The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1891-04-16
THE LONDONDERRY SITTER.

made the most impression and that
some Christians have not been intelli-
gent enough to deny Is that the
Bible favors polygamy. Does the God
of the Bible uphold polygamy, or did
hel How many wives did God make
for Adam2 He made one wife, Does
not your common sense tell you when
God started the marriage institution he
started it as he wanted it to continued
II God had favored polygamy he could
have created for Adam five wives, or
ten wives, or twenty wives, Just as
easily as he made one
At the very first of the Bible God
shows himself in favor of monogamy
and antagonistic to polygamy Gen
esis ii, "a, Therefore shall man leave
his father and mother, and shall cleave
unto his wife," Not his wives, but his
wife. How many wives did God spare
for Noah in the arkl Two and two
the birds two and two the cattle; two
and two the lions; two and two the
human race II the God of the Bible
had favored multiplicity of wives he
would have spared plurality of wives.
When God first launched the human
race he gave Adam one wife. At the
second launching of the human race he
spares for Noah one wife, for Ham one
wife, for Shem one wife, for Japhet one
wife. Does that look as though God
favored polygamyl In Leviticus xviii,
IS, God thunders his prohibition of
more than one wife.
God permitted polygamy. Yes; just
as he permits today murder and theft
and arson and all kinds Of crime. He
permits these things, as you well know,
but he does not sanction them. Who
would dare to say he sanctions theml
Because the presidents of the United
States have permitted polygamy in
Utah you are not, therefore, to con-
clude that they patronized it, that they
approved it, when, on the contrary,
they denounced it. All of Gods an
Gent Israel knew that the God of the
Bible was against polygamy, for in the
four hundred and thirty years of their
stay in Egypt there is only one case
of polygamy recorded-only one,
All the mighty men of the Bible
stood aloof from polygamy except
those who, falling into the crime, were
chastised within an inch of their lives
Adam, Aaron, Noah, Joseph, Joshua,
Samuel, monogamists, But you say,
''Didn't David and Solomon favor
polygamy" Yes, and did they not get
well punished for it2 Read the lives of
those two men, and you will come to
the conclusion that all the attributes
of Gods nature were against their be-
havior. David suffered for his crimes
In the caverns of Adullam and Massada,
in the wilderness of Mahanaim, in the
bereavements of Ziklag. The Bedouins
after him, sickness after him, AbsaloIn
after him, Ahithopel after him, Adoni-
jah after him, the Edomites after him,
the Syrans after him, the Moabites
after linn, death after him, the Lord
God Almighty after him. The poorest
peasant in all the empire married to
the plainest Jewess was happier than
the king in his marital misbebavior
How did Solomon get along with
polygamy. Read his warnings in
Proverbs, read his self disgust in Ecclesi-
astes. He throws up his hand in loath-
ing and cries out, vanity of vanities,
all is vanity" His seven hundred
wives nearly pestered the life out Of
him. Solomon got we'll paid for his
crimes paid. | repeat that all
the mighty men of the Scriptures were
aloof from polygamy, save as they were
pounded and failed and cut to pieces
for their insult to holy marriage II
the Bible is friend of polygamy why
Is it that in all the lands where the Bl.
BILE predominates polygamy is forbid
den, and in all the lands where there Is
no Bible it is favored. Polygamy all
over China, all over India, all over At
RIGA, all over Persia, all over heathen-
dom, save as the missionaries have
done their work; while polygamy does
not exist in England and the United
States, except in defiance of law. The
Bible abroad, God honored monog-
amy. The Bible not abroad, God
abhorred polygamy.
BEAUTIFUL BIBLE PICTURES OF wo-
MAN.
Another false charge which infidelity
has made against the Bible is that it is
{ antagonistic to woman; that it enjoins
, her degradation and belittles her mis-
| sion. Under this impression many
women have been overcome by the
9 plague of infdelity. Is the Bible the
, enemy of woman9 Come into the
( picture gallery, the Louvre, the Lux
g embourg of the Bible and see which
] pictures are the more honored. Here
is Eve, perfect woman, as perfect {
0 woman as could be made by a perfec
7 God Here is Deborah, with he
8 womanly arm hurting a host into thu
battle. Here is Miriam, leading TIN
Israelitish orchestra on the banks 0
the Red sea- Here is motherly Han
nah, with her own loving hand replen
ishing the wardrobe of her son Samuel
the prophet. Here is Abigail, kneel
ing at the foot of the mountain unit
= the four hundred wrathful men, at tn
. sight of her beauty and prowess, halt
= halt-a hurricane stopped at the sigh
i of water lily, dewdrop dashin
back Niagara. Here is Ruth, puttin
], to shame all the modern slang abou
;, mothers-in-law as she turns her bacl
on her home and her country, an,
! faces wild beasts and exile and death
a that she may be with Naomi, her hus
bands mother. Ruth, the queen G
) the harvest fields; Ruth, the grand
. mother of David; Ruth, the ancestres
= of Jesus Christ The story of her vii
q tues and her life sacrifice the mos
a beautiful pastoral ever written. Her
q is Vashti defying the bacchanal of
n thousand drunken lords, and Esthe