Different Countries, Different Directions

In the September 17, 2015 Orlando Sentinel is an article about the Florida House Criminal Justice Subcommittee approving a bill “to repeal a prohibition on cohabitation that has been on the books since 1868” B3). Florida is one of the few states (Michigan and Mississippi also) who have such laws. And there is a penalty for it. A fornicating couple can be fined $500 and be locked up for 60 days. Wow! Does anyone know the last time this law was enforced?

Needless to say, people are overwhelmingly in favor of doing away with the law. Why? Just considering the issue from an economic standpoint, this law could be a real moneymaker. “According to 2014 Census data, there are nearly 438,000 unmarried male-female couples among the state’s 7.3 million households.” If each were fined the $500, that would raise $219,000,000 for the state. And the government is willing to do away with this law? Why?

How is it that every other sin the government wants to profit from? People want to drink alcohol, and government can increase revenues by taxing it; so…. Is that not the argument made for the legalization of marijuana? People are procuring it anyway; why not let the state tax it and fill its coffers? State lotteries and other forms of gambling have all made the same argument. So why not use cohabitation the same way?

One state representative who is sponsoring the bill to repeal the current law says that keeping it on the books will just give people the opportunity to poke fun at Florida. But with a middle name of Rehwinkle, they might smirk a tad at the bill’s sponsor. She also wonders how anyone could prove what is going on inside the house. Well, if the unmarried couple’s ages are 98 and 97, she might have a point, but otherwise most people already have an idea. But no need really exists to quibble over that; she is still missing a great opportunity here. If she is not opposed to immorality, why not treat cohabitation like marriage? You need to have a license from the state to have such a household. Just call it a tax. Then it will be “constitutional.” No one will laugh at Florida; the state will be viewed as progressive. Forget the $500 fine, and pass a $1,000 tax—which must be paid each year. Some penalty should be imposed for flouting marriage.

A few representatives are opposing the bill. One said, “I’m just not ready to put the nail in the coffin on the traditional concept of marriage.” The next-to-last sentence in the article was heartening: “The bill will head to the Judiciary Committee, where it died last year.” Maybe it will do the same thing this year. One wonders, however, “Why go to all the trouble to get rid of the statute?” If it is not being enforced, why worry about it? Is there a national campaign to mock Florida under way? And how many other laws exist that we could be ridiculed for having? Why get rid of this one?

Indonesia

Back in September 29, 2003, the nation of Indonesia was considering making cohabitation illegal. Apparently, they did not do so (since no more recent information is on the Internet). But it is interesting that in the United States during the past 50 years, laws concerning divorce, homosexuality, and cohabitation have been repealed while other nations are considering making such immoralities illegal.

Part of the discussion was based on Dutch Colonial Law, but part of it related to Islamic law, international conventions, and tribal laws. If found guilty of cohabitation, a couple could be jailed for two years. A rather interesting provision would be a five-year sentence for a man who impregnated a woman but refused to marry her. That might make a male think twice about sowing wild oats. Homosexuals might be jailed from 1 to 7 years, while sodomy would merit 3 to 12 years. Also, a witch doctor who used black magic to harm people could receive up to a five-year sentence. Yes, that does seem a bit bizarre, but that’s what the post said.

Perhaps these things did not make it into law because they would be difficult to prove. Or perhaps there was too much protest. But is it not ironic that the “Christian” nation of the United States has decriminalized almost everything that has been regarded for decades as immoral while countries with Muslim populations see a value in having marriage as God defined it with penalties for various aberrations? Why haven’t “Christian” nations been at the forefront of championing God’s values?

Of course, Muslim countries get carried away by punishing a woman who was sexually assaulted instead of the one who attacked her, and Shari’a law is harsh in many other areas, but overall fewer of the population engages in sexual immoralities of various kinds. Is that why they accuse us of being “the great Satan”? If one considered only our blasphemous speech (taking the names of God and Jesus in vain), our immodest attire (calculated to show cleavage and as much other flesh as possible), the exaltation of sex whether in casual relationships, cohabitation, adultery, or homosexuality, the Muslims would have a point.

They do not, however, follow the God of the Bible when it comes to their view of Jesus. In countries where they are in the majority, they forbid discussing Christianity or practicing it; they ban the New Testament, which will clearly cause people to miss out on salvation. They are truly taking Satan’s part in keeping their people from the knowledge of the truth. At least in this country we are free to set forth Biblical teaching and to try to convert people to the Lord. We are grateful for this freedom, but isn’t it sad that so few people listen to the Word or keep it?