at the time was in the manual labor it produced, not the love between people or its religious significance.

I agree with you that there is no legal or religious reason to ban polygyny. I'm just frustrated by the picking and choosing that happens when Bible-followers are trying to determine the private lives of the entire nation.