While anyone may choose to be kind, decent, and gracious, there is no compelling reason for him to choose to do so if there is no God. With God, there is obligation. If there is no God then how one treats others is inconsequential. His mistreatment of the innocent and weak will not be faced in eternity since there is no eternity–according to their perverted view.

But there is a God and eternity is in the future of every person on earth.

Plato wrote about goodness as it relates to education of children: “We educate them so that they become a good person, because good persons behave nobly.” All societies want noble citizens since the result will be a well-ordered citizenry producing peace, prosperity, and progress.

The principled Irishman, Edmund Burke, wrote of valor, honor, duty, responsibility, compassion, and civility. As a Member of the English Parliament for many years, he supported American independence and criticized the French Revolution. He practiced what he preached.

Seems quaint doesn’t it!

Of course, we must define “goodness” to make any kind of sense in this discussion. The Bible declares there is none good, no not one, but I am speaking of the general or obvious “goodness.”

The philosophically minded will demand a definition of “good” and that is not unreasonable although most people usually know the difference in good and bad, right and wrong. Basically, everything that is forbidden in the Bible is bad and that which is commended is good. We can start with the Ten Commandments and move on to other requirements. So, up front, we know that it is always wrong to lie, steal, kill, lust, mistreat animals and people, covet things, use illegal drugs and alcohol, and not go to church. Not a bad start.

But, it is even more than that. Not only must we not kill, we must not hate anyone for any reason. Not only must we not be sexually impure, we must not even think about it! Not only must we not steal from a neighbor, we must not even covet his farm, vehicle, or wife. If we don’t covet, we won’t steal.

Atheists are right in that I don’t have the authority to decide what is right and wrong for others but God sure has that authority and sets it forth in the Bible. If not, then there is no place on earth where the answer can be found. And that is true for those who don’t believe the Bible. The standard is still there and everyone will be held to that standard even if they profess profusely that they don’t believe it.

Society ridiculed and rejected the Ten Commandments and the teaching of Christ and is surprised that we have a generation without character or honor and has no desire for duty. C. S. Lewis wrote, “We laugh at honor and are shocked to find traitors in our midst…We castrate and bid the geldings be fruitful.” We have sired a generation of tattooed and pierced street thugs who have no convictions about anything. Their mantra is, “Whatever.” They are non-thinkers who jump to support any minority or subculture without considering the possibility they may be defending culprits and encouraging them in destructive behavior.

Sane people are horrified at the violence, vileness, and vulgarity that is everywhere; yet what else could be expected? We are responsible for this generation. If not, then who is? We have removed the teaching of morals, mores, and manners from public schools and see our streets filled with disobedient, disgusting, and dangerous children only a mother could love.

When we do wrong then there is a price to pay since another scriptural precept is that one can never get away with doing wrong. There is always a payday someday. If not here, then hereafter.

By goodness, I am not just referring to obeying laws, paying bills, and not pushing little old ladies into traffic. That is a given. I mean being decent in language, honest in all dealings, doing the right thing all the time, living honestly and honorably, and when we lapse (as we all do from time to time), there is regret, repentance, and reformation.

I am referring to doing one’s duty as a husband and father by working hard, being an example to children, and being faithful to his wife–mentally, emotionally, and physically. He makes his wife the most important person in his life, cherishing her above all others, and building her up in every way. I refer to a wife being kind, thoughtful, modest, gracious, obedient, doing her duty as a mother and wife.

I refer to children who are obedient and disciplined–honoring, respecting, and obeying their parents. Children who would never bring shame to the family by wicked, irresponsible behavior; they will work hard in school and never cause a problem in the classroom because that is not “right.”

I’m referring to college students who will study hard and not party, play, and protest while parents sacrifice to pay their college bills. They will confront arrogant university professors who spout immature, illogical, and insane philosophies. When professors seek to defend their reckless rantings, courageous students will refute them realizing that the professors are defending a castle in ruins.

I am referring to employees who do quality work without trying to evade responsibilities by permitting someone else to do their work. Workers should do more work than is expected of them by their employer; after all, if not then why would they ever get a raise?

I’m referring to politicians at every level who do their homework and sincerely seek to make a difference in their office. I’m referring to politicians who, when confronted with evil, will stand against it even if it means personal defeat.

I’m referring to pastors who are dedicated to truth and will preach it without fear. And, if fearful, still preach it anyway even if it affects the offerings. I refer to pastors committed to the discipline of church members who transgress the church covenant and the Bible even if most members don’t like such “judgmental” discipline.

I’m referring to journalists who are committed to the facts, not fiction and fraud, who will report a story even if it negatively impacts a friend or associate. Or their political party.

Atheists may be “good” and declare that no credit be given to belief in the Bible since they never read the Bible, never went to church, and were life-time atheists; however, what they believe has been absorbed into their inner core over a lifetime. Without knowing it or being willing to admit it, they base their “goodness” on the Bible! There is no “goodness” without God. Without some biblical influence, they would be sitting around a fire chewing on the bones of a neighbor.

Is goodness the same in every culture? Would murder and rape be wrong if there were no God? A few obscure South American tribes consider fornication the norm; however, they have always been far removed from biblical influence but are still held to the same standard. Fornication is always wrong in every location.

However, everyone wants to be exonerated from personal guilt. We don’t want to recognize evil as evil and we will decide what is good. That way no one is guilty of anything.

Those of us who talk about guilt are accused of being narrow minded bigots who try to cram our religious beliefs down the throat of others. It seems no one is accountable even to his own conscience.

The barbarians are not beating on the gates or climbing the walls; they are coming at us from our churches, colleges, and communities. They are home-grown barbarians. Even the Washington Post recognized our condition when they opined, “common decency can no longer be described as common” and the New Republic seemed to agree: “There is a destructive sense that nothing is true and everything is permitted.”

That is because the standard has been ridiculed, repressed, and rejected.

If there is no God then what is the foundation for right and wrong? Anyone and everyone can decide what is right and wrong and no one can rightfully disagree if there is no definitive standard. We are told that an inflexible authority (Bible) is out of date in a fast changing world. But is the Bible unreliable because it is ancient?

God warned ancient Israel not to remove the landmarks; but that is what modern man has done and has come under His judgment.

God for sure knows the difference in good and bad, right and wrong and so do we. And we all will give an account someday as to how we responded to it.

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Adultery seems to be too much pain for so little gain! I wonder if General Patraeus thinks his roll in the hay was worth the destruction of his reputation, career, and maybe his marriage.

God has not rescinded the Old Testament law forbidding adultery. In fact, it was strengthened when Christ commanded, “But I say unto you, that whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart” (Matthew 5:28). He further said, “But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery” (Matthew 5:32).”

Apart from the Bible command, there are social reasons to prohibit adultery. One reason is because of paternity of children. If a wife is a cheat, how can a husband be sure that a child born to her is truly his? He should not be financially responsible for another man’s child. He also wants his estate to go to his own not another man’s child. Few sane people would disagree that sexual immorality has driven society to the cusp of the abyss, and it is in the best interest of everyone to have decent, caring, unselfish, and vow-keeping marriages.

Adultery is so serious, it is the only cause God permits as an excuse for breaking up of a marriage. It should be much more difficult to obtain a divorce, thereby forcing couples to solve their problems rather than breaking up a small civilization (the home) because of “irreconcilable differences” or “She’s a bad cook,” or “He keeps me awake with his snoring.”

I think it is astounding that any man would go to bed with a female not his own wife. When a man seeks sex from another woman, he often gets far more than he expected–such as syphilis and gonorrhea or even AIDS.

It is time for each state to reinstate adultery as a crime! Those who glibly say, “You can’t legislate morality” are “know nothings” since every law legislates someone’s morality. And yes, such a law would not be possible to enforce, but it would be a crime for anyone to have unmarried sex. That fact alone would keep some people from crossing the line into law-breaking.

With such a law it would make it easy to prohibit or prosecute those who would promote immorality especially to children, such as the Planned Parenthood pamphlet that was given to school children: “Sex is fun, and joyful…and it comes in all types and styles, all of which are OK. Do what gives pleasure and enjoy what gives pleasure and ask for what gives pleasure. Don’t rob yourself of joy by focusing on old-fashioned ideas about what’s ‘normal’ or ‘nice.’ Just communicate and enjoy.” States should make such jerks criminals for corrupting children and promoting sexual immorality.

Adultery is already an offense in the U.S. military but it is not forbidden by the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ). Adultery is usually prosecuted, if at all, under the General Article that “prohibits conduct which is of a nature to bring discredit upon the armed forces, or conduct which is prejudicial to good order and discipline.” Prosecution usually depends on the circumstances such as rank, publicity, background, and other considerations.

When General David Patraeus, although retired, admitted to adultery with his female biographer it brought discredit upon the military and himself. The knowledge by the world that he broke his vows to his wife of 35 years produced a loss of confidence in his military and intelligence capabilities. He destroyed his life, his career, and maybe his marriage because of adultery. Maybe a strict prohibition against adultery would have helped the general keep his zipper up. Loss of rank, retirement and brig time might also help with that.

The consequences to society from adultery are great enough to add adultery as a crime in each state and use it as a tool against married people who break their marriage vows, unmarried people who live like barnyard animals, and politicians who expose themselves to blackmail by illicit sex.

The status of morality in America is shameful, shameless, and sad and it reinforces Madison’s statement in the “Federalist Papers”: “If men were angels, no government would be necessary.” We are not angels so some laws are necessary. And to critics who tell us that it is no one’s business what consenting adults do, we say, “Nonsense.” We already have laws restricting what consenting adults can do: drug use, watching child porn, conspiracy to commit crimes, bestiality, sadomasochism, suicide pacts, sodomy (in some states), etc.

Civilized nations have always accepted the Ten Commandments as part of their criminal code and if it should be illegal to steal and kill, why not restore adultery as a crime?

According to Plutarch, Demosthenes declared, “We keep mistresses for our pleasures, concubines for constant attendance, and wives to bear us legitimate children and to be our faithful housekeepers. Yet, because of the wrong done to the husband only, the Athenian lawgiver Solon allowed any man to kill an adulterer whom he had taken in the act.”

Killing a wife’s lover may be a little extreme but it was legal in Texas until 1974 to kill your wife and her lover if caught in the act of adultery. Many Texas and other state juries would still be reluctant to send a man to jail for “defending his honor” by killing his wife’s lover.

Whatever state governments do, adultery is still sin and making it a crime would label it as harmful to everyone.

One female author presented her case for sexual permissiveness when she compared eating to sex: “Sex is no more a moral issue than eating a good meal,” she writes. “The fact that we eat most meals at home with spouses and partners does not preclude eating out in restaurants to sample different cuisines and ambiences, with friends or colleagues.” So we are back to the days when every man (and woman) did that which was right in their own eyes.

To compare eating with sex is to make something sacred very frivolous. Of course, one can get bad food and bad sex–that being sex not within the bounds of marriage. Or sex that is prompted by lust, not love.  Fallen men and women have made sex, one of God’s greatest gifts, a sordid affair.

Adultery is generally considered to be when a husband cheats on his wife, or when the wife cheats on her husband. In countries where adultery is illegal, the punishments range from fines to the death penalty. Punishment for adultery in some American states varies from a ten dollar fine in Maryland to life in prison in Michigan! Adultery is still illegal in 23 American states. Each state should make adultery illegal again and it should be enforced; however, it would not be practical to energetically go after the law breakers. Resources would not permit that; but such a law could be helpful, especially in divorce cases.

Among the American Indians, severe penalties could be imposed on an adulterous wife by her husband. Sometimes she experienced bodily mutilation which would, in the mind of the offended husband, prevent her from ever being a temptation to other men again.

In medieval England, an adulterous woman had her nose and ears cut off and was paraded through town to a jeering crowd. The guilty man watched the proceedings and went home to enjoy a bowl of soup, hard bread, and a spot of ale. Obviously, the men made and enforced the laws.

The Greeks and Romans had strong laws against adultery; however, it was usually not equitable.  In Rome, a man was not held to account for adultery but his wife was. The Romans (before Christ) banished adulterers with the two parties sent to different islands. Moreover, part of their property was confiscated by the state. Husbands could kill the offending partners under certain circumstances and were required to divorce adulterous wives.

A survey conducted by the Pew Research Center found widespread support for stoning as a punishment for adultery among Muslims in Egypt (82% of participants were in favor of the punishment), Jordan (70% were in favor), Indonesia (42% were in favor), Pakistan (82% were in favor) and Nigeria (56% were in favor). I doubt they would be so quick to pick up stones if they followed Christ’s admonition in John 8:7, “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.” He had just forgiven a woman “taken in adultery.” He commanded her to “go and sin no more.”

Laws prohibiting adultery go back to the Ten Commandments given by God to the Hebrew nation as recorded in Exodus 20:14. God ordered, “Thou shalt not commit adultery.” (Of course, adultery was wrong from the beginning of creation.) The Hebrews took that as a divine command that they broke at their own peril. Today, the Ten Commandments are looked upon as naïve and benign suggestions; however, they are still operative whether people believe the Bible or not.

Whether adultery is a crime or not, it is still a sin and no legislature can repeal that fact.