Mon, 07 Apr 2008 14:33:04 -0500 http://christianmarriage.com/home/ Christian Marriage en-us http://christianmarriage.com/home/images/logo.gif http://christianmarriage.com/home/ don@christianmarriage.com http://christianmarriage.com/home/Article128.phtml    "We are not going to violate their civil rights until we have an outcry, a complaint, and I've said that from day one." Schleicher County Sheriff David Doran    Another way to read Doran's statement is this:    "After we have an outcry, a complaint: WE WILL VIOLATE THEIR CIVIL RIGHTS."    The likelihood that a child will be abused while in [Texas] foster care is greater than if they were left where they are. (Bolton, Laner, and Gai, 1981; Pryor, 1991; Spencer and Knudsen, 1992.)1    For the government to remove five hundred and thirty four American (534) citizens in Texas from their homes and put them into the care of homosexuals, fornicators, adulteresses, and worse -- teens with STDs is; well, you tell me what it is. When historians look back at the draconian measures taken against non-Muslims practicing polygamy versus the absolutely blind eye that is turned to Muslims practicing polygamy, and practicing it in nearly every neighborhood in the nation, they will wonder how ours could have ever been called a "Christian" nation.    Exodus 23:1&2    Thou shalt not raise a false report: put not thine hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness.    Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil; (stealing children) neither shalt thou speak in a cause to decline after many to wrest judgment. (trial by the media)    Our streets are littered with the broken lives of teen prostitutes who may be abused one thousand times with impunity while teens who gave themselves to their one and only husband in purity are locked up. Their crime? Their husband failed to get a government consent form signed and notarized and then presented to a judge, despite the fact that their parents gave their full and complete approval for the marriage. Of course the parents gave their approval, they're part of that same community!    Before proceeding, we must address one issue which has inflamed the discussion of polygamy, so-called "underage girls" marrying fifty (50) year old men. The first cue that such phrases are spoken by stupid people is the redundancy of "underage girls." The second is that underage is a government definition and has nothing to do with biology. According to the most simple logic, a girl is a girl until her first menstruation. After her first menstruation she is biologically a woman. Furthermore, it has been a long standing legal precedent that by the age of thirteen an individual has reached the age of reason where they will be held responsible for their deliberate actions. Pull out your homeowners insurance policy and you will find a statement very similar to this. "We will not pay for injuries or damages that are caused intentionally, UNLESS, the injury or damage is caused by a child 12 years of age or younger." So we have two definitions, one of them biological and the other psychological which put the age of thirteen as the age at which a female is capable both biologically and psychologically of giving consent. The Apostle Paul says, "I will, therefore, that the younger women marry, bear children, guide the house, give none occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully." 1Timothy 5:14 And again Paul says, "She shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety. 1Timothy 2:15 Saved from what? -- saved from a life of fornication so that the adversary (Satan or anyone else who opposes righteousness) may not have any reason to attack the virtue of the young women. The Greek word translated as "younger women" is "neos" which means recently come into being, young, youthful, new and in the context of marriage Paul is speaking of women who have recently become women. Ah, so Paul himself says that women should marry shortly after their first menstrual cycle which was also in accord with the Roman requirement that upon reaching puberty every citizen must marry.2 Need I remind you that it's America's current five year gap between biologically becoming a woman and legally becoming a woman (The Marriage Gap) that sets in motion the pattern of fornication from which few American women ever escape? Even then, they escape only by doing what Paul instructed them to do in the first place, by marrying. Click Here to see a PDF of a typical insurance policy. Search for "Voluntary Payments" after you have the Insurance Policy in your browser.    Another aspect of the current mob mentality concerning young women marrying fifty (50) year old men is that the public just cannot believe that a thirteen year old woman would be interested in a fifty year old man. Have they never heard of Mick Jagger, he's sixty five years old and man is he UUUGLY! Yet he still has teens swooning over him. The fact is, in the enclosed society of the FLDS, the fifty (50) year old men are the MOST attractive men to their young women. They strut their little industrial complex with a charisma that politicians would envy. Their families are large and happy. They're famous teachers in their community. They are fearless in the face of mainstream society, willing to risk prison for their beliefs. These men are not just desirable to the young women in their society, they're what our mainstream whores would call HOT. (A whore is a woman who has lost her virginity willingly without wedlock.) But here is the issue that EVERY person who claims they are a Christian MUST deal with. The Bible defines marriage. If these women were given to their husbands by their fathers as wives then they indeed are wives and anyone who encourages them to be with another man is guilty of causing them to become adulteresses for they can only be released to marry another man by their husband with his giving them a Bill of Divorcement. If you are one of the mob running to encourage them to forsake their first husband and take another man then you are an accomplice to adultery. Jesus was very strict concerning marriage and He lived in an age where the average woman married at thirteen. At the time of Jesus, the Roman law, referred to as the Lex Papia Poppaea,2 decreed punishments such as the loss of inheritance rights for women who remained single after having attained puberty. Jesus never criticized that law which commanded that a woman old enough to bear children get married. Why would he? That law prevented pre-marital sex. So when Jesus made his pronouncements on marriage those words applied to all marriages, including those with thirteen year old women. Here is what Jesus said, "But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causes her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is so divorced commits adultery." Matthew 5:32 The same goes for you; if you cause a woman to be put away from her husband then you also are causing her to commit adultery. This is not a social issue. This is a theological issue and this is an issue of the right of religious groups to separate themselves from fornicators such as nearly every American reading this is.    Still another hysteria inducing fact is that the Eldorado polygamists had a room in their temple for consummating marriages. For those of you who are so brainwashed by the Roman Catholic marriage ceremonies that today's Protestants gleefully imitate, every typical marriage in the Bible involves the guardian giving the bride and the groom taking her to his tent. What in the world do you think the implication is of what happens in the tent! Duh, what in the world is marriage? Are you dense or something? Marriage involves a willing giving of the bride and a consummation of that marriage. Without the consummation it is not a marriage even according to government law. The Bridal Canopy3 is a remnant of the Bridal Tent3 which was used by the Jews in times past. This Bridal Canopy3 is used in Jewish marriage ceremonies till this day. If you're going to attack the Eldorado group for having what amounts to a Bridal Tent3 then just remember that your attack is anti-Semitic in its roots.    For those of you who think that the anti-polygamy hysteria is some new thing, please note that anti-polygamy laws have their roots in anti-Semitism and the two Semite groups that have been the brunt of this bigotry are the descendants of Abraham -- Jacob (the Jews), and Ishmael (today's Muslims). Both have a long record of regulated polygamy and both have been the butt of bigoted jokes and worse. It is hate, and hate alone that fuels this group think against polygamy. One thousand years ago Rabbenu Gershom declared that polygamy would be forbidden to Jews in Christian nations. Why did he do this? Well you guess. We see among us five hundred and thirty four American citizens ripped from their homes because of anti-polygamy hatred. If it were not hate that drives this anti-polygamy hysteria then the subject could be discussed openly and without bigoted jokes, accusations, and outright lies.    To understand the hatred, let me give you an example. Let's say that you and your family chose to live in a neighborhood of five hundred plus like minded Christians and you were all practicing monogamists. Let's say that there was one sixteen year old teenager among you who called the police and said that one of the people in the neighborhood had sex with her after a private marriage ceremony when she was fifteen years old and that her parents knew about it and had approved of it but that they had not obtained a judge's waiver for their daughter to get married at that age. Do you think it would be fair for the government to come into your neighborhood and arrest (that's what it is no matter what else you claim) to arrest, more than five hundred of your neighbors, fellow Americans, yes, AMERICAN citizens, in the largest group arrest in the country in years? Do you think it would be right to take the children of your neighbors who had nothing to do with the fifteen year old's marriage and place those children, all virgins, among some of the most notorious teens of the country? It is a fact that many of the teens in foster care have been placed there because of their own delinquency. Is it right for virgins who have never left their household to be placed among such teens? I have cried over this. If you haven't, may God have mercy on your soul. If you say, "but they were taken out of the homes of polygamists," that's exactly my point. Your hatred for polygamists is so great that you think it's perfectly ok to rip people out of their homes, for what? For being polygamists just like so many Old Testament saints as well as many in the New Testament? Don't you realize that many of Paul's contemporaries were polygamist Christians? If that was not the case then why would Paul have exempted men who were not the "husband of one wife" from the thankless job of Elder, Bishop, and Deacon? He exempted the polygamists because they were being fruitful and multiplying in compliance with God's command and fulfilling that duty was enough to exempt them from unwanted tasks that were to be assigned by Timothy and the other apostles. If the selection was to be only those who were "husbands of one wife" then surely there were enough men with more than one wife that Paul thought it necessary to make such an exemption from troublesome lower offices within the church. Yes, Elder, Bishop, and Deacon were not high offices or they would have been called of God, not appointed by man. Click here to read my article entitled: "The Key to Understanding The Husband of One Wife."    Now, back to Texas. Isn't it Texas where the governor assumes that teen girls are so promiscuous that he wants to force them to take anti-std immunizations? So the government bans teen marriage, a godly outlet for young women who choose marriage, yet the government not only permits but encourages them to fornicate? Not only does the government encourage their fornicating but they make it legal for them to fornicate with boys who have no ability to support them but make it illegal for stable bread winners to court them and marry them, even when the parents and the girls have given their consent as part of their system of stated community values. What? This has got to be the craziest system man has ever invented; to reward women who have sex with the boys who are least able to support them and penalize those who choose to marry men! BREAKING NEWS--- Obama State Delegate for Colorado, Rozita Swinton, is the same Rozita Swinton who was arrested for calling in the hoax that triggered the Eldorado raid against peaceful American citizens. Article continues below as originally written on April 7, 2008.    The quite probably non-existent girl4 who started the Eldorado hysteria is quoted as saying, "Church members told her that if she leaves the ranch, outsiders will ... force her to cut her hair, (TRUE) to wear make up (TRUE) and [different] clothes (TRUE) and to have sex with lots of men. (TRUE)" What is it that is not true about the alleged victim's statement concerning American culture and the environment of foster care today? Everything that this probably non-existent victim was told about the outside world was true. Who is the abuser in this situation? The fact is that American women think it is better to have sex with lots of men before settling on one. Don't you tell me anything different, you fake! Were you a virgin on your wedding night? Look at the actual behavior of people if you want to understand a culture, don't look at what the people in a culture say. We call that baloney. They're full of baloney, spelled BS. Any anthropologist with training knows this. You can go into a country where they say cannibalism is evil but if they're eating their neighbor's liver, don't believe them! When Americans say they believe in waiting till marriage for their first sex, don't believe them. Over ninety percent of Americans have pre-marital sex.5 Face it, we live in a country that says one thing about sex and does another. Forty-five percent of the country says fornication is evil but they fornicate anyway and forty-five percent of the country says fornication is good and they practice what they preach, at least concerning fornication. Now we find America in a situation where its filthy fornicators find a culture within theirs that says and does what it preaches and the fornicators send in armed government officials to arrest and detain five hundred and thirty four fellow American citizens in the most blatant violation of civil rights this country has seen in over fifty years. The pundits are afraid to discuss the issue in a clear and rational way because of the irrational hysteria generated in America by the mere mention of polygamy. Cowards! America's taboo against polygamy has few rivals in the modern world. Americans are willing to suspend the constitution when it comes to polygamists but wait, it's white polygamists who are really the focus of their hatred. "They got our white women in there! They better let lose of 'em or we'll string em up? What white man would do such a thing as have more than one wife! It's plain uncivilized." I can hear them now, their mouths frothing as they hold up their pitch forks... oh yes, it's 9mm weapons they use today. As for the five hundred and thirty- four innocent American citizen detainees in Texas, they remain jailed. What else do you call it when you are held against your own will?    To quote a man who I was personally introduced to as a paid staffer on his campaign in 1980; "Government isn't the solution to our problem, government is the problem." Nearly every blessed mother in the Bible was a teen bride, usually married within a year or two of her first menstruation. Throughout history the average age of a princess has been between thirteen and eighteen and the same has been true for the common man. Men who break the law when they could have simply gotten a government license to marry their young bride are foolish but they are not brutes. Teen marriage license infractions, for that is all the Texas case concerns, are now being used to prosecute polygamists since prosecutors know that the next polygamy prosecution will be struck down by the Supreme Court. According to Texas law the only thing that stands between a woman under the age of sixteen (16) and her man receiving a marriage license is a court order. Take a look at the statute for yourselves. Texas Marriage License Requirements    It is of note that only after the FLDS moved to Eldorado, were Texas marriage laws changed to discriminate against them, raising the age without a court order to marry from fourteen to sixteen. Prior to the 2005 law being passed a woman age fourteen or older could marry simply by producing a properly executed parental consent form. No court order was required. The requirement of a court order was pass by the Texas legislature for the specific purpose of discriminating against the FLDS so that such court orders could be issued for marriage license requests made by any citizens of Texas EXCEPT unless that citizen were a member of the FLDS.    If men who marry teen brides are brutes then so was President James Monroe who married his seventeen year old bride, Elizabeth Kortright as well as President Andrew Johnson who married his then sixteen or seventeen year old bride, Elizabeth McCardle. Neither did Monroe nor Johnson lift so much as one finger to get a license for their marriages. In fact, the marriage dates of the Presidents before the mid-eighteen hundreds are hard to determine since marriage licenses were not required in most localities. The declaration of the man and woman that they were husband and wife was deemed sufficient. Many states still give an exemption to marriage license requirements to Quakers. If men who marry cousins are brutes then Democrat President Martin Van Buren must also be a brute for he married his first cousin, Hannah Hoes. First cousin marriage which is a marriage that is permitted by the Bible is also the butt of anti-Semitic jokes. If men who marry women who are much younger than they are then President John Tyler must also be a brute for he married the beautiful, Julia Gardiner, who was thirty years younger than he was. Likewise, Grover Cleveland, at the age of forty nine, married Frances Folsom who was just twenty-two years old. June/December marriages are also a favorite topic of jokes by bigots who want to put their noses into the business of other peoples' marriages. This bigotry usually contains slanders against those who might marry their cousins like Jacob did, or who might marry a woman much younger, like Jacob did, or who might marry a woman who was under the age of eighteen, like Jacob did. The fact is, such marriages tend only to come to the attention of the public when they are done by polygamists or when they are done by members of religious groups that condemn fornication and homosexuality. The public considers it vulgar when a monogamist marries his cousin, a teen, or someone much younger but the public considers it evil when a polygamist or religious fanatic does the same.    Must I bring up the fact that it was King David, the polygamist, who still had enough time with all his wives to write the beautiful Psalms. Do you forget that King Solomon still had time to write the godly and perfect Proverbs and the Song of Songs? Yes, it is a fact that the most poetic and beautiful love poem in the Bible was written by Solomon, the world's most famous polygamist. Furthermore, this King Solomon, wrote Ecclesiastes which was taken by a Sixties band for its melodic words -"To everything - turn, turn, turn There is a season - turn, turn, turn And a time for every purpose under heaven."  Well, it is the season to start recognizing that in a marriage, a man is joined to each of his wives by God, not by man. This is what many of our presidents recognized. Those of you who do not trust God to join you in marriage need our prayers. I don't expect my fellow Americans to agree with me. My fellow Americans refuse to hang the pornographers from the lamp posts along side the CEOs of the major hotel chains in America who pipe in pornography to their hotel rooms. Americans would prefer that one polygamist be sent to prison than one hundred million fornicators be told that sex outside of marriage is a sin but let me put you on notice. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, yes, Jesus Himself, is going to judge you and that day is not far away and He will punish you. Repent. He will punish you for forbidding what the Bible permits and for causing grief and suffering with your backwards and primitive, yes primitive and barbaric laws. For you reward young women with your welfare state who have sex with boys that cannot support them and you punish the wise virgins who choose marriage with an older stable man.    1 Timothy 4:3 1 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; 2 Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; 3 Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth. SEND THIS ARTICLE TO A FRIEND! CLICK HERE! [1] The Welfare of Children by Duncan Lindsay - Published 2003 [2] Lex Papia Poppaea, A.D. 9, sometimes known as Jus Trium Liberorum granted special privileges to men with many children and punished celibacy by limiting the rights of single men. This can account for Paul's discussions on celibacy which should not be taken as encouraging celibacy but as defending the right of a man or woman to voluntarily choose marriage instead of feeling compelled to marry by government decree. The Lex Papia Poppaea decreed punishments such as the loss of inheritance rights for those who remained single after having attained puberty up to the age of fifty for women and sixty for men. A man or woman was given one hundred days to get married upon finding out they were the beneficiary of an inheritance or forfeit the inheritance. There are many more interesting details of this Roman law which I'll address in another article. [3] Bridal Tent - "They pitched the tent, the bridal tent, of the Semites, which has survived in the canopy of the Jewish wedding ceremony to our own day." The International Critical Commentary - A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on The Books of Samuel by Henry Preserved Smith - Professor of Biblical History and Interpretation in Amherst College Published in 1902 [4] Rozita Swinton has been arrested and is currently being investigated for pretending to be a sixteen (16) year old woman; that same "sixteen year old 'girl'" who was the alibi for the Texas Jack Booted Thugs' raid on a peaceful neighborhood in Eldorado to steal over four hundred (400) children from their parents and place them with fornicators, homosexuals, and adulteresses. Rozita E Swinton is also listed on the El Paso County Colorado Democrats website as being a State Delegate from Precinct 269. I called the El Paso County Colorado Democrat Headquarters and spoke with Carol, the woman who answered the telephone, and when I asked her whether that Rozita Swinton who is listed on their website as a state delegate for Obama is the same Rozita Swinton who was arrested for being the polygamy hoax caller she said, yes. As he that bindeth a stone in a sling, so [is] he that giveth honour to a fool. Solomon -- Proverbs 26:8 The Texas CPS and Jack Booted Authorities gave honor to a fool, now the ammunition that they intended to fire at their opponents is blowing up in their faces! [5] Trends in Premarital Sex in the United States, 1954­–2003 Lawrence B. Finer, PhD Mon, 07 Apr 2008 14:33:04 -0500 http://christianmarriage.com/home/Article119.phtml This excerpt is from The Prince of Sumba, Husband to Many Wives.Copyright 1998 Don Milton All Rights Reserved.All Copyright Laws Apply - Thou Shalt Not StealChapters: [Prologue] [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18]  [19]  [20]  [21]  [22]  [23]  [24]  [25]  [26] Chapter 12 - Martin Madan - A Memory of Love    Ruth's genius was revealed through her method of Bible study but now she opened up to expose the tenderest of hearts. She set aside her notes, as her voice softened and she delivered a long overdue eulogy for the now forgotten Reverend Martin Madan.    "You remember how Sam said that there's a long list of eminent theologians who've been forgotten simply because they supported polygamy?"    "Yes, I remember." Suni answered, "I was wondering who those might be."    "Well Suni, the Reverend Martin Madan, the Father of the Evangelical Hymnal, was a well known preacher of the eighteenth century and the most talented Church music composer of all time.22 He wrote a book called: 'Thelyphthora; Or, a Treatise on Female Ruin, Its Causes, Effects, Consequences, Prevention, and Remedy.' Part of the remedy that Madan proposed was polygamy.23 He put forth in his book that the ban on polygamy that was originally put in force by the Roman Catholic popes had been the cause of widespread prostitution and fornication. He roundly criticized the banning of taking more than one wife, an activity that Jesus used in metaphor without criticism."    Cherry recalled the parable of the Ten Virgins, "Yes, Ruth, Jesus praised the five brides who kept plenty of oil in their lamps while they waited for their polygamous husband."24    "That's a great example, Cherry. Now can any of you tell me what song the following line comes from?    'With th' Angelic Hosts proclaim,     Christ is born in Bethlehem!'"    "Are you telling us that the Reverend Martin Madan wrote Hark the Herald Angels Sing?" Suni asked.    "No, Suni, that was primarily written by Charles Wesley, but in 1760, Martin Madan did introduce those two lines and they have been kept in the hymn as we sing it still today."25    "So he was apparently a well accepted and much beloved Christian of his time to have known Charles Wesley." Asina observed.    "That's right. Not only did he know Charles but he was godfather to Charles' son, Samuel and he was also a friend of Charles' brother, John Wesley, the famous evangelist who founded the Methodist denomination.26 Madan even comforted the dying composer Handel, famous for his masterpiece; The Messiah.27 I think it's clear that up to the moment that he published Thelyphthora, in 1780, that he was well respected. In 1746, thirty four years before he wrote that book, he founded the London Lock Hospital. London Lock was the first voluntary hospital that treated venereal disease.28 It was during his ministerial duties there that he gained a great deal of first hand knowledge about the consequences of fornication and prostitution. Shortly after Madan's arrival, the institution opened a new building and it became known as 'The Female Hospital.' He built a chapel associated with the hospital which could seat up to eight hundred people.29 This may not seem large compared with today's mega-churches but it's still a very large fellowship and it was one of the largest of his day. His chapel received enough tithes to become a strong source of support for the hospital.30 It was there that the singing of hymns first took hold as part of Christian worship in England.31 The members sang from a hymnal that Madan, himself, had published. He published the hymnal as a benefit to future generations as well as to raise money for the hospital.32 From the Chapel at the Lock, Hymn singing spread quickly through the English speaking world with Madan's hymnal the standard. His mastery of musical worship brought thousands to the Chapel at the Lock and his hymns have brought many more thousands to a saving knowledge of our Lord.32 In less than thirty short years from the first printing of Madan's hymnal, fully two thirds of the hymns sung, even in the parishes of the Church of England, had been arranged by Madan himself for his hymnal had become the core of the Church of England's hymnal.33 The Baptist's hymnal came out twenty five years after Madan's.34 Here is the very hymnal that Madan published. My father let me take the original from his library to show you."    Ruth handed Cherry the hymnal, 'A Collection of Psalm and Hymn Tunes, Never Published Before by the Reverend Martin Madan'. Cherry handled it carefully, then reflected.    "So the loving man who published this hymnal was cast aside because of his pity for the women who came under the bondage of harlotry?* For wanting the men who knew them only as their mistresses to take them as wives? That was his sin? That's not sin, that's a badge of honor! I would love to have known that man!"    "Cherry, I think there are some men just like the Reverend Martin Madan who are sitting in this room right now."    "I agree. It's wonderful." Cherry looked down. She seemed shy to consider herself one who a Christian might desire. I didn't doubt that she understood her eternal value to the Lord but forgetting her past, let alone believing that any potential husband could forget her past, was still beyond her grasp. Cherry wanted to know more.    "So what happened to the Reverend Martin Madan, Ruth?"    "After he published Thelyphthora in 1780, he was forced to resign from the London Lock Hospital, the very hospital that he had founded! He'd served thirty four years as its founder and twenty two years as its chaplain when he resigned.35 UPDATE - I have discovered that the Dictionary of National Biography was in error when stating that Madan resigned in 1780. According to various biographies of the time, Madan retained the sole title of Chaplain to the Lock till his death in 1790. Between the years of 1780 and 1790 it is true that other men held the positions of Morning Preacher and Evening Preacher but none filled his position of Chaplain till his death. De Coetlogon and Thomas Scott were the best known of these morning and evening preachers. Ruth handed a Webster's Dictionary to Cherry.    "Look up the word, 'Lock hospital.'"    "Ok, hang on." Cherry opened the dictionary and read the citation. "'Lock hospital: a hospital for the treatment of venereal diseases.' Wait a minute, Ruth, you're telling me that a new word entered the English language because of the Reverend Martin Madan?"    "Yes, Cherry. The Lock Hospital was the first hospital of its kind in the world! Every hospital like it is now referred to as a Lock hospital. To this day, the administrators of such hospitals can only pray that they'll have a fraction of the success that the Reverend Martin Madan had during his years at the Lock."    "I'm afraid to know the rest of what happened to the Reverend Martin Madan but I've got to know."     "Well Cherry, he was just fifty four years old when he walked out of that noble institution and he died ten years later." Ruth sighed, "Nearly every Christian historian has erased him from their accounts of the great evangelists of the eighteenth century.  By their hatred of one man for daring to disagree with their notions of marriage they've erased an important part of England's Church history; the transition from singing Psalms to singing hymns and it was this transition that sparked the great revivals of the hundred years that followed Madan's ministry!"    "Now let me get this straight, Ruth. Before Martin Madan promoted the concept, the churches in England didn't sing hymns?"    "That's right, Cherry. There were virtually no English churches that sang hymns. They sang Old Testament Psalms set to music. That's much different from today where our hymns combine verses with biblical concepts that call us to repentance or worship. A hymn can be likened to a Bible study set to poetry and music. If one says there's no need for hymns then one must also say there's no need for Bible study leaders or for pastors. The hymn provides a way for biblical concepts to be presented in poetry set to music. Many lost souls that have been deaf to all other forms of preaching have been converted by the hearing of a single hymn."    "You really have told me something new today, Ruth!" Cherry broke down in tears. "I'll certainly remember the Reverend Martin Madan the next time I sing a hymn! That precious man. So that man," Cherry was barely able to get out the words through her crying but she managed to complete her thought, "the man who polished some of the most famous words in today's hymnals, the man who arranged the music behind many of those hymns, the man who cared for and counseled those cast aside women of his time, was himself thrown aside; all for the golden calf of monogamy."    "Cherry, society will go to any length to continue the bondage of monogamy." Ruth declared, "Men whose wives are their masters can't have God for their master too. They're fornicators; men who put false gods, their wives, in place of our Lord and Savior. Do they do this to defend anything of God? No! They do it to defend their income, their households, and their businesses.36 There, I said it."    I hadn't expected to meet such a zealous advocate for polygamy this early in my mission but it was understandable; Ruth's own father had four wives. What was not understandable was how a simple girl who lived atop a mountain in the jungle could have put together such a treasure trove of information about a man I'd hardly known before this day. I too would remember the Reverend Martin Madan but today I was in awe of Ruth. Her discoveries were ground breaking.    "What happened to the Reverend Martin Madan is really sad." Asina was sobbing too. "Is that what's going to happen to Sam and Ish? Are their churches going to fire them and will they lose their ministries too?"    Now I was perplexed. Today was the first day that I'd even heard women promoting polygamy and Asina was talking as if Sam and I were the force behind their new found plan.    John had been quiet up till this moment but now he read from his Bible.    "'The righteous are bold as a lion.'37    I can see from your conversation that each of you ladies has the courage of a lion. I have no doubt that you'll follow the word of God as Jesus quoted:    'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.'38    Notice that the verse says, every word. Tell me, how can we preach repentance if those we're preaching to don't know right from wrong? Does God speak nonsense? Does God speak merely to tickle the ears? No, God speaks and we are to listen to every word, and why listen if we're not to teach what we hear? Wouldn't that be a foolish waste of time? So preaching repentance doesn't mean ignoring everything else in the Bible but it means teaching all of God's word so that those hearing will find at least one word, one precept of God, so that they will see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and be converted, yes, and the Lord will heal them. If by their example our Christian brothers and sisters set rules that are not found in the Bible and we don't correct them, and if our teachers teach the traditions of men and we don't object, won't we by our acquiescence be as guilty as they of laying aside the commandment of God? Won't we have become like those Pharisees accused by Jesus, transgressing the commandment of God by our tradition.39 In fact, won't we be more guilty than those we are called upon to correct by allowing them to stumble. Who are we to say that they won't turn from their sins?    'When a righteous man doth turn from his righteousness, and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumbling block before him,' says the Lord, 'he shall die: because thou hast not given him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he hath done shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require at thine hand.'40    John repeated the words, "At thine hand!" then looked around the room at each of us.    "'Nevertheless if thou warn the righteous man, that the righteous sin not, and he doth not sin, he shall surely live, because he is warned; also thou hast delivered thy soul.'41    Ladies, Sam, Ish, we have a duty; a duty to explain what the Bible says on marriage so that those teaching false doctrine can have a choice; the choice to continue in their sin or to repent. If they repent, these ladies will have plenty of husbands to choose from and it will set in motion changes that will easily double the birthrate in Christian households. If the men of the churches don't repent," John paused. A huge smile now dominated his face, "well that will leave all the more women for you to choose from, won't it Ish." John slapped me on the back and chuckled. I was at a loss for the appropriate response so I just kept my mouth shut.     John continued, "China still has a one child policy yet the Christian churches here in the Philippines have a no child policy for the millions of believing Christian women who would readily become wives to the already married men in their congregations. These women would have husbands and children except for one thing, tradition, man's tradition. The entire Christian church is in apostasy, apostasy, that's what it is."42    John threw up his hands in disgust and breathed a great sigh.    "Sorry, ladies," he apologized, "I've never voiced these words before. I guess I'm getting a bit carried away."    Suni countered, "Oh no, John, I'm sure that I'm speaking for all the girls when I say we agree with everything you've just said."    "'Yes, yes!" Each of the girls assured him.    "I think I've said enough for now, I'll let my daughter take up where she left off about the Reverend Martin Madan."    "Thanks Daddy. Well, Martin Madan was a charming man even before he came to know the Lord. He was independently wealthy and had been educated to become an attorney. One night, he was having fun with his friends at a coffee house when they made a challenge to him. Since they knew their friend, Martin Madan, was a great impersonator, just like my daddy." Ruth looked lovingly at her father then continued. "Madan's buddies challenged him to go to one of John Wesley's sermons to study his voice and mannerisms and then come back to entertain them with an impersonation. They thought it would be great fun to see their impersonator extraordinaire imitate the evangelist extraordinaire. Madan took up their challenge. However, upon entering the church he heard John Wesley announcing the sermon he would preach. 'Prepare to meet thy God' and that is in fact what Martin Madan did that night. He then propelled himself into the study of God's word with such vigor that he was soon preaching from the pulpit himself and editing renditions of Charles Wesley's own hymns. Like others who have achieved great fame, the Reverend Martin Madan was no longer called by his name but was known simply as the Counsellor.43 This referred to his ability to present the gospel in the same way that he had presented his cases before a jury. However these jurors were made up of the many truth seekers who attended his grand revivals and it was they who were on trial. Madan effectively presented the case that if they would but plead guilty and throw themselves upon the mercy of the Judge, yea, at the feet of Jehovah Himself, then Jehovah's Own Son, Jesus the Savior, who'd died in their stead, would pardon them.44 In this way, many a juror among those listening was convicted, found guilty, and pardoned. Those who were lost now walked in fellowship with the Lord, forgiven of their sins, cleansed by the blood of Jesus!"45    "Hallelujah!" Cherry shouted, tears streaming down her face.    There may be joy in heaven over one sinner who repents but the girls weren't going to wait for heaven. Ruth's story started them rejoicing.46    Suni was now shaking a tambourine and Asina was strumming an autoharp that she'd found among John's family instruments. Ruth handed out some sheets of music and John took his place at the piano. It seemed that the range of emotions my new found friends could experience in a single day was more than I was capable of in a month. I was getting to know each of them so well and yet our entire day had been spent worshipping the Lord through prayer, song, and study. I had not truly known the meaning of the phrase "on fire for the Lord" till this day. The room was like a tinder box that the Holy Ghost had ignited.47    We began to sing from the sheets of music Ruth had handed out. I recognized it as one of the songs Madan had arranged:    "Lo He comes with clouds descending     Once for favour'd sinners slain     Thousand thousand saints attending     Swell the triumph of his train     Hallelujah, Hallelujah     Hallelujah, Hallelujah! Amen!"    We sang each stanza through to the last.    "Yea, Amen; Let all adore thee     High on Thine eternal throne     Saviour, take the pow'r and glory     Claim the kingdom for Thine own     O come quickly     Hallelujah, come, Lord, come48    After the hymn the girls continued singing to Jesus. Their sweet voices of praise slowly faded as each of them sang or hummed one more loving note to their Savior. They certainly weren't alone when they sang for they were at one with the Holy Spirit. The glow of a bride on her wedding day shone on their faces as they lifted their hands and looked upward.49 When the girls had finished, Suni was the first to get back to the discussion.    "So basically, what we've learned here today is that the man who began the Protestant reformation, putting Bibles into the hands of Christians; Martin Luther, and the man who wrote the greatest Christian poem of all time; John Milton, and the man whose hymns were the first to be sung across the English speaking world; Martin Madan, all taught that polygamy is not only acceptable according to the Bible but that in many cases it is commendable, for it takes care of a man's and a woman's passions within the context of marriage, steering them clear of fornication and making wives of women who would otherwise have no godly outlet. But is it true that our pastors have deliberately set out to deceive us on this issue for fear that telling us the truth would mean an end to their pastoral income!"    "Yes!" Sam fell down on his knees, his head bowed in shame. "I'm guilty. I've done this!" Sam looked around the room at each of the girls as he confessed, "I was the leader of a group of pastors who wanted to keep Ish's books out of the schools. Even though Ish's books didn't promote polygamy, his discussion of the subject was too neutral for our liking. We knew that his books might touch off a renewed interest in polygamy that has been dormant in the churches for hundreds of years. All it would take would be one church that practiced polygamy and we'd lose half our members."    Asina's face reddened.    "So you put your own well being above the well being of your flock!"    "Yes, yes. That is, until I prayed that the Lord would guide me on this. The day after my prayer I contacted some other pastors who were all for Ish's books on chastity and we got them into as many schools as we could."    Asina quoted a bible passage.    "'If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.'50 Of course, we know the Lord has forgiven you Sam, but for what it's worth." Asina's expression turned to gentleness. "I forgive you too."    "Me too." The girls were once again teary eyed as each of them let Sam know they held nothing against him.    "We can discuss theology all day," I interrupted, "but we have a real life polygamist sitting right next to us. John, isn't it about time we hear your story?"    "Story! Story! Story!" The girls started chanting. Their discussion, our praise session, and Sam's confession had done wonders to release their pent up energy and they were back to their cheery selves.    "Ok, ok." John was smiling. "But before that, I think it's appropriate that we listen to what Martin Luther himself said concerning the Bible. He said;    'I study the Bible like gathering apples. First I shake the whole tree that the ripest may fall. Then I shake each limb and when I shake each limb I shake each branch and then every twig. Then I look under every leaf. I search the Bible as a whole like shaking the whole tree. Then I shake every limb, book by book. Then I shake every branch giving attention to the chapters. Then I shake every twig by carefully studying the paragraphs and sentences and words and what they mean.'    That's exactly how Martin Luther realized that the Bible didn't ban polygamy nor did it punish polygamy.51 We've begun this study using the same methods that Martin Luther used; dealing with what falls from the tree first. We have a lot more to study and I'm so glad that you all will be staying for a few days. It will give us time to meditate on what we learn."    Just then, there was a knock at the door. Ruth opened it. Her mother rolled in a cart with several trays of freshly baked goodies, and as always, a fresh pot of mountain grown coffee.    "Hi momma. You didn't have to do that. I was just about to get the snacks and coffee myself."    "I didn't want my little girl to have to leave her new friends."    "Thanks momma."    Ruth and her mother hugged. John and his wife looked warmly at each other. You could tell how happy they were that their daughter had finally been able to fellowship with Christian friends. It was clear from her deep knowledge of Christian history and the Bible that she spent endless hours studying alone.    "I'll leave you and your friends. Just let me know if you need anything else."    "I will momma." Ruth gave her a kiss on the cheek.    After she'd left the room, John began his story.    "I was born a prince, a young and fortunate prince, a first born prince. As such, I was brought up royal heir to the throne; Prince John, the future king. Spoiled by my mother and her attendants and trained in hunting by my father and my uncles; I was to have both wealth and fame."    I expected John's tale to be as rich and full as the coffee I now sipped. The girls warm and simple smiles reminded me of Mary when we first met; full of hope and love for the Lord. There is no woman more beautiful than one on fire for the Lord and here I was surrounded by the most dazzling women on earth. I prayed quietly that the Lord would guide their steps, and mine. *Harlot - a woman who has engaged in sexual relations without the benefit of marriage. Harlots are in bondage to sin, in bondage to the men they have relations with and those men are also in bondage to them. [Do you like what you just read? Click Here to Send this to a friend.]  Click Here to Go to Rites of Manhood - The Prince of Sumba - Chapter 13 Footnotes: 22   22 - more    22 - more22-26   27-31   32-38   39-48   49-52 Mon, 05 Feb 2007 22:33:10 -0600 http://christianmarriage.com/home/Article118.phtml Walter C. Kaiser's Hateful Slander of King David    Walter C. Kaiser Jr. claims in "Hard Sayings of the Bible (1997, c1996) Downers Grove, Il: InterVarsity." that since God never gave permission for polygamy then King David sinned by taking more than one wife. Here is what Mr. Kaiser states: "No permission can be recited from the text for any such institution or practice." Kaiser, W. C. (1997, c1996). Hard sayings of the Bible (223). Downers Grove, Il: InterVarsity.    Mr. Kaiser thinks you and I are too stupid to know that he has changed the definition of sin in order to slander King David. He has changed the definition of sin to: That which is not expressly permitted. [false definition of sin]    Does Mr. Kaiser, a man, have the right to change the definition of sin? The real definition of sin is: That which is expressly forbidden. [correct definition of sin] Specifically: To disobey a command of God to do something. To disobey a command of God not to do something.    There is no other thing that can be called sin and Mr. Kaiser knows this. Let me repeat, Mr. Kaiser KNOWS the definition of sin. So for what purpose has Mr. Kaiser decided to redefine sin? He has redefined sin in order to create a "straw man." A "straw man" is an imaginary opposition argument that has been created only for the purpose of easily knocking it down, thus the name, "straw man."    Let's look at how ridiculous Mr. Kaiser's definition is. According to Mr. Kaiser's own definition of sin, the following things are sinful because the Bible does not expressly permit them: Marrying a woman who has hazel eyes. Marrying a woman who has a middle name. Marrying a woman who wears long underwear.    You can see that according to Mr. Kaiser's own definition of sin, it is a sin to marry at all because unless your specific case is expressly permitted, it's a sin.    Mr. Kaiser should put his tail between his legs and repent. He knows that he has played a trick to make his point. The trickery he has used is so well known that as I've pointed out, it has a name, "straw man." Walter C. Kaiser's Hateful Slander of Jacob    Walter C. Kaiser continues his slander against the Jews in his section about Jacob. He stoops once again to straw man trickery, stating:    "Polygamy was never lawful for any of the persons in the Bible. There never existed an express biblical permission for such a deviation from the ordinance of God made at the institution of marriage in the Garden of Eden (Gen 2:21–24)." Kaiser, W. C. (1997, c1996). Hard sayings of the Bible (130). Downers Grove, Il: InterVarsity.    Now remember, nothing requires "an express biblical permission." Sin is that which is forbidden to do as well as that which is forbidden not to do.    So what is this "ordinance of God made at the institution of marriage in the Garden of Eden" that Kaiser talks about? Mr. Kaiser wants us to believe that there is some ordinance in the verses he mentions that forbids polygamy but that is not what the verses are about. If Mr. Kaiser had analyzed the Hebrew grammar he would have known that. Hebrew, or any language for that matter, is not made up merely of words to be translated although some armchair theologians would like to think so. To understand any sentence, we must analyze not only the words but the grammar, the syntax, and more. Here are the verses that Kaiser brings up. Genesis 2:21-24 21 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; 22 And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. 23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. 24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.    Now let's remember, sin is that which is forbidden [forbidden to do or forbidden not to do.]    What does Genesis 2:24 forbid?    Genesis 2:24 forbids homosexuality [leave his father] and it forbids mother son incest [leave his mother.]    What does Genesis 2:24 command?    Genesis 2:24 commands heterosexual sex.    The reason for this understanding of Genesis 2:24 is explained in the sentence structure. According to the AFPMA [Anderson-Forbes Phrase Marker Analysis,] the sentence in Genesis 2:24 is divided into two unit phrases: "Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife." "and they shall become one flesh." Italicizing the word they reveals the Hebrew meaning. "and they shall become one flesh."    In other words, they shall become one flesh as opposed to the man becoming one flesh with his father or with his mother. Look how the sentence reads with that understanding.    Paraphrase: The reason that a man shall leave his father and his mother and cleave unto his wife is that it is they [the man and his wife] who are to be as one flesh [and certainly the man and his father are not to be as one flesh nor are the man and his mother to be as one flesh.]    Consider this; the word translated here as "leave" is translated nearly twice as much as "forsake." Now let's read the sentence with forsake instead of leave.    "Therefore shall a man forsake his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife."    Does it say forsake all others? No, it doesn't. It says forsake his father [ban on male homosexuality] and forsake his mother [ban on mother son incest.]    Our God is a righteous God. When God condemned Sodom and Gomorrah with destruction, its people had already broken many laws that were well known to them; laws which were well known to Adam and which he passed down to his descendents. One of the laws that the men of Sodom and Gomorrah broke was the law against male homosexuality which is found in Genesis 2:24 and is found nowhere else in scripture prior to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. We know that the men of Sodom and Gomorrah knew that their homosexuality was a sin precisely because of the account of Genesis 2:24. Adam kept at least an oral record of Genesis 2:24 which was eventually written by Moses. Here is a list of some other laws that the descendents of Adam would have received from Adam. Sanctification of the Sabbath. Genesis 2:3 Ban on male homosexuality. Genesis 2:24 Ban on mother son incest. Genesis 2:24 The requirement for blood sacrifice. Genesis 3:21, Genesis 4:5 The value of repentance. Genesis 4:7 (salvation by grace) Ban on murder. Genesis 4:8 Paul encapsulates well the lesson of Genesis 3:21, Genesis 4:5, and Genesis 4:7 when he writes in his letter to the Hebrews, chapter 9 verse 22 "And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission."    Mr. Kaiser  is left with the fact that the Bible contains no law against polygamy. For those of you who want to use "law of the land" arguments against polygamy, remember; if you argue that polygamy is wrong because it's against the law then you must also argue that George Washington was a traitor and should have been hanged and that the United States is in rebellion against Great Britain and must go back to being a colony.    How much hatred must Mr. Kaiser have in his heart that he feels the need to use trickery instead of God's word to make his case. Jesus was clear that slander involves hatred. Matthew 5:22 But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Racac, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire. Walter C. Kaiser's Hateful Slander of Righteous Abraham    Mr. Kaiser is not satisfied in having slandered the patriarch of the Jews, Jacob, nor is slandering David, the great writer of the Psalms enough, but he feels impelled to slander righteous Abraham by referring to his marriage with Hagar as cohabitation! Read for yourself:    "While the Bible does not stop to moralize on Abram’s cohabitation with Hagar, it nevertheless expects each reader to realize that what was taking place was contrary to the will and morality that God approved." Kaiser, W. C. (1997, c1996). Hard sayings of the Bible (122). Downers Grove, Il: InterVarsity.    Notice that Mr. Kaiser has to rely on cultural bigotry to get across his point, stating that, "The Bible ... expects each reader to realize that what was taking place was contrary to the will and morality that God approved."    Mr. Kaiser, the Lord expects us to "realize" no such thing. In fact, the Lord commands us through the Bible:    Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. Proverbs 3:5    The foolishness of man perverteth his way: and his heart fretteth against the LORD. Proverbs 19:3    Do you believe it, Mr. Kaiser? Is man's heart so naturally foolish that it rebels against what the Lord teaches? If you believe Proverbs 19:3 and Proverbs 3:5 then why do you ask men to "realize" i.e., to "lean unto their own understanding?"    In closing, Mr. Kaiser, who do you think you are? How is it that you are so much greater than the Bible that you can invent new definitions of sin? Is your straw man a nifty little trick that you pull because you enjoy seeing stupid people in awe? Well, it's not so nifty and people aren't so stupid. Compare yourself with the men you condemn:    Jacob who God Himself gave the name Israel after having wrestled with God! Jacob raised twelve sons from which the nation of Israel and our Lord and Savior, Jesus, trace their roots.    King David wrote the Psalms!    Abraham was called the Friend of God!!!    And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. James 2:23    Please pray with me for Mr. Kaiser. Pray that Mr. Kaiser will "lean not unto his own understanding" but will lean unto "every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." Matthew 4:4b Pray also that he will correct his books and publicly confess that he has sinned by using the trickery of the straw man. Mon, 29 Jan 2007 12:05:47 -0600 http://christianmarriage.com/home/Article117.phtml Romans 6:1,2,18 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness. We Preach Real Grace on this Website, not "greasy grace." Excerpts from Articles on this site About God's Great Grace From Chapter 24 - Isa's Story    Where was the light? Where was my faith? What was I seeing? Was I blind? I saw the priest go back into rooms with those boys. I heard the sounds. Of course I lied. I was protecting the holiness of the priesthood. Too bad they believed the other witnesses and not me or the priest would still have his holy robes and the church would be protected from those born agains! I remembered the man whose shouts had summoned me from beneath the bench. That was holiness. What a strange thing. He prayed to be clean and he was made clean. The song continued.    "Was it for crimes that I had done, he groaned upon the tree? Amazing pity, grace unknown, and love beyond degree!"    Like the shower spraying above me my eyes burst with tears. I sobbed. The crime! I had tried to protect the guilty while condemning those poor molested boys as liars. Praise God they had not listened to me or the other women in the church who had tried to protect that ungodly priest.    "Praise God!"    That came from my mouth? I realized I was talking outloud or was I praying. The song continued.    "Well might the sun in darkness hide and shut his glories in when Christ, the mighty Maker died for man the creature’s sin. Thus might I hide my blushing face while His dear cross appears dissolve my heart in thankfulness, and melt my eyes to tears.    "Thank You Jesus!" I began shouting, "Thank You Jesus!"    Who am I now? I thought to myself then just as suddenly I shouted.    "Praise God!"    Who am I? I'm born again! There was no shame, no second thoughts. I was simply changed, in an instant. Sure, you'll find out that I have worldy things about me that I don't seem to be able to shake but the Lord keeps me clean and keeps me from temptations that I cannot resist. The song finished as I dried off.    "But drops of grief can ne’er repay the debt of love I owe:    Here, Lord, I give my self away ’Tis all that I can do."    I had never felt that I belonged to anyone but now I felt I had a Master; the Lord Jesus. A burden had truly been lifted from me. Such a change to occur by listening to a song. Read all of Chapter 24 - Isa's Story - Click Here From "John and Charles Wesley's Sister Married a Polygamist    Another occasion that showed Westley Hall's gracious manner was "when Whitefield and [John] Wesley quarreled respecting the doctrine of 'Free Grace,' and Whitefield declared his intention to attack Wesley and his brother [Charles] wherever he went, Westley Hall assumed the office of peacemaker, waited upon Whitefield, and reminded him of a promise, he had made, 'that whatever his private opinion was, he would never publicly preach against' them."7 Here is what Susanna Wesley wrote concerning the Reverend Westley Hall and his wife Martha Wesley Hall in a letter dated August 5, 1737: "Mr. Hall and his wife are very good to me. He behaves like a gentleman and a Christian; and my daughter with as much duty and tenderness as can be expressed."8 A little over two years later, on September 3, 1739, John Wesley wrote in his journal: "I talked largely with my mother, who told me, that, till a short time since, she had scarce heard such a thing mentioned as the having God's spirit bearing witness with our spirit: much less did she imagine that this was the common privilege of all true believers. 'Therefore,' said she, 'I never durst ask for it myself. But two or three weeks ago, while my son Hall was pronouncing those words, in delivering the cup to me, -The blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, which was given for thee,-the words struck my heart, and I knew, God, for Christ's sake, had forgiven me all my sins.'" Read: John and Charles Wesley's Sister Married a Polygamist - Click Here From Thelyphthora - Read it for FREE!    Martin Madan also wrote the words to "Now Begin the Heav'nly Theme" which is more often known by the name "Redeeming love" and which was clearly inspired by his charitable ministry to those who had escaped the bonds of prostitution. Listen to how his lyrics appeal to the lost, that they would accept God's grace and "taste redeeming love." 'Ye, alas! who long have been Willing slaves to death and sin, Now from bliss no longer rove, Stop and taste redeeming love.'" Read Article: Thelyphthora - Read it for FREE! - Click Here From Charles Wesley's Son was a Polygamist    Now this powerful conversion of Martin Madan was no exaggeration for he was so interested in reaching the lost for the Lord that he took the chaplaincy of the London Lock Hospital, a hospital that treated those afflicted with venereal diseases. He knew that he had found a place where he could not only reach the lost but involve himself in his music ministry, a ministry which was to take up the greater portion of his career. It was during this time that he penned the words to the following famous hymn: Redeeming Love Now begin the heav’nly theme, Sing aloud in Jesus’ Name; Ye, who His salvation prove, Triumph in redeeming love. Ye, who see the Father’s grace Beaming in the Savior’s face, As to Canaan on ye move, Praise and bless redeeming love. Mourning souls, dry up your tears, Banish all your guilty fears, See your guilt and curse remove, Canceled by redeeming love. Ye, alas! who long have been Willing slaves to death and sin, Now from bliss no longer rove, Stop and taste redeeming love. Welcome all by sin oppressed, Welcome to His sacred rest; Nothing brought Him from above, Nothing but redeeming love. When His Spirit leads us home, When we to His glory come, We shall all the fullness prove, Of our Lord’s redeeming love. Hither then your music bring, Strike aloud each cheerful string; Mortals join the host above, Join to praise redeeming love. In reading the lyrics to Redeeming Love it's easy to see how songs such as this, combined with the preaching of God's word by the Reverend Martin Madan, would pierce even the hearts of lost prostitutes who had nowhere to go but the London Lock Hospital. As they lived out their days suffering and often dying from the scourge of venereal disease they found redemption and then joy in singing praises to God. Read Article: Charles Wesley's Son Was A Polygamist - Click Here From Nation of Harlots    Don't try to hide your sins from yourself no matter what those sins have been. Let the Lord "hide His face" (psalm 51:9) from those sins and cleanse you from all unrighteousness. He'll not only hide His face from them, He'll take them away as "far as the east is from the west." Psalm 103:12 It is His power and His grace that is made even more awesome when we see the great sins that He has freed us from.    If you are a harlot or fornicator let it be said about you: Such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God. 1 Corinthians 6:11 For: If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us [our] sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9 Rom 8:1 There is therefore now, no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. Romans 8:1 May the psalmist's prayer be yours: "Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me [with thy] free spirit. [Then] will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee." Psalms 51:9-13 Praise the Lord!    Will you join me in teaching transgressors the ways of the Lord so that sinners can be converted? Read Article: Nation of Harlots - Click Here From Chapter 15 - Coming of Age    "He is the father of a childhood friend, Priti, strong but delicate."    "We must ask your Santran if he has had any visions concerning your Priti. Maybe she has had a dream also."    "Priti has worked for my mother as her maid for many years. They are inseparable. Priti is a Christian!" I exclaimed. "I remember a hymn that they would sing when my father would shush them and they'd return to her quarters. The words were,    "'He dwells in the high and holy place, with Him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit,' This is speaking of Jesus! 'to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.' That's us by God's grace!"    "They made a song of that? How wonderful!" Zuah pulled out her Bible. It seemed that all members of King Jochan's family had Bibles. "Here it is, Isaiah 57:15 I'll read it. 'I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.'"    "This is astounding! How is it that my people can read this verse and not know what it is about. What's even more astounding is that I have never found much to talk about with a woman and now I am talking about everything with you, Zuah." Read Chapter 15 - Coming of Age - Click Here From the  Footnotes to Chapter 14 - Dreams & Visions Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to [his] purpose. 2Corinthians 12:9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Matthew 17:20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. Ephesians 2:8&9 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. Acts 17:31 Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by [that] man whom he hath ordained; [whereof] he hath given assurance unto all [men], in that he hath raised him from the dead. Hebrews 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. Romans 4:4-8 Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, [Saying], Blessed [are] they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed [is] the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin. Read Chapter 14 - Dreams & Visions - Click Here From Chapter 18 - Hymns that Convert the Soul    Asina was now up, and again, like an angel herself, the feet of a ballerina, she floated across the room. Her tambourine accented the song in perfect timing. The girls hummed melodiously till the part where the verse repeated itself and then they sang along. No one had to give them permission to praise God in song. Formality took a back seat in their love for the Lord. "The trumpet of God Is sounding abroad, The language of mercy, salvation through blood. Thrice happy are they Who hear and obey, And share in the blessings, of this gospel day. The people who know The Saviour below, With burning affection, to worship him glow."    Mary was singing every bit as much as the girls now. The hardness in her face had left as tears rolled down her cheeks. Still, she sang along, having been handed a hymnal from Prince John's collection. Ruth had opened it to this, her favorite song. "Their anguish and smart, And Sorrows depart, Who find his salvation, inscribed on their heart. This blessing is mine, Through favour divine; But O my Redeemer, the glory be thine. The work is of grace; Thine, thine be the praise; And mine to adore thee, and tell of thy ways."    We were all clapping now, both to the Lord and for our joy to have found such a song. How could this song have remained hidden for so many years. Having never heard it, it sounded new and fresh. What could it have been that caused such a heartfelt song to be lost, I asked myself. Mary was asking the same question, only to Ruth.    "Ruth, Ruth, what is this hymnal?"    Ruth shyly looked down.    "It's, it's the hymnal that Martin Madan put together." Ruth now raised her eyes and looked directly at Mary. "He donated this hymnal to the London Lock Hospital for Women in hopes that the proceeds from its sale would help to maintain and promote the charitable cause of that institution." Read Chapter 18 - Hymns That Convert The Soul - Click Here From Chapter 7 - Loaves of Bread, Fish!    In the few seconds before losing consciousness, I remembered the words that had come from the Lord, "Loaves of bread, fish!" What were the Lord's plans for the tens of thousands of new believers he'd just laid at our doorstep? I hummed, "Grace, grace, God's grace, grace that will pardon and cleanse within; grace, grace, God's grace, grace that is greater than all our sin!"[15]    Falling back on my bed I pushed my other shoe off my foot with my toe. Thud, I was out. Read Chapter 7 - Loaves of Bread, Fish! - Click Here From Chapter 8 - The Market    "Besides, we wanted to keep you humble, Ish." Asina quipped. "After the most fantastic revival that Cagayan de Oro has ever seen, we didn't want to give you time to bask in the accolades."    I remembered the song I'd hummed before falling to sleep, 'Grace grace, God's grace.' It was then that I realized Asina was right, for as I hummed, I felt no small sense of pride in having been part of that revival. I understood moreover, that Satan's plans for the destruction of a man's ministry go into high gear with the ministry's first great success. I prayed quietly in my heart: 'Lord, keep my thoughts pure and toward you in all ways. Gently keep me humble and let me lean on You and Your word only. May I give you the glory and honor in all things.' Read Chapter 8 - The Market    My Open Letter to Muslims contains so much about grace that I'll just give you the link. Read my Open Letter to Muslims - Click Here From the footnotes to Chapter 6 - Cherry the Harlot [17] Ephesians 2:6-9 And hath raised [us] up together, and made [us] sit together in heavenly [places] in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in [his] kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. Read Chapter 6 - Cherry the Harlot - Click Here From the footnotes to Chapter 2 - The Arrival 4] Eph 2:8&9 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. Read Chapter 2 - The Arrival - Click Here From We Preach Christ Crucified    We're sinners, saved by grace.    "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." Romans 3:23    "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them." Ephesians 2:8-10 Read: We Preach Christ Crucified - Click Here From Chapter 17 - Priti's Wedding    "Grandma, could we pray before your story?" Ruth interjected.    "My granddaughter, Ruth is wise. I must apologize, we barely made it out with our lives and my anger is still hot on my tongue. Can you forgive me, Ruth?"    "Of course, who wouldn't be upset with that horrible uncle of mine. Maybe Sam can begin with a prayer for him." John's mother nodded her head and then closed her eyes. Sam prayed.    "Lord, you know the hearts of all men and women. You know that without your grace and leading that not one of us in this room could have the faith to believe that you sent your son for us and that he died for our sins. Thank you for this. We pray now for Anasah and his mother Arwa. We pray also for their Imam. Lead their hearts and if necessary, in dreams and visions to see that you are the one holy God. Bless them to shame and bring them to a saving knowledge of You and Your Son, Our Lord and Savior Jesus the Messiah. In His Name we pray."  "Amen." We agreed as one. Read Chapter 17 - Priti's Wedding - Click Here From Dear Pastor Don Letters    Can one guilty of adultery go to heaven? Of course. Everyone is capable of repentance with the help of the Holy Spirit and through the grace of God. The man being crucified with Jesus repented and saw the Kingdom of God. If we enact the death penalty for adulterers and adulteresses in America that would not prevent them from repenting prior to their death by stoning and if their repentance were genuine they would see the Kingdom of God. Why do so many pastors tell the men in their church not to divorce a wife even for adultery? - Click Here to Read Wed, 25 Oct 2006 13:09:10 -0500 http://christianmarriage.com/home/Article115.phtml John and Charles Wesley's Sister Married a Polygamist For those of you who will criticize me because I am condemning Luke Tyerman because he slandered the Reverend Westley Hall, read the following: Deuteronomy 19:16-19 If a false witness rise up against any man to testify against him [that which is] wrong; Then both the men, between whom the controversy [is], shall stand before the LORD, before the priests and the judges, which shall be in those days; And the judges shall make diligent inquisition: and, behold, [if] the witness [be] a false witness, [and] hath testified falsely against his brother; Then shall ye do unto him, as he had thought to have done unto his brother: so shalt thou put the evil away from among you. Luke Tyerman is a false witness as you will read in this article. His slander against the Reverend Westley Hall took place around one hundred years after the death of the Reverend Hall when, in 1873,  he published The Oxford Methodists. It is now around one hundred years after the death of Luke Tyerman. I will now show that Luke Tyerman is the very "monster and brute" that he falsely accused the Reverend Westley Hall of being. You be the judge. The Reverend Westley Hall was a dedicated evangelist of the 18th Century who was also a polygamist. Many churches and Christian evangelicals supported him throughout his ministry knowing full well that he was a polygamist both in theory and in practice. Here is a summary of the Reverend Westley Hall's family. It will soon be added to with additional footnotes. First wife: Martha Wesley (The sister of John Wesley, founder of the Methodists and Charles Wesley, the greatest Christian Hymn writer.) Second wife: Mrs. Betty Rogers Hall, was for a time, the Halls' seamstress.1 Third and subsequent wives: Mrs. A. Hall, Mrs. E.R. Hall and others. I don't know yet what order. (It was the custom of the time to give initials only for the names of anyone involved in a relationship that "polite society" didn't consider proper.)2 Children by Martha: ten, all died before reaching adulthood. Children by his other wives: many, from Ireland to America. I am still researching the descendents of Westley Hall.    The Reverend Westley Hall was the brother-in-law of John and Charles Wesley through his marriage to their sister, Martha Wesley. What made the Reverend Hall unique for his time, was that he openly taught that the Bible allows polygamy, and his wife Martha knew this. In our discussion of the Reverend Hall's life, therefore, we must put aside bigotry and understand that the Reverend Hall took the women with whom he had relations as wives. [Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous. Hebrews 13:4]    Martha knew who she had married and trusted that his beliefs about marriage were based on the Bible, and they were. Now, in order to avoid such bigotry as has attended discussions of polygamy in the past, we must first expose the bigotry. We'll begin by exposing the slander that has been fomented against the Reverend Westley Hall by Luke Tyerman in the last chapter of his book, The Oxford Methodists. He begins his attack with the first sentence of that chapter as follows:    "It is far from pleasant to conclude a book, in darkness and in pollution; but, in the present case, it cannot be avoided."3    This attack against the Reverend Hall is unjustified. He was open about his polygamy so it can't be said that he did anything in darkness. As for pollution? "Let marriage be held in honor among all." Hebrews 13:4a. Reverend Hall only had relations with his wives, so to accuse him of pollution is to dishonor marriage itself.    Mr. Tyerman, astoundingly, is unmoved by the very facts of the Reverend Hall's godly life, which, in page after page of Mr. Tyerman's own book, Mr. Tyerman himself reveals! The facts of the Reverend Hall's godly life are apparent to the reader but Mr. Tyerman, the expositor of those facts, is unable to take them to heart. His bigotry against polygamy colors nearly every judgment he makes about the Reverend Hall.4    In one paragraph he attacks the Reverend Hall for disciplining his son by putting him into a "dark closet." Is Mr. Tyerman claiming that no monogamist mother or father has ever disciplined their child this way? No, what disturbs Mr. Tyerman is that Martha is nursing one of the Reverend Hall's children by another wife when this disciplinary action takes place. Would Mr. Tyerman prefer that whenever Martha is nursing one of her husband's children by another of his wives that their own children be allowed to misbehave? Is leaving children without discipline, loving? It's clear that what really disturbs Mr. Tyerman is that Martha is not only willing to share her husband with other wives but she is willing to love the children of those other wives as if they are her own. Even going so far as to nurse them. It upsets Tyerman and others who hate polygamists when they see a polygamist family without strife since they boldly claim that this is always the case in polygamist marriages. Maybe they boldly lie that strife between wives is the rule in polygamist marriages because the fact is there are only three such cases of strife recorded between wives in the Bible who shared their husband; Sarah & Hagar, Leah & Rachel, and Peninnah & Hannah. That's it! The fact is that there are more verses concerning strife between a husband and his wife in a monogamous marriage than there are verses concerning strife between the wives in a polygamous marriage but we don't use that discord in monogamous marriages as grounds for condemning them. It's bigotry, impure and simple, that leads men to condemn polygamy for the scriptures certainly don't do it.    It's clear that the lack of discord in the Reverend Hall's family so upset Mr. Tyerman's stereotyped view of polygamous families that he felt compelled to condemn even the slightest infraction on the part of the husband. It is of note that in the twenty five pages written by Mr. Tyerman about the life of the Reverend Westley Hall that he was unable to document even one word of discord between the Reverend Hall and his wives or even between the wives! Furthermore, Mr. Tyerman continued the sin of his dark generation of religionists by leaving the names of the other wives and their children out of his account. Are we to believe that the Reverend Hall, who blessed Martha with ten, yes, ten conceptions, had no children to survive him through any of his other wives?    Finding himself without any first hand evidence with which to attack the Reverend Westley Hall, Luke Tyerman selects a jury of sorts by which he slanderously prosecutes his case, and who makes up that jury? The in-laws! Yes, that's exactly whose word he takes. I wonder how many of you would like the history of your actions here on earth to be judged by your in-laws, and then, only those in-laws who have uttered words against you. I can hear you protesting now, "Please, choose from any of my enemies, but don't let my in-laws judge me!"    However, Mr. Tyerman's efforts to tarnish the Reverend Westley Hall's godly life fail again as he tries to paint a picture of the evil polygamist through the eyes of his in-laws. He quotes Samuel Wesley, Martha's brother as follows: "It is certainly true of that marriage; it will not, and it cannot come to good."5    Martha's brother, Samuel, penned these lines, upset that his other sister Kezziah had gone to live with Martha and her husband, the Reverend Westley Hall. Tyerman writes that Samuel "was also wishful to have Kezziah beneath his roof, if his brother John would continue to allow her fifty pounds a year."3 Fifty pounds a year! That's a sum equal to well over $500 a month in today's dollars.    Instead of succeeding in painting a portrait of an evil polygamist, Tyerman leads us to believe that the Wesleys are stingy in caring for the needs of their spinster sister. Samuel, who will not support his sister, begrudges Kezziah the support of her sister Martha and brother-in-law, the Reverend Westley Hall.    The reason for the family's initial hostility toward the Reverend Hall can be traced back to his proposal to Martha, followed by his proposal to her sister Kezziah, and then finally in his marriage to Martha. Before explaining the details of this confusing courtship I must first make clear to you that the Reverend Westley Hall did not marry both of the sisters.    The following is Mr. Tyerman's outline of Dr. Adam Clarke's account:    "About the year 1734, Westley Hall met Martha at her uncle's house in London, proposed to marry her, and, without the knowledge of her parents, or her brothers, was accepted. He then accompanied John and Charles to Epworth, and there saw Kezziah, grew enamoured of her, courted, and obtained her consent, and that of the family in general, to marry him; all of them being ignorant of his pre-engagement with Martha. Returning to London, Hall renewed his addresses to "poor Patty," [Martha] who was completely unconscious of what had transpired at Epworth. She wrote to her mother, stating that for some time past, she had been betrothed to Hall. Kezziah, on learning this, renounced all claim to him. The mother wrote to Martha, assuring her, "that, if she obtained the consent of her uncle, there was no obstacle" to the marriage. The uncle raised no objection; gave Martha a dowry of 500 pounds; and the wedding was completed."    Tyerman admits that if there were some horrible misstep on the part of the Reverend Hall, as opposed to any misstep on the part of Martha or Kezziah, that it is "unaccountable" that Susanna Wesley, Martha's mother, would have then and for her whole life, held such a "high opinion" of the Reverend Hall. I can't help but wonder if there was something that only their mother knew, but for the sake of honor did not disclose. No, I'm not saying that either Martha or Kezziah committed some fornication. What I'm saying is that there certainly could have been a break in the engagement between Martha and the Reverend Hall that permitted him to court her sister. This break could have been repaired once Martha realized she was going to lose Westley to her own sister, Kezziah. Likewise, Kezziah, upon finding out that her sister, Martha, had overplayed her hand but still loved Westley, Kezziah, now having second thoughts concerning marriage on any account, could simply have decided to give him up. Reverend Hall's own beliefs concerning marriage and polygamy could have been enough for Kezziah to resign herself to his love but not to his affections. Living under his roof so soon after her sister's marriage to him is evidence, if not proof, of this supposition.    It's baffling how Tyerman ignores the character references for the Reverend Hall that are given by Susanna Wesley, the oft lauded matriarch of the Wesley evangelical legacy. Susanna's actions speak loudly as well for she moves in with her daughter Martha and the Reverend Hall within one year of her son Samuel's complaint that his sister Kezziah had done so. Any partial observer would have to agree that the Reverend Hall and his wife Martha kept a wonderful household. In fact, in addition to gracing the likes of Susanna Wesley, the Reverend and Mrs. Westley Hall were hosts to George Whitefield [the leading figure in the eighteenth century American revival known as the Great Awakening] while he was on his way to Wales.6 Another occasion that showed Westley Hall's gracious manner was "when Whitefield and [John] Wesley quarreled respecting the doctrine of 'Free Grace,' and Whitefield declared his intention to attack Wesley and his brother [Charles] wherever he went, Westley Hall assumed the office of peacemaker, waited upon Whitefield, and reminded him of a promise, he had made, 'that whatever his private opinion was, he would never publicly preach against' them."7 Here is what Susanna Wesley wrote concerning the Reverend Westley Hall and his wife Martha Wesley Hall in a letter dated August 5, 1737:    "Mr. Hall and his wife are very good to me. He behaves like a gentleman and a Christian; and my daughter with as much duty and tenderness as can be expressed."8 A little over two years later, on September 3, 1739, John Wesley wrote in his journal:    "I talked largely with my mother, who told me, that, till a short time since, she had scarce heard such a thing mentioned as the having God's spirit bearing witness with our spirit: much less did she imagine that this was the common privilege of all true believers. 'Therefore,' said she, 'I never durst ask for it myself. But two or three weeks ago, while my son Hall was pronouncing those words, in delivering the cup to me, -The blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, which was given for thee,-the words struck my heart, and I knew, God, for Christ's sake, had forgiven me all my sins.'"    Three years later, Charles Wesley confirmed in a poem at his mother's funeral that it was at the moment that his mother received the communion cup from Westley Hall that she first felt her sins forgiven: In sure and steadfast hope to rise And claim her mansion in the skies A Christian here her flesh laid down The cross exchanging for a crown True daughter of affliction, she Inured to pain and misery Mourn'd a long night of griefs and fears A legal night of seventy years The Father then revealed his Son Him in the broken bread made known She knew and felt her sins forgiven And found the earnest of her heaven Meet for the fellowship above She heard the call, "Arise, my love!" "I come!" her dying looks replied And, lamb-like as her Lord, she died.    It's clear from Charles Wesley's poem that despite his disagreements with the Reverend Westley Hall that Charles Wesley indeed credited Hall with being the instrument of God in uttering those precious words of assurance to his mother. He said no less than that in the words of his poem. "The Father then revealed his Son, Him in the broken bread made known, She knew and felt her sins forgiven."    At the very least, the Reverend Hall's "pronouncing those words" opened Susanna Wesley's heart to the assurance of salvation. Some could argue that Susanna Wesley was not even saved before the moment about which she says, "the words struck my heart, and I knew, God, for Christ's sake, had forgiven me all my sins."    In light of this, we must use caution in judging the Reverend Hall. There is no reason to believe that he was anything other than a man of honor, and one who preached the gospel. There are details as to his doctrinal positions that I won't address, simply because they are of a denominational nature. It is sufficient to say that most of today's Christians would be closer to the Reverend Westley Hall in their understanding of salvation and the role of any church hierarchy in their lives than they would be to his brothers-in-law, the Wesleys, who pledged their allegiance to the Church of England insofar as she was considered an extension of Rome.    Regardless of anyone's views on the Reverend Westley Hall it is of note that "The unrest of Mr. Wesley's (John) mind was deepened by correspondence with the Rev. Westley Hall, who had urged him to renounce the Church of England. At that time, Mr. Wesley believed in apostolical succession and the offering of an outward sacrifice by the priest. These dogmas were soon afterwards given up by him."9    So we see that the Reverend Westley Hall has had an influence on our very institutions for he was the man who convinced John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, that our churches are not to be branches of Rome but indeed we are to stand with Jesus only as our mediator between each one of us and God the Father. These ideas were not unique to the Reverend Westley Hall but he was the one that introduced them with effect to John Wesley. [1 Timothy 2:5 For [there is] one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;]    Despite these facts, Tyerman continues through his chapter about the Reverend Westley Hall to spout one hateful sentence after another with not so much as one piece of evidence that the Reverend Hall ever wronged his first wife, Martha, or anyone of his other wives, friends, or associates. Tyerman slanders the Reverend Hall with one comparison after another to sinners of the past. He begins by comparing Reverend Hall to Reuben, the son of Jacob, who took his own father's wife! Did the Reverend Westley Hall ever do such a thing? Never, not even in the wildest slanders against him, was it ever alleged that he did such a thing. So why exactly does Luke Tyerman hate the Reverend Westley Hall, even going so far as to call him "Reuben redivivus?" [Reuben revived.] The answer is simple, like most religionists who disagree with polygamy, it's not enough for them to simply disagree and state the differences. It's not enough because they have no facts on their side. It's literally not enough. They have no scriptures, no precedent, their entire argument is based on feelings and those feelings, are not from love, but hatred. The twisting of scriptures to paint an evil picture of polygamists begins with their quoting the Bible concerning Lamech. Lamech, who they claim is the first polygamist, acts in self defense by killing his attacker, but we'll overlook this obvious fact for a moment and use the anti-polygamists illogic to expose their own error. They claim Adam as the model on which we should base our marriages and say that he was a monogamist. Ok, let's accept that at face value. Look what horror befalls Adam, the monogamist. He has but one wife, so not wishing to lose her he commits the original sin in accepting the forbidden fruit, thereby causing untold suffering not to mention the sacrificial death of our Lord and Savior Jesus in order to wipe that original sin away. Then his tiny monogamist family which is limited to just one birth per year, turns inward upon itself with the first born of a monogamist murdering the second born of a monogamist and then going out to be a monogamist himself! Oh what horrors monogamy causes! Of course I'm jesting. You know and I know that such arguments are ridiculous but such are the arguments of anti-polygamists against the polygamists.    Without any valid arguments against polygamy, it's not surprising that the anti-polygamists stoop to name calling, the last bastion of liberals which is what all religionists are. The religionists follow the teachings of man and an imperfect and evolving culture over the perfect teachings of our Lord as found in the pages of the Bible. Their name calling amounts to bearing false testimony which Jesus stated leads to murder. "Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: 22 But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire. Matthew 5:21,22    Do you ever get the feeling that those who oppose polygamy would like to see the polygamists dead? If you have never been on the receiving end of such hatred, just try an experiment. Tell your friends in church that polygamy is acceptable to God and that no woman should oppose her husband in his desires to take another wife. Then duck for cover. They'll spew venom as never you thought they could. The kind people that you thought you knew will hate you and will not use the Bible against you except when they take it entirely out of context. They'll stoop to slandering every polygamist who ever walked the earth, including King David.    Now, back to Mr. Tyerman who hates the Reverend Hall because, in his words, "The man became a professed polygamist." Mr. Tyerman sees no reason to justify his calling the Reverend Westley Hall a "monster and a brute" because he simply considers any polygamist a monster and a brute. If this is not his reason for condemning Mr. Hall with these words, then what is? What sin has the Reverend Hall committed? Has he beat his wife? No. Has he yelled at her and berated her? No. Has he beaten the children? No. Then what could it be? What could Mr. Tyerman be referring to when he accuses the Reverend Westley Hall of being a "monster and a brute?" He's referring to one thing; the fact that the Reverend Hall agreed with Martin Luther, John Milton, and other eminent theologians and writers of the reformation and the centuries following it, that a man has a right to have more than one wife, and moreover, that the Reverend Hall followed in the custom of certain close relatives of the Wesleys by actually taking more than one wife. Luke Tyerman, in fact, has absolutely no justification for any of the bigoted adjectives that he ascribes to the Reverend Westley Hall. Luke Tyerman hates polygamists so he thinks that he can call them all manner of name without justification. If you're against polygamy then you've likely participated in the same slanders even if those slanders have only been within the confines of your mind because there are no scriptures against polygamy. I am waiting till this day for anyone who has visited any of my websites to produce once such verse and I've had well over a million readers since my ministry began. Thousands who hate my ministry have sent me comments through the comment form on this website but most have not even had the guts to give their real email address. Not one of those critics has given any verse banning polygamy because there are none.    There is a stark contrast between the Reverend Westley Hall's happy polygamous marriages, including saint like descriptions of his wife, Martha, and the unhappy monogamous marriage of his brother-in-law, John Wesley. John Wesley's wife "traveled with him for some time, but soon very naturally grew dissatisfied with a life so restless and so incompatible with the tastes and convenience of her sex. Unwilling to travel herself, she became equally dissatisfied with her husband's habitual absence. Her discontent took at last the form of a monomaniacal jealousy. During twenty years she persecuted him with unfounded suspicions and intolerable annoyances. She repeatedly deserted him, but returned at his own earnest instance. She opened, interpolated, and then exposed to his enemies his correspondence, and sometimes traveled a hundred miles to see, from a window, who accompanied him in his carriage. At last, taking with her portions of his Journals and papers, which she never restored, she left him with the assurance that she would never return."10    "Mrs. Hall was never heard to speak of her husband but with kindness. She often expressed wonder that women should profess to love their husbands, and yet dwell upon their faults, or indeed upon those of their friends. She was never known to speak evil of any person."11    It can only be guessed as to where the Reverend Westley Hall first got it in his mind to become a polygamist but it would have been impossible for the Reverend Hall not to have known that the cousin of his wife's grandfather had been a polygamist since the case of the latter's son was the legal case of the century. In fact, the case of James Annesley, the son of that cousin, Lord Altham, Earl of Anglesea, is often cited as the precedent setting case for Attorney Client Privilege.    Had Mr. Tyerman referred to Lord Altham, the cousin of Martha Wesley Hall's grandfather, as a monster and a brute, I would have had no argument with him, because after Lord Altham took a second wife, he sent away the first, in effect, divorcing her without any legal proceedings or Bill of Divorcement, then upon the urging of his second wife, Lord Altham sent away even the son that his first wife had borne him. Worse yet, he spread the rumor that this, his own son, had died, effectively disinheriting him! This son, James Annesley, had barely reached the tender age of ten when he became a homeless vagabond in the London streets. Three years later, the other cousin of Martha Wesley Hall's grandfather, Richard, sent James away on a boat to be sold in America as a slave. After many years, James was able to return to England.12 His case was heard at the bar of the Court of Exchequer in Dublin. Howell's State Trials refers to it as "the longest trial ever known, lasting fifteen days, and the jury, most of them, gentlemen of the greatest property in Ireland, and almost all members of parliament." Richard Annesley, Lord Altham's cousin who had by default gained the estate, lost the case to the rightful heir, James Annesley, but continued to appeal, even to "his Majesty for his seat in the Houses of Peers of both kingdoms." The rightful heir, James Annesley, ran out of money to fight the appeals and died penniless. His case could not have escaped the attention of the Wesleys by 1741, when he returned from America by way of Jamaica and news of it hit the tabloids.13    Now there was another Annesley of whom the brothers John and Charles Wesley as well as their brother-in-law, the Reverend Westley Hall must have been acutely aware, their mother's great uncle, the first Earl of Anglesea. He was an intimate of John Milton, having received many of his publications prior to release and a few that were not released till after the death of John Milton.14 It's clear that this ancestor of the Wesleys would have been privy to Milton's teachings on divorce and polygamy for within the circle of John Milton, biblical divorce and its kinder alternative, Christian polygamy, were daily topics for discussion. Dryden, had worked in the same office with Milton and is fondly remembered as the author of the following poem: In pious times, ere priestcraft did begin,  before polygamy was made a sin; When man on many multiplied his kind,  Ere one to one was cursedly confined; When nature prompted, and no law denied  Promiscuous use of concubine and bride; Then Israel's monarch after heaven's own heart,  His vigorous warmth did variously impart To wives and slaves; and, wide as his command,  Scattered his maker's image through the land.    It was not just the Reverend Westley Hall's polygamy that Luke Tyerman disagreed with. It was the Reverend Hall's brand of evangelicalism that opposed popery as well as those churches, which included the Anglican church, that taught that their own authority came from Rome. In the Reverend Westley Hall's own poem to his son by Martha he warns his son against following in the traditions of Rome, something that nearly every member of every Baptist church in America heard regularly till the last few decades. Tyerman condemns him for opposing Romish doctrines instead of praising him for trusting in God's word alone. Here is a portion of what the Reverend Westley Hall wrote for his son with which you'll likely agree: "Inspired with frantic, false, fanatic zeal, See, with what rage, they threat damnation, -hell, To all who fair expose the wretched lies, The frauds, the follies, falsehood, forgeries, Of Romish fathers, councils, canons, schools, Impostors' orders, monks' and madmen's rules."    I cannot imagine one Baptist minister prior to the 1960s who wouldn't delight in reading the words of the Reverend Westley Hall's poem. Yet Tyerman hides behind quotes of the late Dr. Clarke to condemn the Reverend Hall for a poem most Evangelical Christians would agree with. The quote of Dr. Clarke without Tyerman raising so much as one objection to its tenor is as follows:    "The whole is a miserable Deistical address, strongly advising his son to follow the dictates of his own nature, as the best way of fulfilling the purposes of his Creator."    The word "Deistical" is of note for as early as the 16th century, Viret recognized the use of the it as a pejorative, an insult, not used to truly describe a person's beliefs but to label them with a bigoted word which was widely used against anyone who dared speak against the Church of England.15    As I uncover the facts concerning the Reverend Westley Hall's wives and children I will add them to this article. It is my hope that others will find additional information that can be added to this as well.    There is an unbroken timeline of polygamous discussion and practice all the way from Martin Luther into the nineteenth century and at the very least, the Wesleys were descendents of those who passed forward some of the most literary of these discussions. A final note: The Reverend Westley Hall is accused by Mr. Tyerman of "deserting Martha." If Billy Graham is guilty of deserting his wife during long evangelical tours then I will accept that other evangelists are guilty of it but if Billy Graham is excused of it, then so is the Reverend Hall. Some have accused the Reverend Hall of leaving his wife without support by citing records of John Wesley giving financial support to Martha during the period that the Reverend Hall was away on mission. Considering that the Reverend Hall supported John & Charles Wesley's own mother for nearly seven years and John & Charles Wesley's own sister, Kezziah, for about the same number of years, the small favor of helping him make sure support got to his wife during his missionary absence was nothing. The fact is that the Reverend Hall was receiving support from other Christians during his missionary absence and who more likely to have taken care of his finances during that time than John Wesley, the brother-in-law whose relatives the Reverend Hall had helped support for so many years. It was no secret that the wives of ministers and missionaries were being provided for out of a fund that John Wesley had indeed administered "as measures had been adopted" "to relieve the preachers from dependence upon secular business for a maintenance, another step forward for their support, and toward the permanent organization of the lay ministry, was now taken by the enactment of a regular circuit collection for an 'allowance' to their wives."16    The Reverend Hall, at great risk to life and limb, crossed the ocean to spread the gospel in Barbados. It appears that two of his wives, Mrs. E.R. Hall & Mrs. A Hall, accompanied him to Barbados.2 We have no account of why Martha did not wish to. From the following account of the adventures of the Reverend Westley Hall in Barbados it's clear that his mission was very dangerous.    "Ten negroes broke into his house; one of whom was upon the point of cutting his throat when E. R. knocked him down with a pewter pot; which put the rest into such confusion that she had time to secure herself and her children, and Mr. H. to leap out of a balcony."    Did the Reverend Hall sin? Of course, but not by taking more than one wife. I'm not claiming that he was perfect, only that he led just as godly of a life as his brothers-in-law, the Wesleys. He practiced what he preached; that polygamy is not forbidden by the Bible. The Reverend Westley Hall was correct in this as has been proven in many of the articles on this website.    The Reverend Westley Hall led many to a saving knowledge of Jesus, not the least of which was Susanna Wesley, mother of the Wesleys. It is my hope that this article will be the beginning of many articles and possibly even books that will rehabilitate the reputation of the Reverend Westley Hall that has been so wrongly tarnished by the slander of men such as Luke Tyerman.    It is of note that after the Reverend Westley Hall went to be with the Lord that his wife, Martha, enjoyed the company of Dr. Samuel Johnson, famous in the 18th century for having authored the most popular dictionary of his era, A Dictionary of the English Language, and his publication, The Rambler, a twice weekly periodical published from 1750-1752:    "She [Martha Westley Hall] dined often with Dr. Johnson at Bolt-Court; he ardently admired her, and even wished her to reside in his own house with Mesdames Williams and DuMoulin."17 This is of particular interest since Samuel Johnson had admitted to fantasies of having a seraglio.(harem)18 1. In a letter dated December 26, 1761, John Wesley, the founder of the Methodists wrote to his Brother Charles Wesley concerning a number of things. One of them was the subject of his polygamous brother, the Reverend Westley Hall. John Wesley wrote: "Is it right that my sister Patty should suffer Mr. Hall to live with her? I almost scruple giving her the sacrament, seeing he does not even pretend to renounce Betty Rogers." Notice what John Wesley says, "giving her the sacrament," in reference to whether he should give his sister Martha (Patty) communion since she stays with her polygamist husband whose other wife is Betty Rogers. John thinks that Martha should at least be condemning her husband, which she never did. To have a brother-in-law who is a polygamist is one thing to John Wesley but that his sister should never say a word against it is quite another. 2. John Wesley - Wesley Journal, Volume 4 "I was well pleased to have some conversation with Mrs. A------1, lately come from Barbados. [One of the Reverend Westley Hall's wives and so recognized here by John Wesley. His lack of condemnation of polygamy here may be in deference to the fact that this is his journal and not a letter containing personal opinions.] She [One of Westley Hall's wives] gave me an account of her poor husband (first a red-hot Predestinarian, talking of God's ' blowing whole worlds to hell,' then a Quaker, now a Deist); as also of the narrow escape which Mr. H. lately had : 'Ten negroes broke into his house; one of whom was upon the point of cutting his throat when E. R. [supposedly Westley Hall's favorite wife] knocked him down with a pewter pot; which put the rest into such confusion that she had time to secure herself and her children, and Mr. H. to leap out of a balcony.'" Notice that E.R. had children and of course it's likely that all of the Reverend Hall's wives had children. I will be researching what happened to these children. The Reverend Hall was certainly acting in the capacity of a missionary in Barbados but we are not made aware of who was supporting him. Unlike the Reverend Martin Madan, the Reverend Westley Hall was not a rich man. He would have needed support in his mission work. Imagine, an 18th century Christian missionary who was also a known polygamist and who still received all the support he needed from the folks back home! Any condemnations by the many biographers of the Reverend Westley Hall must therefore be expected to answer the question: If the Reverend Westley Hall was such a horrible person, why did the ministers and churches with whom he was associated continue to support him, full well knowing that he lived with more than one wife during his mission to Barbados as well as during his evangelistic outreaches back home? In regards to the Reverend Hall's change of denominations, that is not uncommon, even today. We would hope that Christians who read their Bible will discover a deeper meaning each day and if led by God to another denomination will follow the Lord's leading. As for the word deist. It is a pejorative, a word used to insult, which does not carry the dictionary meaning but simply means one who does not follow the established church which we must admit, at the time, was the Church of England. 3. Page 386 The Oxford Methodists by Luke Tyerman Copyright 1873 4. Comparisons to "Judas Iscariot" and "Reuben" are given on the opening page of Luke Tyerman's slanderous account of the Reverend Westley Hall. He refers to the account of Reverend Westley Hall to be "nauseous." You would think that if the Reverend Westley Hall were so "nauseous" that at least once in the 42 years that he was an ordained minister that he would have been publicly condemned by those that surrounded him. Yet, not once did any of his peers bring charges against him where two or three could hear. 5. Page 391 The Oxford Methodists by Luke Tyerman Copyright 1873 6. George Whitefield: God's Anointed Servant in the Great Revival of the Eighteenth Century By Arnold A. Dallimore Copyright 1990 Page 45 7. Page 395 The Oxford Methodists by Luke Tyerman Copyright 1873, Wesley's Works Volume 1 Page 286 8. Clarke's Wesley Family, Volume 2 Page 106 9. Memoirs of the life of sir Walter Scott by John Gibson Lockhart Copyright 1850 Page 768 Narrative of the Life of James Annesley 10. Page 370 The History of the Religious Movement of the Eighteenth Century, Called Methodism. Volume 1 By Abel Stevens, LL.D. 11. Page 577 Memoirs of the Wesley Family By Adam Clarke 12. The details of this case are given in A Complete Collection of State Trials and Proceedings for High Treason and Other Crimes and Misdemeanors from the earliest period till the year 1783 by T.B. Howell, Esq. F.R.S. F.S.A.Copyright 1816 13. Cyclopædia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature By John McClintock, James Strong Copyright 1895 Page 938 14. Page 209 Some account of the life and writings of John Milton By Henry John Todd 1826 15. "'Deist' was a pejorative label first coined by Pierre Viret in the context of mid sixteenth century confessional debate to indict those, on authority of their own consciences took it upon themselves to challenge the articles of Calvinist Orthodoxy." "'Deists', depending upon who used the word about whom, did not necessarily have any precise content." The Columbia History of Western Philosophy, ed R.R. Popkin Page 2 Now the fact is that the Reverend Westley Hall was a Calvinist and his only so-called unorthodoxy was that he accepted what the Bible said, that there was no sin in taking more than one wife. 16. Page 441 The History of the Religious Movement of the Eighteenth Century, Called Methodism. Volume 1 By Abel Stevens, LL.D. 17: Page 53 The History of the Religious Movement of the Eighteenth Century, Called Methodism. Volume 1 By Abel Stevens, LL.D. 18. Samuel Johnson said, "I have often thought that, if I kept a seraglio, the ladies should all wear linen gowns, or cotton--I Mean stuffs made of vegetable substances. I would have no silk; you cannot tell when it is clean; it will be very nasty before it is perceived to be so. Linen detects its own dirtiness." Page 182 The Life of Samuel Johnson, LL. D.: Together with The Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides By James Boswell, ESQ. Sun, 24 Sep 2006 17:34:00 -0500 http://christianmarriage.com/home/Article112.phtml    Charles Wesley, the most famous Christian hymn writer of all time, had a son named Samuel. Now, Samuel Wesley married a second wife (quite possibly she was his third wife) while his first wife was still living under his roof. Samuel's first son through this polygamous union with Sarah Suter, who he affectionately called Pexy, was Samuel Sebastian Wesley, the greatest Christian composer of the 19th century.[1]    If you've spent any time in a church pew you will immediately remember Samuel Sebastian Wesley's famous composition that accompanies the following song: The church's one Foundation Is Jesus Christ her Lord; She is his new creation By water and the Word: From heav'n he came and sought her To be his holy bride; With his own blood he bought her, And for her life he died.    All periods of great revival are preceded by a series of miraculous events. The revivals of the 18th and 19th centuries were no exception. Although many gifted song writers and composers contributed to the music of the period, and I'm sure many were accompanied by their own miracles, this is the story of the miracles concerning the Wesleys and the man who carried on their legacy both before and after his own death, Martin Madan.    John Wesley, the founder of the Methodists was the 15th of 19 children [miracle 1] born to Susanna Wesley, wife of the Reverend Samuel Wesley. Susanna gave birth four more times [miracles 2-5]. One of those children was Charles. Now Martin Madan was an attorney and a great impersonator. One evening when he and his fellow attorneys were kidding around, one of them challenged him to go watch the famous evangelist, John Wesley, and then to come back and entertain them with an impression of the great evangelist. That very night, Martin Madan not only met John Wesley but he was introduced to the Lord Jesus in such a powerful way that it changed his life forever [miracle 6]. Martin Madan began preaching and teaching the gospel. Now this powerful conversion of Martin Madan was no exaggeration for he was so interested in reaching the lost for the Lord that he took the chaplaincy of the London Lock Hospital, the hospital that he himself had founded to treat those afflicted with venereal diseases. He knew his Lock Hospital was the place where he could not only reach the lost but involve himself in his music ministry, a ministry which was to take up the greater portion of his career. It was during this time that he penned the words to the following famous hymn: Redeeming Love Now begin the heav’nly theme, Sing aloud in Jesus’ Name; Ye, who His salvation prove, Triumph in redeeming love. Ye, who see the Father’s grace Beaming in the Savior’s face, As to Canaan on ye move, Praise and bless redeeming love. Mourning souls, dry up your tears, Banish all your guilty fears, See your guilt and curse remove, Canceled by redeeming love. Ye, alas! who long have been Willing slaves to death and sin, Now from bliss no longer rove, Stop and taste redeeming love. Welcome all by sin oppressed, Welcome to His sacred rest; Nothing brought Him from above, Nothing but redeeming love. When His Spirit leads us home, When we to His glory come, We shall all the fullness prove, Of our Lord’s redeeming love. Hither then your music bring, Strike aloud each cheerful string; Mortals join the host above, Join to praise redeeming love.    In reading the lyrics to Redeeming Love it's easy to see how songs such as this, combined with the preaching of God's word by the Reverend Martin Madan, would pierce even the hearts of lost prostitutes who had nowhere to go but his London Lock Hospital. As they lived out their days suffering and often dying from the scourge of venereal disease they found redemption and then joy in singing praises to God. The Reverend Martin Madan produced a tract with the heart rending testimony of one such conver