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Day’s Verse:
When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, “Let us go straight to Behlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us.” So they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger.
Luke 2:15 – 17
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I want it to go down in the record that I think premarital sex is wrong. That said, here goes. If maintaining strong Christian faith during college often seems like to fall by the wayside for many believers, avoiding sexual temptation is a Sysphean task for anybody with a boyfriend or girlfriend. One part of the issue may be that the vast majority of college students believe that premarital sex is fine and normal; it’s having unsafe premarital sex that’s really the sin. The culture surrounding sex in college is very permissive and understanding so that a Christian trying to maintain purity looks like a backwards stick in the mud.
Another part of the issue is that in Christian circles, suggesting that sexual temptations might plague you elicits gasps, and admitting you’ve succumbed to those temptations could easily cause people to rethink their relationship with you. It’s considered so very, very wrong: a sin that you can’t admit to without risking ostracization. But while it’s certainly best to avoid sinning in any way (if not actually possible), everybody falls. Yet despite what the Christian community implies, having sex outside of marriage is no worse a sin than gossiping or being greedy – it’s just that people can hide the gossiping or greed while sometimes the effects of premarital sex are unavoidably obvious. But in God’s eyes a sin is a sin, whether it be sex before marriage or lying to your roommate.
What is it that makes sex so gasp-inducing? Why is it illicit to talk about? What frightens parents off from speaking candidly with their kids? When sex, and talking about it, is taboo how can Christians hold each other accountable? Yet holding accountable is surely one of the strongest ways to help Christian college students remain pure. The knowledge of a phone call from a Christian friend asking “Have you gotten into any too-intimate situations lately?” could pour a little cool water on the hot flames of the moment. I would like to see a Christian culture that could come together to support students, to acknowledge the difficulty of fighting your own desires and the acceptance of the society around you. Working together and speaking candidly could do a world of good for Christian students. If only.
– KF –
I second all you have said. Especially since ALL young people are sexually tempted, whether they admit it or not.
Except I’ll say that there are different magnitudes of sin, ie, gossiping might not be as bad as, say, murdering someone.
Incidentally: the lustful are in the second circle of Hell while gossipers are all the way down in the eighth, according to Dante, anyway.
I second all you have said. Especially since ALL young people are sexually tempted, whether they admit it or not.
Except I’ll say that there are different magnitudes of sin, ie, gossiping might not be as bad as, say, murdering someone.
Incidentally: the lustful are in the second circle of Hell while gossipers are all the way down in the eighth, according to Dante, anyway.
I hope Dante’s ‘lustful’ doesn’t include chocolate 🙂
BTW, do you really set that much store by a marriage contract? How about a ten year relationship that shows no sign of breaking up nor looming wedding ceremony? Tricky.
I hope Dante’s ‘lustful’ doesn’t include chocolate 🙂
BTW, do you really set that much store by a marriage contract? How about a ten year relationship that shows no sign of breaking up nor looming wedding ceremony? Tricky.
One of my major problems with the Christian view of premarital sex is that, in practice, it has always been historically tilted against women. There is an expectation that a Christian woman should keep herself pure until marriage, and there should be physical evidence of this on the wedding night. With guys, there is really no way of knowing exactly what he’s been up to, and with whom, so it’s easier to let him off the hook. I know that in theory, sin is sin, whatever the gender, but I have definitely found it increasingly difficult in recent years to put my faith in a religion that has been historically so discriminatory in so many ways.
One of my major problems with the Christian view of premarital sex is that, in practice, it has always been historically tilted against women. There is an expectation that a Christian woman should keep herself pure until marriage, and there should be physical evidence of this on the wedding night. With guys, there is really no way of knowing exactly what he’s been up to, and with whom, so it’s easier to let him off the hook. I know that in theory, sin is sin, whatever the gender, but I have definitely found it increasingly difficult in recent years to put my faith in a religion that has been historically so discriminatory in so many ways.
Well, don’t you kids worry yourselves to death. The right once again has everything under control:
http://sptimes.com/2004/12/12/Columns/Fact_free_teaching_on.shtml
Well, don’t you kids worry yourselves to death. The right once again has everything under control:
http://sptimes.com/2004/12/12/Columns/Fact_free_teaching_on.shtml
Vangie–If you put your faith in Jesus Christ and not the cultural religion of “Christianity” you’ll find that He doesn’t discriminate at all!
Vangie–If you put your faith in Jesus Christ and not the cultural religion of “Christianity” you’ll find that He doesn’t discriminate at all!
+2pts Deborah
+2pts Deborah
why arent we better friends?
i mean ive really always intended for us to be buds but it never happened.
why arent we better friends?
i mean ive really always intended for us to be buds but it never happened.
Never had a problem with Jesus. That wasn’t the issue. Have a lot of problems with the church, which proclaims itself the expert on implementing Jesus’s teachings on Earth, and has been known to skew and/or omit things.
Never had a problem with Jesus. That wasn’t the issue. Have a lot of problems with the church, which proclaims itself the expert on implementing Jesus’s teachings on Earth, and has been known to skew and/or omit things.
1. Are there different levels of sin? In the Bible it says it’s just as bad to think lustfully of somebody as to actually commit the act (I forget where exactly…sorry).
2. It’s not only the marriage legal contract; it’s the marriage before God and with His blessing.
3. I had not heard premarital sex blamed on Christian girls. In my experience both genders were encouraged to take responsibility since, as they say, it takes two to tango.
4. Doggone Bush’s government again. See NQN, “Governmental Abstinance Program Spreads Lies” for a full response.
5. Unfortunately people are nothing more than human. Your relationship with the Father, His Son, and the Holy Spirit is more important because you can always ignore wrong church teachings (being careful not to ignore what you want to but what is actually right).
1. Are there different levels of sin? In the Bible it says it’s just as bad to think lustfully of somebody as to actually commit the act (I forget where exactly…sorry).
2. It’s not only the marriage legal contract; it’s the marriage before God and with His blessing.
3. I had not heard premarital sex blamed on Christian girls. In my experience both genders were encouraged to take responsibility since, as they say, it takes two to tango.
4. Doggone Bush’s government again. See NQN, “Governmental Abstinance Program Spreads Lies” for a full response.
5. Unfortunately people are nothing more than human. Your relationship with the Father, His Son, and the Holy Spirit is more important because you can always ignore wrong church teachings (being careful not to ignore what you want to but what is actually right).
Girls blamed for deflowers:
I think she’s referring more to the past than these modern times. This is true not just in the history of the Christian world but everywhere. Womens are still ‘circumcised’ to eliminate any pleasure (motivation) they would have for losing chastity. The only analogy I can find in males would be the keeping of eunuchs, but that was much more complex.
Might I refer you to the stunning documentary Ace Ventura 2: When Nature Calls? There, the male, played by the insatiable Jim Carrey, was most certainly blamed for the incident.
Girls blamed for deflowers:
I think she’s referring more to the past than these modern times. This is true not just in the history of the Christian world but everywhere. Womens are still ‘circumcised’ to eliminate any pleasure (motivation) they would have for losing chastity. The only analogy I can find in males would be the keeping of eunuchs, but that was much more complex.
Might I refer you to the stunning documentary Ace Ventura 2: When Nature Calls? There, the male, played by the insatiable Jim Carrey, was most certainly blamed for the incident.