Polygamy as permissible, but not ideal.

True Sexual Morality is still sitting next to bed, and I'm working through about 20 pages a night before I sleep. Currently, I'm in a section titled "Biblical Prohibitions Guard Moral Sex" and one of the subsections addressed the issue of polygamy. Interestingly, Heimbach writes ,"In summary, we have seen that while God's direct prohibition of polygamy applies just to Christian leaders, monogamy is ideal for everyone. And, although God never punishes polygamy as something sinful, he does say it disqualifies a person from being a role model for marriage" (218). Just thought this was rather striking and on a topic that people don't necessarily engage in in the West where polygamy is not recognized by the state.

General Update:

I had the honor of having dinner with Ambassador Gnehm and a number of professors and directors from the Elliot School last night at Primi Piatti. It was held following a lecture by Yezid Sayigh, who also attended the dinner party, on the security state Hamas has erected in Gaza. The food was excellent and the company was fascinating. I found it interesting listening to them banter about specific issues in the Middle East and watch how academics network and collaborate. It was also exciting to just speak candidly with professors in a non-academic environment; particularly with Marc Lynch and Dina Khoury. It was the first time I've heard someone at the dinner table be blamed for liberating a country (Kuwait) without it being pretentious.