Obama's Federal Budget Eliminates Funding for Abstinence-Only Education

[Abbadon]

WE also need to work on our “Hollywood” images who condone sex, and unwed babies. Our magazines, movies, TV and all medias scream “SEX”. Our kids are inundated with poor role models. So many are of our young people are unchurched and those who are church goers fall under peer pressure.

Connie

Couldn’t agree more. But unfortunately sex sells. Perhaps the best way is to attempt to instill in our children a sense of questioning and skepticism so they won’t fall into all that society tells them they should be.

Also I recently heard that society is not as sexed up as it is assumed. And that infact over half kids leave high school virgins. However I’m not sure how that is at the end of university, but by that stage they are adults.

The debate over sexuality is indeed a tough one.

 

[Thales]

Also I recently heard that society is not as sexed up as it is assumed. And that infact over half kids leave high school virgins. However I’m not sure how that is at the end of university, but by that stage they are adults.

T

I’ve heard the same. Looking at all the statistics people have posted, I think things are heading in a better direction than from the 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s.

Throughout this thread I’ve seem a lot of defenses of abstinance and why promiscuity is bad, but does anyone think there is any upside to promiscuity? Is it just an issue of personal freedom? I can’t see anyone being happy if there teenage child was being promiscuous.

 

[JimG]

I’ve heard the same. Looking at all the statistics people have posted, I think things are heading in a better direction than from the 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s.

Throughout this thread I’ve seem a lot of defenses of abstinance and why promiscuity is bad, but does anyone think there is any upside to promiscuity? Is it just an issue of personal freedom? I can’t see anyone being happy if there teenage child was being promiscuous.

That sounds kind of funny in a way. Somone engaging in promiscuity can always find an upside to promiscuity!

But then there is an upside to non-promiscuity as well (besides avoiding STD’s and pregnancy.) On Book-TV the other day, Kevn Roose was answering questions about his book, The Unlikely Disciple: A Sinner’s Semester at America’s Holiest University. He took a semester off from Brown University to attend fundamentalist Liberty U. as a sort of undercover liberal.

One of the questions was about the dating policy at Liberty: no sex, no foreplay, no kissing, no intimacy of any kind. His reply indicated he didn’t find it all bad.
He said that since you realize from the outset that nothing is going to happen but conversation, you could kind of relax and enjoy getting to know the girl, with no pressure for sex.

 

[Thales]

That sounds kind of funny in a way. Someone engaging in promiscuity can always find an upside to promiscuity! .

Yeah, I guess it does sound funny, when you’re not thinking of it in a debate sort of macro societal way. For individual pleasure I’m sure nothing else provides as much upside, but for those who are saying teen pregnancy is more the problem than promiscuity, haven’t we reached a point where it’s obvious all you’re doing is making huge sacrifices for pure pleasure?

One of the questions was about the dating policy at Liberty: no sex, no foreplay, no kissing, no intimacy of any kind. His reply indicated he didn’t find it all bad.
He said that since you realize from the outset that nothing is going to happen but conversation, you could kind of relax and enjoy getting to know the girl, with no pressure for sex.

That sounds ideal! I wonder if there are any studies about the future of the kids who graduate from that university. Do they have more successful marriages? Healthier families?

 

[Leela]

That sounds kind of funny in a way. Somone engaging in promiscuity can always find an upside to promiscuity!

It all sounds pretty typical to me. Our greatest concerns are other people’s sins. We tend to see the speck in our brother’s eye but fail to notice the beam in our own eyes. I think the greatest improvement that we can all make is to see ourselves rather than others as what is in need of improvement.

 

[JimG]

It all sounds pretty typical to me. Our greatest concerns are other people’s sins. We tend to see the speck in our brother’s eye but fail to notice the beam in our own eyes. I think the greatest improvement that we can all make is to see ourselves rather than others as what is in need of improvement.

By typical, I’m not sure if you meant that promiscuity is typical or that judging others is typical. Both are pretty typical, although the promiscuity is apparently less typical at Liberty University.

In any case, my point, and apparently Kevin Roose’s point, was that non-promiscuity can be liberating in that it forces one to treat others as just people rather than potential sex objects. Roose is of course, no fundamentalist, and was attending Liberty University only as a sort of observational project, in lieu of say, a semester in France!

Anyway, it’s off topic, but now I’ll have to get the book, my interest having been piqued.

 

[pyreshadow]

For thousands of years, pregnancy and STDs have been the inevitable outcome of sexual promiscuity. For 1,900 of the last 2,000 years, there were NO antibiotics and NO latex condoms (crude animal intestine condoms were rare and fairly ineffective). And yet, the consistent strategy during the ‘advancement’ periods of those 1,900 years for prevention was preaching abstinance until marriage. Strangely, it mostly worked. Sure, STD’s were out there and you had your fair share of ‘shotgun’ (crossbow?) weddings. But nothing like what our young people experience today: rampant promiscuity, STD’s in epidemic levels and historically high unwed pregnancy rates.

And yet, we have “studies” that show that permissive sex ‘education’ programs are more effective than abstinance only education. Riiiiight…

Humans have an amazing capacity for self-deception. People just aren’t that different today than they were 500 years ago. Technology and culture changes, but people don’t. We’re just as imperfectly able to control ourselves now as then. And just as much Grace (if not more) is available today to help us overcome our weakness.

one thing you forget in less than 100 years 12 yr olds couldnt be married. so yes because of cultural changes young girl who would’ve been married and now most have to wait until 18. even then most are recommend to wait until they finished collage. there are some states the say 14 or 15 can marry but mostly in regrades if the girl is pregnant. so you got a lot of should be active females getting pregnant females (by standers of what age their body is ready to make them) have to wait for a long time to keep their mental promise to wait until married.

but as it has be said before, it is really up to the parents to teach and enforce their child to wait. most do not do it. it is one of the top reasons why most dont wait until married. then there’s parents who feel no one has to wait to be married. a teen going to school that only talks about wait until getting married is not going to change their mind. just as a teen going to school learning about birth control with strict ideas to wait, doesnt mean they are now going to no wait anymore. it is not the school education that matters its the parents that matter. all the schools is trying to do, for those who dont wait, show them how to prevent getting disease/pregnant from not waiting.

one thing i will point out, those who are taught protection is bad, some has it anyway with out protection and birth control. this is based on when i went to high school what kids did. yes most of the girls became pregnant and now some are not going to collage liked they planned.