An Application Of Deuteronomy 19

It is unfortunate that many potential friendships between married men and women have probably been dissolved at an early stage by accusations of infidelity.  It is even more abominable that many people who call themselves Christians are likely to contribute to an environment where these friendships are erroneously viewed as adulterous.  Of course, there are those who rightly live without concern for the petty perceptions other people have of them.  But not everyone is unaffected by social pressures.  Many people are prone to avoid something that will bring about a negative reputation, even if that thing is completely innocent.  The fostering of unease about nonsinful activities is one of the most effective tools of legalists in evangelical Christendom.

Treating friendship between separately married men and women as adulterous is to egregiously misrepresent--and trivialize--both friendship and adultery.  Beyond this, there is another reason why Christians should not accuse married opposite gender friends of betraying their spouses.  The Bible defines adultery as nothing but extramarital intercourse where at least one person is separately married, classifying it as a capital offense in Deuteronomy 22:22.  Deuteronomy also commands the execution of a person who falsely accuses another of a capital crime (19:16-21).

Within the Biblical framework of ethics, false accusations of adultery are not only irrational, hurtful, and petty; they are deserving of death.  This is how gravely the Bible regards them.  Death is the same punishment assigned to those who falsely accuse others of offenses like rape, murder, and kidnapping--there is nothing trivial about this penalty.  Evangelicals ironically spend so much time fretting about imaginary false rape accusations against men that they do not recognize their own general tendency to suspect someone of behaving adulterously when he or she has done nothing wrong.

If an evangelical Christian says or implies that separately married men and women are behaving adulterously simply by being friends, perhaps showing them that Deuteronomy 19:16-21 prescribes death for false accusations of adultery is called for.  It is amusing how evangelicals claim to have a high regard for the Bible and yet misunderstand or misapply almost every idea in it.  Someone who truly cares about Biblical morality would abstain from ever making or encouraging unfounded rumors of adultery based upon this fact alone.  If someone claims to love the Bible and still discourages opposite gender friendships between married people, they are either ignorant or hypocritical, but they must be at least one of these things.