Thursday, October 15, 2009

Ignorance is Still Rampant

Recently I had to read yet again that "it's wrong for a man to lust after a married woman.", which was immediately followed by "But it is NO LESS ADULTERY when a MARRIED man lusts after a SINGLE woman." (capitals are not mine). Sadly, capitalization doesn't make what is said any more true. If something is wrong, it remains wrong, no matter how much stress one might wish to put on it.

Well, I am not going to argue this very, very common misconception here, but will rather link you to the respective article on our main site where we explained at length why this particular statement is a wholly modern concept and not at all reflected in Scripture. Jesus would not have had the above mindset when he said what he said in Mat 5:27. See, had he thought so, what he said would translate to it being sinful if a man, married or unmarried, lusts after a woman, married or unmarried. This would have made every attraction between man and woman a sin.... Well, I know that those who use the above argument can wax very romantic about their spouses and go on at length about how they met and fell in love with each other, which, following their own logic, should be a sinful thing they should be ashamed of and repent for.

No no, people. If you approach Scripture from a modern day perspective, you always end up in a pickle. You need to get used to the Hebrew mindset in order to understand.

If you are interested, please read more here:

The Biblical Concept Of Adultery

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

T'is the Season

Yes yes, you read correctly - T'is the season to be jolly ! The month of Tishrei is almost upon us, and with it the three big biblical days/feasts than end the biblical feast year - Feast of Trumpets, Day of Atonement and Feast of Tabernacles. Here are the dates for this year, in case you don't know:

Feast of Trumpets: September 19th, 2009

Day of Atonement: September 28th

Feast of Tabernacles: October 3rd - 10th

And remember, the Feast starts at sundown and ends at sundown, so to be precise, the Feast of Trumpets starts September 18th at sundown and ends September 19th at sundown.

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

What's so special about the family ?

I recently talked to a lady who held that practically everything that I listed in my (random) 10 reasons for polygyny could very well be done in a monogamous marriage or even without being married since some social group or another was just as good in taking care of the elderly, supporting you in your home schooling efforts, etc., as long as people chose to treat each other with love and respect. I disagree. Here is what I think is so special about the family:

Our approach to the family is purely biblical. The vision of the family that we have is multi-generational, and that does not only mean that many generations live under one roof, but that the vision is meant to sustain the family for hundreds of years, a vision for our children's children's children, and their great grand-children, too. Think of the promise given to Abraham, and whom it concerned.

The family is the place where all social responsibility used to be placed - care for the young as well as the old, education, work, etc. etc. etc.. This is an ideal we are restoring: We are building a
household. No other group of people, whether they are bound together by ideology, common interests, creed, race, vicinity (like a neighborhood), common fate, employment, etc. has ever been or will ever be able to substitute the family adequately. Groups like this as well as the state institutions that have taken over the responsibilities of the family (like schools, nursing homes, etc.) are weak, inadequate, mediocre, and short lived.

The family is more than just a group of individuals that happens to live under one roof for a time.

Monday, April 27, 2009

Dandelions

As you might have noticed, I haven't blogged as regularly recently, and here is the reason: The gardening season has begun ! We have been eating our own spinach and green onions already, planted a lot of stuff and worked on our other garden beds to prepare them for what will soon be planted in them.

Tomorrow we will harvest a particular crop that grows unasked, but certainly not unwelcome, and in abundance: Dandelion greens.

Dandelions have roots that go very deep into the soil. Thus, they draw lots of minerals and nutrients to the surface of the soil, and store them in their greens too. Therefore, they are a very healthy addition to our, and your, diet, if you take the time to pick them.

All parts of the plant are edible, really, here is a list of uses (via About.com):
  • Dandelion root can be roasted as a coffee-substitute, or boiled and stir-fried as a cooked vegetable.
  • Dandelion flower can be made into a wine, or boiled and stir-fried as a cooked vegetable.
  • Dandelion greens (i.e., the leaves) can be boiled, as you would spinach, and used as a cooked vegetable, in sandwiches or as a salad green with some "bite."
After cutting them, wash your dandelion greens well, and cook them like spinach. A little bit of garlic and onion goes well with it, and if you add Parmesan cheese when you serve it, I am sure you will like it, too.

Gather your dandelions while you may.

Thursday, April 9, 2009

The Feast Week

After some days of busy preparation the Feast of Unleavened Bread is now upon us, dear sisters, and I hope you had a blessed and tasty Passover meal last night.

Now let me say a few things about feasts.

I know that many Christians know that what they usually celebrate - Christmas, Easter, probably Pentecost - are not biblical feasts, but feasts that were introduced by historical Christianity. We know that Jesus was not born towards the end of December for even in Israel the shepherds are not out there at night in the middle of the winter. There is no such thing as Easter in the bible, but peoples have worshiped the sun and fertility goddesses for a long time, and all the symbolism - including sunrise services and eggs, right down to the name of the feast - points not to any biblical feast, but to the pagan origins of Easter. Yes, Pentecost is mentioned in the bible as the occasion on which the Holy Spirit comes down on the disciples, and time-wise it coincides with the biblical Feast of Weeks (50 days after Passover), but there is no biblical indication that Pentecost should be celebrated.

In short, what Christianity does is ignore the biblical feasts, probably for fear of appearing Jewish in some form or fashion, and celebrate their own feasts instead. Jesus is clear about this attitude. He condemns it, saying:
"And he said to them, "Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, "'This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.' You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men." And he said to them, "You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition! " (Mar 7:6-9)
But many Christians seem to be very fearful of giving up their traditional feasts, even if they know that it is not right to cling to them. Especially when it comes to Christmas, they feel as though something very precious and special is taken from them and their life is the poorer for it. They do not want to lose the "magic" of Christmas, so to speak.

Well, you know what ? If we celebrated the Hebrew feasts as they are appointed by Yahweh, they would be as precious to us as Christmas and Easter are to people nowadays, they would hold as much festival atmosphere, and what is more, they would add to our life what Yahweh meant to be added to our life by those feasts. If you look at traditional Christianity's feasts closely, there is not much Christian about them anymore anyway. The important bits are gifts, Easter egg hunts and the like, not what is actually commemorated according to the churches...

To cut a long story short: You don't really have all that much to lose if you give up your pagan (i.e., historical Christian) feasts and celebrate the Hebrew feasts instead, but you have much, much to gain.

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Unleavened Bread

Yesterday I mentioned Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread, so today I would like to share a recipe for flatbread. This unleavened bread is great for sandwiches because it stays moist:

Ingredients:

3 eggs
1/3 cup oil
Salt to taste
3 cups all purpose flour

Beat eggs, mix with oil and salt (to taste), then add flour gradually, alternating with water until the batter is easy to pour. Pour into a very well-greased 15x10-inch jelly roll pan. Bake 15 to 20 minutes at 450°.

If you prefer whole wheat flour, use 4 eggs.

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Christian Holidays or Biblical Feasts ?

Christian holidays and how they should be celebrated has been a major bone of contention among Christians: Christmas tree or no Christmas tree ? Easter egg hunts or no Easter egg hunts ? But are you aware, dear sister, that neither Christmas nor Easter, nor Pentecost for that matter, are biblical feasts, feasts Yahweh TOLD us to keep ?

The feasts we are told to keep are Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of First Fruits, the Feast of Weeks, the Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and the Feast of Tabernacles, and there are Christians who realize that these are the appointed feasts and have started to observe them.

But alas, believe it or not, some of them actually eat lamb on Passover, thus showing that they lack even the most basic understanding of what the Passover lamb has stood for, typologically, from the beginning. The blood of the lamb saved Israel's first born sons from death. Christ's blood paid the wages for sin.

So no more lamb killing at Passover, please, for Christ was the last Passover Lamb to be killed.

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Early Vegetables

Yesterday I mentioned gardening, so let me continue with this topic today, because:

It is time to get the early vegetables planted !

Yes, I know, for many the last frost date is still a while off, but with a cold frame you can still start your salads, beets, radishes and even carrots already. The brassica family (broccoli, cauliflower, red and green cabbage, kale, etc.) also prefers the spring and the early months of summer over the hot weather of July and August, so you better start sowing now, and put some plastic over your garden beds to both increase what sunlight you are already given, and to keep your early vegetables nice and warm when the nights get cold.

If you have room for it, it might also behoove you to start planting your tomatoes, peppers, eggplant and whatever else you will be wanting to eat in the summer now, in peat pots or the plastic version thereof. Heating mats will help keep your seedlings toasty if you do not have room inside the house, but have to keep them in the garage or some barn, or shed.

Besides, it might not be a bad idea to map out what you wish to plant where in your garden, to consult companion planting guides that are available in book form or online, and if you haven't done so in the fall, maybe also to get a soil testing kit so that you know which nutrients your soil still lacks.

So get your gardening clothes out of the closet, and enjoy !

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

A Well-Oiled Machine

When people consider the large, multi generational and polygynous family, of course many wonder about how sharing the work day may look like practically speaking, with so many adults around who are all able and willing to participate in the work that needs done.

Well, I guess I already used the most important word that keeps the running of the household smooth and peaceful - participate. In a large family like this, it is unhelpful if everybody wishes to run the show, yet, it is equally unhelpful if one person has to micromanage everything that is done. So what is needed is a spirit of participation, where everybody takes responsibility for his and her particular area of work that he or she is busy with this week, this month, or this season.

If I am responsible for cooking the meals this week, for example, I will compile the week's menu, compose the grocery list with everything needed, and prepare the meals as I see fit to offer my family both healthy and tasty food. Next week, another member of the family might be responsible for the cooking and I can enjoy meals new to me, or different from how I would make them, and be inspired and nourished at the same time.

Or if I am responsible for the garden this month, it is up to me to water and prune, harvest and process whatever the garden yields this particular month. In those months in which the harvest is plentiful, we might be sharing this responsibility with two or three members, while I can very well take care of the garden by myself in the early months of the gardening season, when pulling weeds, watering and staking are the activities necessary.

You see, responsibilities may very well change, especially when it comes to those things everyone seems to like, or dislike, so that joys and burdens are shared equally. And while I am busy working away in one particular area, I can be creative and use my imagination and skills to the best of my ability and the good of all. If someone has a suggestion on how I am doing things, suggestions are welcome, of course, as is advice and help, but the responsibility is on me, and so is the ultimate decision on how I am doing things this week, this month, this season.

This does not mean that everybody does as he or she pleases and when the responsibilities change, it is difficult for another member of the family to take over, no. Of course we have a general understanding of how things are done - weeds are not to take over the garden, dishes are to be done after meals, for example - but the micromanagement is up to me in my particular area of responsibility. This way we avoid discussions or even tenseness about the small things of everyday life, and ensure that the household resembles a well-oiled machine at all times.

Friday, March 20, 2009

On being a Contentious Woman

Having strong, educated opinions about significant things is good, and is a valuable asset to the family, but to be bull headed about trivial matters is simply selfishness and contention... Any mature individual should be able to discern the difference. There is a line (that's not so fine) between strong opinion and contention. Don't mistake one for the other.

Remember Proverbs 27:15-16.

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Opposition

Let me say a word or two about where the opposition to biblical polygyny comes from.

It might or might not surprise you, but I have never met anyone quite as rabidly opposed polygyny as so-called "good Christians". To the majority of modern day Christianity, polygyny is simply wrong, and they are as ashamed of the biblical accounts of polygyny as they are of the mentioning of slaves or concubines. Not understanding any of the three mentioned examples because they approach polygyny, slavery and concubienage with modern day definitions and the attitude historical Christianity has towards these issues, they feel comfortable judging Abraham, King David and others for "sins" God never judged them for, and have no problem relying on the majority agument ("if more people thought like you do, you would be more convincing", "after all, we all know polygyny is wrong", and similar phrases) instead of relying on Scripture to shape their theology.

The more ecclectic the Christans we talked to were, the less issues they seemed to have with polygyny, not for biblical, but for humanistic reasons. Since they did not rely on the Scriptures as their only standard, they felt comfortable not to condemn polygamy because they themselves did not want to be condemned for, for example, blending their traditional pagan believes with Christianity. So the further away people we met were from God's word, the easier it was for them to accept polygyny.

For us, this basically means that real brethren are few and far between. So if you are inclined towards believing God and relying on His word for all of life, and openly advocate biblical plural marriage, brace yourself for opposition from the Christian community, but rest assured, they only have so many arguments from the bible that they use out of context or have to reinterpret in order to make the Scriptures say what they wish it to say. God will not be mocked, though, and whoever is ashamed of God's word, of him God will be ashamed too.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Polygyny Only for the Brainwashed ?

Over the years I have talked to many married women who all told me basically the same thing, using different words: That they were yearning for female companionship inside their marriage, for sister wives with whom to share the joy and the work and the inevitable burdens too. They told me it was getting "female-lonely" where they lived, they had no like minded people around, nobody to talk to from woman to woman, especially if the children were still small. All these women had another thing in common: Their husbands were all very reluctant concerning polygyny, not all that eager to look for another wife at all.

I find this to be interesting for two reasons:
1. Quite obviously, you don't have to be brain washed by some cult to see the benefits and joys of having sister wives.

2. It's is not always the poor woman that is dragged into something she never wanted. In our society, polygyny seems to appeal more to women than it does to men.

Think about it, and about your prejudices... Polygyny is not about men who are so lust driven that they cannot make do with one wife only. If that was the case, they could go to the whore house and save a lot of money in the long run, rather than taking responsibility for another wife. No, polygyny is about building godly families, if the family lives by God's Law Word and their motives are grounded firmly in Scripture.

Friday, March 6, 2009

Defining Terms - "Holy" and such

I was made aware of this problem this morning: That I need to tell you, esteemed reader, how we define our terms.

When we at Joshuah's House, which is our main website, talk about anything referring to Scripture, we are careful to let Scripture define the terms used. Scripture explains itself, and we make use of bible software and bible dictionaries to recapture the Hebrew mindset, and to find out what the Greek expression for one term or another would have been, in order to discern the Scriptures rightly.

We had to explain at length at one point, for example, why the biblical definition of the word "adultery", which is different from the more modern definition, is important to know when trying to understand what Jesus says about adultery. According to the biblical definition of adultery, polygyny cannot be adultery because the marital status of the woman defines whether or not adultery is committed. If a married woman lies with a man other than her husband, they are committing adultery. If an unmarried woman lies with a married man, they are not committing adultery, but they have just married. Of course modern definitions are different, but when you look at other bible dictionaries, you will find that they tell you what the Hebrews had in mind when they used the term "adultery". If you wish to read the respective article on Joshuah's House, let me refer you to the Apologetics.

So, of course I also did some research on the word "holy", and the article I posted here recently is based on that research. If you wish to read more about holiness, see the results of my word research, and learn a little more about the concept of separation, please have a look at
"By Way Of Remembrance" (2Pe 3:1) - Holiness in the Bible

Thursday, March 5, 2009

Why no TV ?

I have ranted about TV elsewhere, but will repeat the short version here too. There is only one thing that you really NEED to do about TV, and that is: SHUT IF OFF.

What's on TV is not called "program" for no reason - it is what is programming you to be the little goose-stepping Nazi the government wishes you to be. Television tells you what to like and what to dislike, what to buy and what to read, what to believe and what to question... It is the biggest brain washer you can imagine, so stay away from it.

Not watching TV will also free up a tremendous amount of time that you do not need to spend either watching it or talking with other people about what you watched, so you can actually get something productive done instead.

You want information ? Buy a few newspapers, or look online. You want entertainment ? Read a book, go outside and listen to the birds, or ask your grandma to tell you about her childhood. You are too tired to read or do anything much ? Go to bed. But don't subject yourself to that mind numbing machine. It will ruin you for any clear thought.

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Modesty Saves Money

In difficult times when people are losing their jobs left and right and are short of money for any number of reasons, even those of you, dear sisters, who haven't taken modesty very seriously, might want to look at it again. I will give you a few reasons for modesty that you might have an ear for now:
  • If you stop using make up, you can save the money you spent on eye shadow, lipstick etc. According to the book of Enoch, the shadowing of the eye is one of the skills brought to us by the Watchers, designed to defile mankind.
  • If you start wearing a head covering 24/7, you can save the money you used to spend at the hair dressers as much as what you spent on hair spray, gels or other fancy things. Simple shampoo, even baking soda and vinegar, will do just fine. Read 1 Cor 11 to find out why wearing a head covering might be a good idea.
  • If you stop buying clothing of the latest fashion, you will have plenty of money for some fabric to sew for yourself some simple dresses or skirts and shirts. If you don't have sewing machine, you can easily buy one from the leftover money that will still be in what used to be your clothing budget. And read 1 Ti 2 and what Paul has to say about apparel.
  • If you stop wearing jewelry, you can sell what you have and use the extra money to stock up on food, or buy a water filter, or seeds, or any other tangible that will keep you alive when things get worse. Read 1 Pe 3 for another chapter that mentions jewelry and adornment in general.
These are just examples... There is much more to modesty, but if you start with these, it will already save you considerable money. Oh, and shut off the TV and cancel whatever channels you were paying for. That will help too ! And comment please, if you have something to add :)

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

The Holiness Principle

"Be holy, for I am holy", God says in Leviticus, and Peter repeats it in his first letter. Be holy, for I am holy. Now, what does that mean, "be holy" ?

If you look at the respective Hebrew and Greek words for "holy", you will find that the concept expressed is that of separation. Being holy means to be set apart for God, basically.

How can we be holy nowadays, then, how can we set ourselves apart and consecrate ourselves for God ? We have to separate ourselves from everything that is ungodly, secular, abominable to the Lord. In today's world, this means we have to separate ourselves from society as the world we live in is largely ungodly, even within the church community we find more abominations and lawlessness than not. But the spirit does not enter into an unclean vessel, and we have to stir clear of those who work iniquity, if we want to follow God's statutes and be holy, as He is holy.

Of course this has something to do with polygamy too - How can you best be separate from society ? If you have a large family, or a community of brethren to rely on, that's how. And the more wives your husband has, and the more children you all have, the better are the chances that you will be truly independent of society's services. Don't despair if it does not happen in your lifetime, though. Abraham believed God when He promised to make Abraham's offspring as numerous as the stars, even if Abraham didn't even have a son at that point and was well beyond the age in which men usually father children. Yet he believed the Lord, and it was counted him as righteousness, so let us follow Abraham's and Sarah's example, believe God, think bigger, and develop a multi-generational vision, especially in troubled times as these.

Monday, March 2, 2009

"Forced" Homemaking in the City

One of my readers was so kind to share her current situation on the last post titled "Jobs, jobs, jobs", and I am sure that her experience is shared by many women recently: She lost her job and is home all day now, the children are grown up already, and living in the city her means of growing a garden are very limited too. It is a terrible situation to be in, very frustrating, and I guess the temptation to just sit in front of the TV all day just to kill time and don't think about how bad things are is big. But of course this will make things worse. So what can you do if you are thrown into a situation like this, with less money than you are used to to boot ?

For a start, you can always start buying less convenience food and more raw ingredients, and start cooking and baking from scratch. If you bake your own bread, for example, you will save a lot of money and also eat healthier as the bread you bake lacks artificial ingredients, flavor enhancers and other unnecessary stuff.

WHOLE WHEAT BREAD RECIPE

To bake two nice loaves of whole wheat bread you only need

6 cups flour,
2 tsp active dry yeast
1/2 cup of lukewarm water, and another 2 1/4 cups of lukewarm water
2.5 tsp of salt,
and time to knead and bake. Whole wheat needs to be kneaded for 20-30 minutes if you do not wish to bake a door stop ;)

Dissolve the yeast in half a cup of water, then add flour, stir, add salt, stir, add the remaining water, stir. When the ingredients are mixed, start kneading, not to forceful at first, just gently, and once the dough begins to be elastic, you can knead more vigorously.
Adjust the consistency of the dough: If after about 10 minutes of kneading the dough is not springy but still somewhat juicy, add a little more flour. If it gets too dry and somewhat hard, add a little more water - it will probably be enough to make your hands wet and continue kneading.

After about 10 minutes, give your dough time to rise. Place it in a greased bowl, cover it with a damp cloth, and give it about 2 hours to rise for the first time. When the dough is doubled, punch it down and let it rise another hour.

Then form your two loaves, put them on a greased baking sheet, cover them and let them sit again while the oven preheats. Bake your bread at 350F for about an hour. It is done when
- it is golden brown
- makes a hollow sound if you pick it up from the baking sheet and tap the bottom sharply with your knuckles or fingertips

Other than baking your own bread, you can make your own stock for soups:

SOUP STOCK RECIPE

Simply save vegetable trimmings from onions, carrots, celery, mushrooms, garlic, eggplant, zucchini, squash, spinach, parsley, potatoes, etc. Cover trimmings with water, bring to a boil them in plenty of water and then simmer gently for about half an hour, until the vegetables are very soft. Drain, discard the vegetables, and freeze the stock you just produced. You can use it for and kind of soup you wish to make. Do NOT use pepper innards, artichoke trimmings, tomato trimmings, or any trimmings from any member of the brassica family (cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli etc), they will make stock bitter.

And one last idea:

PASTA FROM SCRATCH

3 eggs
1 tsp salt
herbs to taste
2 cups of flour
flour for the kneading board (no need to skimp on flour when making pasta)

Crack eggs in a bowl, add salt and any herbs you like (basil, for example, does well, or even pepper), and beat the eggs. Then add flour and knead dough quickly. Let sit for a few moments, the roll dough out on a floured surface, turn dough often while rolling it out. When the dough is thin enough to your taste, cut in pieces and let the pasta dry. Store in fridge or freezer.

Baking and cooking from scratch will save you money, give you meaningful, important work to do at home, and you will find that it is a satisfying experience to eat better with less costs. Your family's health will benefit, too, let's not forget that.

These are just a few examples... You could also start sewing your own clothing, knitting sweaters, growing a kitchen garden and planting potatoes in a bucket on the balcony, make your own soap, or any number of other activities in the home that improve your life and give you meaningful work to do at the same time.

If you have more ideas, dear reader, please add them.

Friday, February 27, 2009

Jobs, Jobs, Jobs

Recently I received a letter from a distant family member, updating us on how everybody is doing. The predominant word in her letter was "job". She told us about her job and that of her husband, about her children's jobs and their respective spouses' jobs, stating that they were all reasonably happy with their jobs although they all spent a lot of time on their jobs and also complained about their jobs from time to time. Not a word about children among the newly weds of the family, and hardly anything about anything else anyone is doing. Needless to say that all of them are working outside the home, not one home maker among the lot.

So here is why I am telling you all this:
Have you ever considered that working outside the home is slavery, or at best, indentured servitude ? And for a married woman, it means that she puts herself under the authority of people other than her husband, most times under the authority of another man, their employer.

Have you ever considered that the economic activities of a diligent home maker easily equal the amout of money many women earn in their jobs outside the home ? So while many women go out to earn the money that allows them to buy convenience food that is unhealthy and doesn't taste as good as home made cooking, while they are out there earning the money to buy produce they don't grow, clothing they don't sew, and pay a handyman for all the small repairs nobody has time to do around the house, to name but a few examples, the home maker runs her house neatly and nicely like a well oiled machine and sees to it that her husband has no need of spoil, and that her family is happy and healthy, that her children are well cared for and well educated.

Now, think again, and imagine not one woman running the house, but several women running their common husband's house - can you imagine how much work you can get done without getting all stressed out ? How much food you can grow ? How many children you can raise and hoem school ? How much clothign you can sew ? How many cans of beans you can can, and pies you can bake, and bars of soap you can make, etc etc etc ... I could go on forever !

Well, I prefer this life in the multi-generational, polygynous family over the rat race so many people deliberately involve themselves in every day... What is your opinion on the matter, esteemed reader of this post ?

Thursday, February 26, 2009

A Word About Home Schooling

Yes, I know this is a well discussed topic, but let me add a a few word from the plural marriage family perspective.

It is well known that there is nothing natural about sticking a bunch of kids of the same age into a classroom for half the day every day and let them educate each other, basically. School has it wrong, and we all know it. Peer pressure abounds, children are under bad influences... A more artificial environment is difficult to imagine.

Then again, if you are living in a monogamous marriage and home school, your children are taught with only a few "classmates", even if you have 8, 9, 10 children. Imagine, however, the multi-generational family with lots and lots of children of all ages, who grow up together, who learn together, and who have more than one teacher as all the adults of the multi-generational and polygynous family have a share in the home schooling of the young ones. Grandpa might teach the boys woodwork, grandma will show the girls how to knit, alongside a classical educational and the inevitable gardening lessons, of course, Father reads Scripture after dinner and teaches the children how to discern properly, and and and...

Home schooling takes place all day long and no matter who the children are with. The multi-generational, polynynous family is the ideal place for a child to grow up and learn, ideal because every child will have many siblings to be best friends with, and there are many adults around to teach the young ones what they need to live a happy life by God's standard.

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Protection in Bad Times

Another thing I mentioned in my list the other day was that, in a polygynous family, you would be protected in bad times.

Now, if you look out the window - and I don't mean literally just yet, although things might very well turn bad enough that literally looking out the window will show you just how bad things have got - you can see that the economy is all but collapsed, people are losing their jobs, businesses are closing... Soon we will see once respectable citizens digging through other people's garbage cans for food, and that will be the least dangerous sight on our streets.

Would it not be comfortable to know, then, that even in times like this, you are living in a community that is both strong and healthy enough to protect all its members from bad influences in any form or fashion ? And that this community you are living in is held together by the strongest bond imaginable - blood ? This community is your family, if you are living in a multi-generational and polygynous family.... Think about it !, and leave a comment if you so desire.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

The Multi-Generational Vision

Today let me say a few words about our multi-generational vision for the family.

Maybe you noticed, in my little list I posted yesterday, that I talked about you in your old age as well. This has a simple reason: What God has joined in marriage, we are not to put asunder, and so we plan on all of us living on our "family compound" until we die. If God is merciful and grants us a big family and many children, we will hopefully see our grandchildren and great-grandchildren grow up on the "compound", which basically means that our children will stay on the family land when they are married, build their house next to ours, and so will their children, and so on.

The idea is that the very young as well as the very old, and all ages in between, have a place in the family where they can live a fulfilled life, and do meaningful work appropriate for their age and abilities. The young add strength and fresh ideas to the family endeavor, the elderly their experience and wisdom. Everybody can benefit from the presence of the other, all the joys and all the burdens are shared... In short, the multi-generational, plural family has the potential to provide everything for the family that now is provided by the state, from schooling to taking care of the elderly, from health services to food supply.

Ideally, the multi-generational polygynous family is independent from society and can rely on its own members to provide whatever is needed by itself. Why is self sufficiency our goal, you ask ? The reason is simple: Society is largely ungodly and prevents us from living according to God's Law Word wherever it can, so that we may serve the state. But that, to us, is compulsion, because the state ignores and violates God's Law Word in any number of ways as is its own god and its own law giver. Since we follow God's guidelines alone, separation from the world, and hence self-sufficiency, are crucial.

Monday, February 23, 2009

10 Reasons for Polygyny

Dear Sister-to-Be,

I was thinking it might be fun to list 10 reasons why living in a polygynous family is a great idea. There are many many more reasons than just 10, but I think a list of 10 is a good thing for a start. I am not listing things in a particular order, just as they come to mind:

  1. You are living in a big family with your best friends always around, and a lot of support for your life style from other adults.
  2. You have a lot of children around, your own and those of your sister wives.
  3. The work in house and garden is distributed evenly amongst the adults of the family.
  4. You, as a part of the family, can live self sufficiently on the family's own land, and so can your children.
  5. You are well protected in bad times, and in good company at all times.
  6. You can home school your children together with other children of the household.
  7. You will not have to go to a nursery home when you are old, but will be well cared for all the days of your life.
  8. You can eat wholesome food that the family grew itself.
  9. You can stay home with your children and don't have to sell yourself to an employer.
  10. Your children have plenty of other children to grow up with, who are all raised according to the same standard.
Questions, comments ? Please do to hesitate to say what you have to say.

Friday, February 20, 2009

Children are a blessing !


Here is another aspect that is essential to the Christian family, monogamous or polygamous - children ! We love children, we love our children, and we would hope that God has lots of siblings for them still in store. If you love children too, you are right here.

Of course we home school, as the bible commands the parents to take the education of their children into their own hands and teach them morning, noon and night. Generally speaking, we follow the guidelines of classical education for our children, and living in the countryside provides a wealth of home schooling topics, too, just as the many economic activities that take place inside the house do.

If you wish to know more, please do not hesitate to comment.

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Country Living

Now that we told you about the biblical foundation of our plural marriage family, let me sketch briefly where and how we plan on living:

We believe that, in order to take dominion as God said we should, living in the country side is essential. In order to be good stewards of the earth as well as our temple, we need to be living close to God's creation, work with our own hands and mind our own business, expecting others to do the same - mind their own business.

So growing our own food is essential as much as building a homestead where generations can live. Home should be a place where the family lived for generations, the land will know the family, and if we keep the Sabbaths of the land, and all His commandments, God will see to it that it will be well with us, our children, and their children after them.

So if you join us, you can look forward to a lot of time spent outside in the garden and yard, a lot of fresh produce to eat and fresh air to breathe, and meaningful work for everyone in the family. Interested ? Don't hesitate to write a comment :)

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

The Foundation


Hi everybody, it's Talitha again.

Today I wish to tell you a little bit about the foundation of our family dream, that is, the conviction that God meant marriage to be a bond forever, between man and woman. Marriage is a holy institution, and the marriage covenant is not to be violated by either the husband or the wife.

Now, we also see in the bible that this bond of marriage may be between one man and one woman just as well as between one man and several women, and we also see that it is NOT meant to be between one woman and several men, or between woman and woman, or man and man.

It is our conviction that God gave us plural marriage, or polygyny, as a tool of dominion, in order to raise godly children that are loyal to Him, and in order to raise up a multi-generational household that can stand strong against the enemy and survive even in difficult times, relying on God's Law Word for guidance.

This is what we are working towards, joyfully and with great zeal. Questions ? Write a comment and ask :)

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Welcome, Sisters


This blog has a very specific purpose, and I am hopeful that many sisters will find it soon.

My name is Talitha, and I am looking for a sister wife to join our family... I will blog about our family here, who we are, what is important to us, what you can expect when you join us, and if I find interesting news, I will blog those too.

For now - Grace and Peace,
Talitha

"Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path." (Psa 119:105)