By LISA S. KING

FN Asst. Editor

lisa@nasguard.com

Three prominent Grand Bahama ministers agreed yesterday that while marital rape is not considered in a 'Christian marriage,' a law demanding that individuals be made accountable for this daunting social ill is necessary.

In an exclusive interview with The Freeport News, the men of God, who are each experienced marriage counsellors, concur that a husband who is adhering to biblical principles will never rape his wife. However, a man who does not live by such principles could rape his wife because of the evil influences of society and must therefore face man-made laws that state he must not.

Proposed amendments to the Sexual Offences Act to completely ban marital rape was recently presented by Minister of State for Social Development Loretta Butler-Turner in Parliament. Presently, marital rape is only recognized in The Bahamas if the couple is separated or is in the progress of getting a divorce.

If the bill becomes law, a spouse could be sentenced to up to life in prison for the rape of a spouse, even for a first offence, as is the case for others convicted of rape.

Bishop Godfrey Williams of St. John's Jubilee Cathed-ral states that when God first designed marriage, it was a good thing, but has now deteriorated to the point where many are ending in divorce with the same amount taking place in and out of the church.

He said marriage has deteriorated to the place where in order to protect women, it is necessary to put things in place because the hearts of today's men have gotten so wicked.

"If a husband and wife are adhering to all the biblical principles of God's Word then there should be no need for such a law to be enacted," Bishop Williams said. "Of course as it stands now, society has changed and there are even men who are in ministry who for some reason from time to time are not following the laws of God and are abusive likewise.

"So now those who are doing such evil things as rape, will now be aware that there are laws to make them accountable if they rape their wives."

Bishop Williams said marriage ordained by God involves caring, sharing and love for one's spouse. Therefore, a man living by the Word of God is not going to willfully violate his own wife. He advises that if there are any problems (especially those sexual in nature) in the marriage, a husband who loves his wife as God says he should, will be more understanding about the matter and be able to deal with it by showing love and not violently or by force.

"If by force, then where is the love of God in his heart?"

Grand Bahama Christian Council President Bishop Sobig Kemp believes the amendment of the marital rape law does not go against the word of God because love is the fulfilment of God's word.

"Love never forces itself on a person, that is not God's way," Bishop Kemp said. "Therefore it is never demonstrated with violence or abuse. This problem arises because of self or personal gratification in a relationship without any concern or interest for the other person. This is totally contrary to God's Word."

Bishop Kemp said if there is an infringement on the rights of a person in a marriage, then the marital rape law comes into play, especially when one considers the number of social ills that exist in society.

He said if the Bahamian society was to get back to abiding by God's law, many of the social ills we face would be eliminated. He added that many marriages fail because the husband and wife are not aware of their responsibilities to each other.

"The husband and wife must work together as one so that they are not deprived of their due rights to each other, especially when it comes to having a sexual relationship," he said.

"This simply means that whatever the wife needs or desires, the husband must seek to provide and whatever the husband needs, the wife must support him and reverence him as the head of the family. Both have equal rights in the sight of God, but according to God's protocol, the husband has authority over the wife."

Nevertheless, he is sad to know that there are a number of men and women who are not living their lives by the Word of God and the men in some instances have resorted to raping their wives if they do not submit to them sexually.

"In a case like that, the state has the responsibility to ensure that a framework is provided by which to regulate this kind of behaviour because when a person rejects the 'divine law' then there is the 'state's law' by which they should be made accountable," he said.

Dr. J. Emmette Weir, In-terim Pas-tor of Our Saviour Lutheran Church, stated that marital rape is a new concept as far as the church is concerned. When viewed along with biblical teachings, he said it is not even considered as most people who get married expect to live together faithfully until one of them dies. So there is never any thought of rape or the forcing of sex on one's spouse.

"Persons tend to think of spousal abuse, but hardly ever think of rape," Rev. Weir said. "Rape is something that is not even considered in a marriage setting, especially if the couple is living according to Christian principles."

Rev. Weir said that if a wife is abused and raped by her husband then the law of man applies, however, he wishes that other ways of dealing with the situation could be met like marital counselling.

Furthermore, he believes those responsible for proposing the marital rape law should have first considered the views of the community and the church because it is not wise to make decisions on a certain issue and then impose it on the Bahamian people.

"It has to be very carefully administered and I believe that it really needs much more thought before we can make it into law," he said. "It has to have safeguards to prevent abuse especially when you consider the rights of men. I believe that we really should not rush into this one right away as there should be much more consultation before it becomes law. In fact there should have been discussions before it became an amendment."