In the eighth section of Humanae Vitae, Paul VI discusses marriage as part of God's design and that it does not arise from natural forces or blind evolution. He emphasizes that the process is carried out through His divine institution between a husband and wife, not considering the scenario where there is more then one wife or more then one husband. Can the love between a single couple be conserved between multiple partners? For that matter, does being connected by a significant other tie you into His "Loving Design". By Catholic teaching, marriage produces conjugal love that is exclusive and undivided between a man and a woman. What explanation is there that a family with multiple fathers or mothers would be less efficient at generating or rearing children? Paul VI gives no reason for this other than that there is no reason, this God's design, free from natural law or evolution. It is a product devoid of facts and exists simply due to divine will. Outside of reason, there is also no reason why there should be a limitation to the number of those who wish to embrace this design. I take issue with the hand-waving of it, of how it is assumed that the only way humans can gain that perfect chemistry or balance that many call love is in pairs. Many animal species mate for life with a single partner, there are also species where the male or female takes multiple partners to ensure the passage of their genes to the next generation. If you read into any field of animal study, you can find well grounded arguments and reasons for why partnering up provides genetic advantages over being a promiscuous sack of meat. According to Paul VI, marriage is separate from this these pairings, it is a commitment to one individual through which perfect unity is gained as ceremonial action. Love is isn't the product of hormones and sweaty bodies in the back of a Mustang, it's from God, at least according to Paul. This has some rather disturbing qualities in that a group of three can't have an ounce of love but two people who loath each other can have gallons of it so long as they stood in front of an old man and swapped spit. This doesn't seem like a good design, or rather it doesn't seem designed at all. The group of three is disappointed in that no matter how many times the take turns gazing into each others eyes in the twilight, God says nope and points to the man who beats his wife in the kitchen as an example of his design in action. Of course it could also be the two who gaze and the three who beat, but once again there is no reason as to why this is or what causes it. How do we determine the conditions of love in our society? Is it the quantity or the quality that is most important and how do these factors depend on one another.
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Polygamy and God's Design
In the eighth section of Humanae Vitae, Paul VI discusses marriage as part of God's design and that it does not arise from natural forces or blind evolution. He emphasizes that the process is carried out through His divine institution between a husband and wife, not considering the scenario where there is more then one wife or more then one husband. Can the love between a single couple be conserved between multiple partners? For that matter, does being connected by a significant other tie you into His "Loving Design". By Catholic teaching, marriage produces conjugal love that is exclusive and undivided between a man and a woman. What explanation is there that a family with multiple fathers or mothers would be less efficient at generating or rearing children? Paul VI gives no reason for this other than that there is no reason, this God's design, free from natural law or evolution. It is a product devoid of facts and exists simply due to divine will. Outside of reason, there is also no reason why there should be a limitation to the number of those who wish to embrace this design. I take issue with the hand-waving of it, of how it is assumed that the only way humans can gain that perfect chemistry or balance that many call love is in pairs. Many animal species mate for life with a single partner, there are also species where the male or female takes multiple partners to ensure the passage of their genes to the next generation. If you read into any field of animal study, you can find well grounded arguments and reasons for why partnering up provides genetic advantages over being a promiscuous sack of meat. According to Paul VI, marriage is separate from this these pairings, it is a commitment to one individual through which perfect unity is gained as ceremonial action. Love is isn't the product of hormones and sweaty bodies in the back of a Mustang, it's from God, at least according to Paul. This has some rather disturbing qualities in that a group of three can't have an ounce of love but two people who loath each other can have gallons of it so long as they stood in front of an old man and swapped spit. This doesn't seem like a good design, or rather it doesn't seem designed at all. The group of three is disappointed in that no matter how many times the take turns gazing into each others eyes in the twilight, God says nope and points to the man who beats his wife in the kitchen as an example of his design in action. Of course it could also be the two who gaze and the three who beat, but once again there is no reason as to why this is or what causes it. How do we determine the conditions of love in our society? Is it the quantity or the quality that is most important and how do these factors depend on one another.
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Your take on this passage is unique and interesting. Polygamy in America is a topic that may even be considered more taboo than the gay marriage issue since it is less mentioned in politics and media. Yet, at the same time, I feel as if maybe everyday people could relate to it better because people definitely experience feelings of love for more than one person in their lives, if not simultaneously.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I appreciate you point out the fact that the Pope seems to draw conclusions, like marriage is between one man and one woman, out of nowhere. His reasoning is that marriage is a godly thing, and God is love. However, what's to say that love is exclusive to a certain "clientele"?
To me, I feel like in the end, I would only want to be with one person, but I do not see anything inherently wrong with polygamy. In fact, it is almost natural. It is seen all the time in nature, like in lion's prides. So maybe that is why the church is against it- they associate it with animals, which to them, humans are better than, so therefore polygamy is wrong.
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