Sex, abstinence, and the adolescent brain

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Riley259 said:
This editorial is offensive to those teens that do stay abstinent.

boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2007/05/11/sex_abstinence_and_the_adolescent_brain/
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This guy has no credibility.
Give them all the information they will need to establish healthy intimate relationships as adults. Don’t narrow down options and shut out adolescents for whom abstinence is not a realistic choice.
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What is he saying? “They’re not humans, they’re just animals”.

Dan
 
I suppose he thinks that suppling teens with your typical public school sex education is the way to go? Who is he kidding? Teens do NOT get all the information they need from those programs. Isn’t he concerned about that? On top of that we are just now starting to find out how much damage drugs like contraceptives are doing to our environment. Will his program be teaching the teens about that? If he is truly concerned about giving kids all the information they need then he should have no problem giving them not just the positives but also the negatives as well. As we, on this board, know contraceptive has many negatives to it.
 
If I were an adolescent I would be so incredibly insulted. There are many who control themselves in all aspects of their lives. This article is another of many to excuse the increasing immorality if this nation. We lower our kids now to animals. What’s next??

What a joke.:whacky: teachccd
 
The article’s logic is flawed:

On one hand it says: “The last connections in the brain to mature are the pathways linking the emotional parts of the brain with the reasoning regions. Connections to and from the pleasure centers are also relatively weak, making it so much harder for many adolescents to resist sex.” Which means the brain of the adolescent is still incapable to make the right responses to the stimulus of sexual pleasures.
But on the other end it recommends: “Don’t narrow down options and shut out adolescents for whom abstinence is not a realistic choice.”.
The flaw is this:
Subjecting an adolescent to a stimulus without preparing it or waiting for the proper phase in its development and expecting it to commit error just the same, is the highest form of irresponsibility.
 
Chancellare said:
The article’s logic is flawed:

On one hand it says: “The last connections in the brain to mature are the pathways linking the emotional parts of the brain with the reasoning regions. Connections to and from the pleasure centers are also relatively weak, making it so much harder for many adolescents to resist sex.” Which means the brain of the adolescent is still incapable to make the right responses to the stimulus of sexual pleasures.
But on the other end it recommends: “Don’t narrow down options and shut out adolescents for whom abstinence is not a realistic choice.”.
The flaw is this:
Subjecting an adolescent to a stimulus without preparing it or waiting for the proper phase in its development and expecting it to commit error just the same, is the highest form of irresponsibility.
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Awesome observation and analysis. Thank you for the insight. 👍

Dan
 
I stayed abstinent and still am. But for the reason that I had (and I do not say suffered from) same sex attraction.
 
Others simply masturbate on a regular basis to relieve the sexual tension.
 
You notice that he doesn’t bother mentioning that teenage pregnancy rates are down and the number of teens abstaining from sex has increased a great deal over the past few years. The fact is the best way for teenagers to avoid the risks of pregnancy, disease, and the emotional problems associated with teenage sexual activity it to avoid it completely. While that fact is a part of the belief system of most religion, it’s not solely a religious belief but a scientific fact. Just like the best way to avoid a fatal car accident to to avoid speeding. Some people won’t listen to reason in either case, doesn’t mean the state patrol needs to offer “speeding education” for people that are going to refuse to be reasonable.
 
Others simply masturbate on a regular basis to relieve the sexual tension.
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And still others do neither, and are better people because of it.

If I had as little respect for adolescents as Michael Miller, I wouldn’t bother with sex education at all. I thought his article would argue that sex is psychologically healthy, but he didn’t even get that far. I suppose to really look at his argument objectively I’ll have to delve into all his references and research. Oh wait; he didn’t cite any.

God bless, anyway.
 
Dan_Grelinger said:
How safe is something that is apt to send one to hell?

Dan
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That is Church teaching which was a probably a reaction to the Jansenist heresies. There is not much scriptural reference that masturbation will send one to hell.
 
goofyjim said:
That is Church teaching which was a probably a reaction to the Jansenist heresies. There is not much scriptural reference that masturbation will send one to hell.
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“What you bind on earth, is bound in heaven. What you loose on earth is loosed in heaven.”

I believe that it has been bound here.

Dan
 
Dan_Grelinger said:
“What you bind on earth, is bound in heaven. What you loose on earth is loosed in heaven.”

I believe that it has been bound here.

Dan
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Obviously in recent history maybe, but I hearken back to St. Paul when he established his list of things that would exclude someone form the kingdom. Masturbation was not one of them. I trust he knew what he was talking about since he did come from the Hebrew background.

Plus, I seem to remember a Catholic Bible explicitly referring to the Genesis 38 incident as Onan being killed because he would not raise children for his brother’s name not for the act of spilling his seed as such.
 
goofyjim said:
Obviously in recent history maybe, but I hearken back to St. Paul when he established his list of things that would exclude someone form the kingdom. Masturbation was not one of them. I trust he knew what he was talking about since he did come from the Hebrew background.

Plus, I seem to remember a Catholic Bible explicitly referring to the Genesis 38 incident as Onan being killed because he would not raise children for his brother’s name not for the act of spilling his seed as such.
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Moot. If Christ gave the Church the power He said He did, then it does not matter.

So, masterbation is very ‘unsafe’ sex. The only ‘safe’ sex is with your spouse. Not only keeps you out of hell, but provides graces that help you get to heaven.

Dan
 
Dan_Grelinger said:
Moot. If Christ gave the Church the power He said He did, then it does not matter.

So, masterbation is very ‘unsafe’ sex. The only ‘safe’ sex is with your spouse. Not only keeps you out of hell, but provides graces that help you get to heaven.

Dan
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Well then there are some prominent well known priests that might disagree. I am not at liberty to mention names because they are not otherwise considered liberal and against the Church but I have read their books and heard their advice.
 
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