It's the Law

When institutions set out to solve problems they usually resort to laws which can be successful, harmful or only humorous. I thought of that today when I read of a law just passed in England making it illegal to raise your arms while riding a roller coaster when the temperature is above 77 degrees. You probably guessed that people who don’t bathe regularly or wear deodorant are offensive to other people when they raise their arms after being active on hot days at an amusement park. So, a new law was made for the English who do bathe and the rest of us may be forgiven for a moment of mirth.

Thursday, here in the U.S. the Center for Disease Control published guidelines for college students on how to kiss. And you thought they already knew. Well, the new guidelines instruct all students to wear a surgical mask during this activity. The reason, you may have guessed again, is to prevent the spread of swine. If followed, I predict the guidelines will prevent more than the flu.

All this brings to mind the rather frequent complaints about biblical laws. In his book “My Year of Living Biblically” author A. J. Jacobs writes about laws in the Bible that he considers hard to follow or make no sense. Even so Jacobs is forced to admit that at the time of writing there was probably good reason for them and he also has to confess that most are beneficial today.

Skeptics have a heyday over biblical laws they consider nonsensical. They question the validity of biblical inspiration and the sanity of those of us who believe God was leading Israel.

The most frequent complaint is against mixing woolen and linen fabrics which even Jacobs admits was probably to distinguish Israelites from Gentiles. Future generations may look back at our culture and wonder why every state had a different design for its license plate. There may have been more wisdom to the prohibition against mixed fabrics then than there is to unique license plates now. Not to say that either is without basis.

Another biblical law that gets its share of criticism is the prohibition against shaving the corners of the beard. Oh well, the Cincinnati Reds had far more strict rules for facial hair on their ball players for many years. To be honest the players looked much better than their opponents, even when they lost. Dress codes have been around for so long I wonder about the mental state of a person who gets too caught up in judging people who lived 3,500 years ago for having the same rules.

In fact, laws still on the books in most states and even nations are less defensible than anything ever written by Moses for the civil government of ancient Israel. Did you know that it is against the law to sell an “E.T” doll in France? They have a law forbidding the sale of dolls that do not have human faces?

In New York the penalty for jumping off a building is: Death. It isn’t clear if anyone has ever been prosecuted. New York also has a law against calling a sandwich a “corned beef sandwich” if it is made with white bread and mayonnaise. In California, not known for common sense laws, it’s illegal to set a mouse trap without a hunting license.

In the state of Washington, it is illegal to have sex with a virgin under any circumstances, including the wedding night. In Oklahoma, you can be arrested for making ugly faces at a dog, even an ugly dog. In Wilbur, Washington, it is illegal to ride an ugly horse, but you can make faces at him.

In Massachusetts, it is illegal to go to bed without first having a bath however another law prohibits bathing on Sunday. This may account for those who sleep in Sunday church.

Most of these laws are antiquated. But as late as 1979 women were banned from using hotel swimming pools in Jidda, Saudi Arabia. And today, in Athens Greece a driver’s license can be taken away if the driver is thought to be either “poorly dressed” or “unbathed.”

Did I hear someone say they don’t believe in the God of the Bible because some laws don’t make sense in the 21^st century?

Until next time,