This Independence Day, 2019, Christians who know that the Bible never prohibited polygamy are doubly-celebrating. Their modern movement, called, Christian Polygamy, is 25 years old today. Moreover, all forms of Unrelated Consenting Adult Polygamy (UCAP) equally have reason to doubly-celebrate today too.

An article from five years ago, titled, "July 4, 2014 - Christian Polygamy Movement is 20 Years Old," detailed more specifics of the first twenty years. Readers are encouraged to read that article as well. For this article here, therefore, those first twenty years will be summarized more briefly.

 

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THE 1st FIVE YEARS: 1994-2009

Following a two-day labor of pre-deliveries made to stores around Southern Maine, over the weekend of July 2nd and 3rd, the Independence Day, 1994, issue of The Standard Bearer newspaper, published by Mark Henkel, gave birth to a brand new movement, called, Christian Polygamy. Growing up beyond a local newspaper to a global internet organization of TruthBearer.org, the movement first established its duplicatable rhetoric, exegesis, and argumentations with which to persuade other Bible-based Christians.

 

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THE 2nd FIVE YEARS: 1999-2004

Coming out of infancy, the movement had to grow up quickly. The standard of "Love-not-Force" self-protected the movement from being associated with abusive men or anyone else who would mis-define the movement with cruelty or coercion. The media began to call for Mark Henkel to give media interviews to explain this new pro-woman benevolent movement, its argumentation, and its rhetoric. A number of formal pro-polygamy websites were developed to provide various specific definitions so that people could differentiate the movement from capitalists and charlatans. An annual celebration was established for each year called, Polygamy Day ®.

 

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THE 3rd FIVE YEARS: 2004-2009

In the tween and early teen years, the movement grew into its personality and beyond. Per an interview with Mark Henkel, renowned Pat Robertson's show, "The 700 Club," on the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN), identified both Henkel and the movement as "evangelical Christians." This was the first time in public history that the two words of "Christian" and "polygamy" were not a contradiction in terms. That historic moment catapulted Mark Henkel to the larger national stage as the overall National Polygamy Advocate ™ in doing numerously more media interviews. Thus, the Christian Polygamy movement had made it possible for someone to stand on the national stage for Unrelated Consenting Adult Polygamy (UCAP) for all forms, and to not be dismissed (as Mormon, Muslim, liberal, lascivious, etc.) as had always been the case throughout history. The NationalPolygamyAdvocate.com website was begun in order to speak for issues even beyond Christian Polygamy, for all forms of UCAP. Books began citing Mark Henkel. And his official "Polygamy Rights Win-Win Solution to end the Marriage Debate" (to abolish all government marriage control for unrelated consenting adults) solidified as fully established.

 

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THE 4th FIVE YEARS: 2009-2014

Through to the end of its teen years, the Christian Polygamy movement grew with typically-high, exuberant, youthful optimism. Mark Henkel advanced into public speaking work, presenting speeches on UCAP polygamy to non-polygamous audiences - even speaking at the same Yale venue as that of Supreme Court Justices and Presidential candidates. Videos of those speeches and more were archived in a popular online video channel, and a DVD was made available too. In United States v. Windsor (2013), the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) ruled closer in line with the movement's position regarding the Constitution's Tenth Amendment and federal marriage control. In Brown v. Buhman, a lower federal court judge struck down the "cohabitation prong" and limited the "purports prong" (to only purporting multiple legally licensed marriages) of Utah's bigamy law - sending the case upward to the Appeals Court before -eventually- later reaching the Supreme Court.

 

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THE 5th FIVE YEARS: 2014-2019

As many adolescents learn when reaching adulthood, the movement's likewise advance into its 20s did typically become significantly more frustrating than expected. In Obergefell v. Hodges (2015), SCOTUS ruled that States must license same sex marriages while still denying polygamy. One Man One Woman supporters (OMOWs) suddenly adapted their perspective of "religious liberty" to be similar to the very argument which they used to deny UCAPs from making. The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver, Colorado, reversed the earlier polygamy-positive decision of the lower court in Brown v. Buhman - not on any merits of the case, but only on a technicality of "legal standing." On appeal, SCOTUS formally declined to even hear the case, bringing it to a final but unproductive and non-positive end in January, 2017. In Canada, the British Columbia Supreme Court found two Mormon polygamous men "guilty of polygamy" even though they had been charged with no other crime - a worrisome "first" in the modern era. Fortunately, the two men were only sentenced to house arrest, with no sentenced jail time.

Through so any disappointments, the movement did find some positives on which to focus. TV networks are still airing reality TV shows of consenting adults choosing polygamy. Plus, a newly created "National Polygamy Advocate ™ PODCAST" began podcasting a new episode each week of Mark Henkel's past media interviews as both, a history-keeping archive and a rhetoric-teaching resource for the movement.

 

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CHRISTIAN POLYGAMY ETHOS EMPOWERS UCAP

This 25 year old movement of Christian Polygamy had truly opened up and paved the way for Unrelated Consenting Adult Polygamy (UCAP). Even non-Christian UCAP supporters can be thankful for this movement.

Aristotle identified three primary "appeals" for successful persuasion: argument by logos (logic), argument by pathos (emotion), and argument by ethos (character). It is this teaching by Aristotle that best explains both how and why Christian Polygamy was able to do what others could not do. It is its very unique... ethos. No matter how much logos or pathos one applies, when applying an ethos that is itself perceived (whether rightly or wrongly) as being in opposition, the ones to be persuaded will not even allow themselves to be persuaded.

Christians using Christian arguments to persuade other Christians of Bible-based Christian Polygamy can succeed, whereas such other Christians will close their ears, for example, to Mormons making Mormon arguments. Conservatives using conservative arguments to persuade other Conservatives of UCAP polygamy can succeed, whereas such other Conservatives will close their ears, for example, to Liberals making liberal arguments.

With such a rare ethos, Christian Polygamy not only teaches Christians and Conservatives that UCAP, Unrelated Consenting Adult Polygamy, is absolutely within their own values, but it also teaches Mormons, Liberals, and anyone else how to use its unique ethos and make those specific arguments that will and do successfully persuade such other Christians and Conservatives.

 

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CELEBRATING 25 YEARS

With hope and activism, in the next 25 years, UCAP of all forms could very well be de-criminalized. Perhaps Christians in the Bible-believing churches might even be thanking Christian Polygamists for showing them the obvious truth that the Bible never prohibited polygamy. And all others in contemporary society could be similarly grateful for the movement providing the political win-win solution to end the marriage control debate.

With today's 25th Anniversary, Christian Polygamy moves into full adulthood as a movement. All UCAPs - Christian Polygamists and otherwise - thereby have every reason to be genuinely excited, doubly-celebrating this Independence Day, 2019.

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Bibliographic URLs:

 


July 4, 2014 - Christian Polygamy Movement is 20 Years Old
http://www.pro-polygamy.com/articles.php?news=0091


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THE 1st FIVE YEARS: 1994-1999
For this segment, see Bibliographic URLs at link above


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THE 2nd FIVE YEARS: 1999-2004
For this segment, see Bibliographic URLs at link above


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THE 3rd FIVE YEARS: 2004-2009
For this segment, see Bibliographic URLs at link above


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THE 4th FIVE YEARS: 2009-2014
For this segment, see Bibliographic URLs at link above


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THE 5th FIVE YEARS: 2014-2019

SCOTUS: States Must License Same Sex Marriage (but not Polygamy)
http://www.pro-polygamy.com/articles.php?news=0094

Obergefell - Half-Right & Half-Wrong (Still Against Polygamy)
http://www.pro-polygamy.com/articles.php?news=0095

Kim Davis, Religious Liberty, and Polygamy - Part 1
http://nationalpolygamyadvocate.com/blog/kim-davis-religious-liberty-and-polygamy-part-1/

Kim Davis, Religious Liberty, and Polygamy - Part 2
http://nationalpolygamyadvocate.com/blog/kim-davis-religious-liberty-and-polygamy-part-2/

Kim Davis, Religious Liberty, and Polygamy - Part 3
http://nationalpolygamyadvocate.com/blog/kim-davis-religious-liberty-and-polygamy-part-3/

Kim Davis, Religious Liberty, and Polygamy - Part 3
http://nationalpolygamyadvocate.com/blog/kim-davis-religious-liberty-and-polygamy-part-4/

* BREAKING NEWS * 10th Circuit Reverses "Sister Wives" case
http://nationalpolygamyadvocate.com/blog/breaking-news-10th-circuit-reverses-sister-wives-case/

10th Circuit Refuses to Re-hear "Sister Wives" case
http://nationalpolygamyadvocate.com/blog/10th-circuit-refuses-to-re-hear-sister-wives-case/

SCOTUS to Conference on "Sister Wives" case on Obama's Last Day
http://nationalpolygamyadvocate.com/blog/scotus-to-conference-on-sister-wives-case-on-obamas-last-day/

Supreme Court Declined to Hear 'Sister Wives' Polygamy case
http://www.pro-polygamy.com/articles.php?news=0100

Finding Polygamists 'Guilty of Polygamy' Pushes Canada Backwards
http://www.pro-polygamy.com/articles.php?news=0102

Canadian Judge Sentences Polygamists to House Arrest, Not Jail
http://www.pro-polygamy.com/articles.php?news=0104

TLC - Sister Wives
https://www.tlc.com/tv-shows/sister-wives/

TLC - Seeking Sister Wife
https://www.tlc.com/tv-shows/seeking-sister-wife/

Netflix - Three Wives One Husband
https://www.netflix.com/title/80240397

National Polygamy Advocate PODCAST Archiving Media Interviews
http://www.pro-polygamy.com/articles.php?news=0106

National Polygamy Advocate ™ PODCAST
https://anchor.fm/nationalpolygamyadvocate/



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CHRISTIAN POLYGAMY ETHOS EMPOWERS UCAP

Thank You for Arguing
Third Edition: What Aristotle, Lincoln, and Homer Simpson Can Teach Us About the Art of Persuasion
By Jay Heinrichs
https://www.amazon.com/Thank-You-Arguing-Third-Persuasion/dp/0804189935

Aristotle's Three Proofs: Ethos, Logos, and Pathos
https://craftx.org/aristotles-three-proofs-ethos-logos-and-pathos



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CELEBRATING 25 YEARS

For more history, see:
June 26 and Polygamy
http://www.pro-polygamy.com/articles.php?news=0108

 
 
 
 

[Reviewed for publication - Pro-Polygamy.com Review Board.]