We’ve been looking through the New Testament and last night we finished going through the gospel of Matthew. I’d like to thank those who left comments also. It’s always good to know that people are reading the blog. We’re going to take a break today based on a news story that I heard earlier today.
Now readers know that I consider myself conservative and do vote accordingly, so I was quite interested when I heard the story that Bristol Palin, daughter of VP candidate Sarah Palin believes that abstinence is best, but it’s unrealistic.
A story with the interview done can be found here:
http://extratv.warnerbros.com/2009/02/bristol_palin_abstinence_is_no.php
Some of you might be surprised to hear that I agree with her.
But I do not believe the problem is with abstinence. Abstinence definitely does work. The problem is that abstinence is not being taught within a certain worldview. I do not believe abstinence teaching works as it is because of the worldview that Americans live with.
Let’s consider this. Most of us are hedonistic, we want everything now, we believe that we are invincible as a nation practically, we believe that things will always work for us, we believe that we can always beat the odds, and we believe morality is outdated and that pleasure is the greatest good.
Now if even most of that is believed, do we see a reason why it could be that abstinence might not be realistic?
How can it be realistic if on a very limited basis, we’re told that it’s best to practice abstinence, and at the same time told in the media that sexaul intercourse is always going to result in pleasure. Movies and TV shows don’t tend to show the realities of unplanned pregnancies, STDs, or damaged relationships.
It’s doubtful any of us have escaped unscathed. I’d say most of us have mistakes in the area of sex somewhere in our lives even if we’re virgins. We have a false view of it. Many men and women struggle with various sexual sins. Everything in culture says “Go!” Men struggle with masculinity and think “If I sleep with a girl, that means that I’m a man.” Many a woman can think that if she gets pregnant or gets the love of a man, then she is a woman. If getting love is what she wants, well why not use her body to get that?
We’re told methods to help prevent this and they include birth control and condoms. How many are actually using such precautions? We also know that many have presented the problems with condoms. I once worked in retail and saw several men without wedding rings buying condoms. It angered me. It saddened me to see women doing such. One can imagine that in the heat of a moment, the condom can be forgotten but geez, who wants to wait to put one on?
In the midst of this, students are told to wait and why?
Well geez, we’ve jettisoned morality. We consider religion obsolete. These are the main places that we get this teaching. Now if I didn’t believe there was a God, if I believed morality was relative, if I believed pleasure was the highest good, and if I thought I was the center of all things and the measure of all things, then I can say, “Why the heck shouldn’t I go ahead?”
The problem with abstinence is that it’s been divorced from the proper worldview. Abstinence makes no sense in a secular society that has jettisoned religion and morality. It is not the teaching. It is that the worldview that goes with the teaching is not there.
In that case, Bristol Palin is right. Considering the worldview we are teaching, it’s unrealistic to think teenagers will listen. What needs to be done is not just abstinence. We need to teach moral principles grounded in God. We need to have people realize that sexual intercourse is more than just pleasure. It’s an act of unique love between a man and a woman.
Until we do such, I do not believe we will see a drop in teen pregnancy or STDs. I also believe that until we do such, we will see a high divorce rate and rate of illegitimacy due to unwed mothers.
I also believe we can do it though, but it will require the church in America to stand up and educate itself on a Christian view of sexuality and make a difference. Considering how we’re more and mroe endorsing homosexuality in the church even, I realize it’s a tough battle, but I believe it is one that is winnable and worth winning.
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