Child Protective Services Mistreats Children in Texas
Thankfully, the Texas Supreme Court has crawled out of its Dark Ages hole for a moment to decide that ripping children away from their loving parents may not be a great idea. For a brief moment, the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is seeing a brief ray of hope that America may actually, occasionally, value freedom of religion.
Now even Child Protective Services (motto: "We can take children away from anybody") has agreed to actually follow the law for once, and are giving the children back. There's nothing in the agreement that says fathers have to stay away, although the parents are required to take parenting classes (which we think every high schooler should take). But, perhaps worst of all, they have to stay in Texas.
This whole case raises several issues. First, why is polygamy illegal? It's supported in Christian, Jewish and Islamic tradition (try actually reading the Bible and Torah and the Qur’an). And why do the headlines continually speak of the "polygamist group?" That's one part of their belief system, not the defining part. Why don't we called Baptists the "monogamist group?"
Second, why do we insist people aren't adults until they turn 18? Is there some adulthood fairy who magically transforms them at midnight? Consider that Muhammad, father of Islam, had a 12-year-old wife, and Joseph, who early Christian writers said was about 60, married Mary when she was somewhere between 12 and 16. Nowhere does Christian or Jewish scripture specify an age for adulthood or a minimum age for marriage.
People are also upset by arranged marriages. This was the standard in Christian, Jewish, Islamic and many Eastern traditions for millennia. The marriage success rate was generally very high, with families getting together who had similar religious and economic backgrounds.
Am I saying I personally agree with everything this church teaches and practices? Am I ready to join? No. Even though, had all the restrictions that CPS and the American Government want to apply been followed several years ago, I would never have been born. Of course, that would have made some of you very happy.
What I am asking is this: Where does America get off persecuting people for practicing their religion and loving each other?
See story at http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080530/ap_on_re_us/polygamist_retreat
"A group of up to 300 young men have burned to death 11 people suspected of being witches and wizards in western Kenya — in some cases slitting their victims' throats or clubbing them to death before burning their bodies, officials said."
The Holy Bible says nothing against polygamy--in fact, many of the greatest spiritual leaders and men of God were polygamists. Even King David, the man after God's own heart in Christian and Jewish faith, practiced it.
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