Good News MagazineEach issue offers an eye-opening in-depth perspective of the Bible  
 
View All Good News Video Commentaries
 
November 20, 2009
Bend But Don't Break
November 16, 2009
40 Years of Sesame Street
November 13, 2009
Peace, Peace—But There Is No Peace
November 11, 2009
World 2.0
November 9, 2009
When Walls Come Down
November 6, 2009
Hope for Fort Hood
November 4, 2009
Afghanistan's Cancelled Elections
November 3, 2009
Healthcare and Horses
 
October 30, 2009
Ho, Ho, Halloween
October 28, 2009
Harmless Halloween?
October 26, 2009
Smart Chickens
October 23, 2009
Why No Nobel Peace Prize for the Greatest Peacemaker?
October 21, 2009
Death of a Computer
October 19, 2009
Not By Might
 
September 25, 2009
A Festival of Peace
September 24, 2009
Nukes in Iran
September 23, 2009
Three-Hearted Nations
September 21, 2009
Dawkins or Design?
September 17, 2009
Watch Your Mouth
September 15, 2009
World War II & the Hitler-Stalin Pact
September 11, 2009
Remembering 9/11
September 11, 2009
Terrorism and the Bible
September 10, 2009
Ted Kennedy and America
September 9, 2009
President Addresses Students
September 3, 2009
Can the War In Afghanistan Be Won?
September 1, 2009
Jaycee Dugard Found After 18 Years
 
 
Subscribe to Good News Email
Find Good News on Facebook
Follow Good News on Twitter
Good News RSS Feed

 

 

GN Commentary: January 7, 2009 - Is Abstinence Education the Answer?

If children are not given a strong moral foundation at home, no school program is capable of protecting them from the damaging effects of a morally bankrupt society.

 

Related Resources

Sex, Dating and You!
Misunderstandings about God's instructions are contributing to some tragic heartaches. Learn how you can enjoy life to the fullest—God's way.

Teen Sex vs. Divine Light
Are teen girls growing up too fast? Are they becoming sexually active too early in life?

Saving Sex for Marriage–What Does God Want Us to Do?
A young adult shares the experiences of several people that have helped her to conclude God does know what He is talking about on the subject of sex.

A Touchy Subject: Hand-holding, Hugging, Kissing and More...
The time to make decisions about physical contact is before you get in a touchy situation. Making a decision on the fly with no forethought is a recipe for going too far.

Virginity—Is It Worth It?
Many people mistakenly think everyone is having sex before marriage, but the facts show otherwise—with good cause.

Sexual Myths, Sexual Reality
Everyone knows that God created us as sexual beings. We also know that young people face tremendous pressures regarding sex. But who explains how and when a young person can best awaken his or her sexuality?

Sex Outside of Marriage: What's the Big Deal?
The sexual revolution of the '60s encouraged us to liberate ourselves from old sexual taboos. Millions did. What have we learned?

Dating Dos and Don'ts
Everyone knows that in most cultures dating is a prelude to marriage. But what many don't know is that how we date greatly influences the kind of marriage we will have. The way we conduct ourselves while dating is an excellent indicator of the commitment we will have to a future relationship and an indicator of the level of happiness we will enjoy.

The Dating Debate
With all the bad results, should a Christian give up on dating altogether? Or is there a better way?

God's Purpose for Sex and Marriage
We live in a world saturated with sex. But are we missing an unrealized dimension when it comes to sex and marriage? When and how did sex originate—and why?

Illicit Sex: The Threat to Children
The major consequences of sex before marriage include the problems of disease, premarital pregnancies, single mothers and fatherless children.

 

Video Transcript

My wife and I have never forgotten the day several years ago when we met a nice young lady who had recently turned 16.  Her mother, who worked for Planned Parenthood, had given her a rather unusual birthday gift.  She came home from work, handed her daughter a packet of birth-control pills, and said, "Here.  Go have some fun."  Thankfully, that innocent teenager had a lot more wisdom and character than her mother.

The January, 2009, issue of the journal Pediatrics contained a study from Johns Hopkins purporting to show that "virginity pledges," a frequent component of abstinence-based programs, have little effect on later sexual conduct.  Planned Parenthood and others who oppose abstinence-education have hailed this study as proof positive that such programs don't work.

Well, as the old saying goes, "Figures don't lie, but liars do figure."  Responsible educators have questioned the validity of this study.  For example, any young person who already had a strong moral belief in saving sexual activity for marriage was automatically excluded from the data.  So, while it seems fair to conclude that abstinence-based classes alone did not significantly change their behavior, the author rightly added, "It seems like abstinence has to come from an individual conviction rather than participating in a program."

Let's put that into plain language: If children are not given a strong moral foundation at home, no school program is capable of protecting them from the damaging effects of a morally bankrupt society.

The late newspaper columnist Ann Landers wrote that the pill was the perfect birth-control method when used properly, and explained that the correct way to use it was to place it between your knees and hold it there.  Her point was clear—nothing protects as well as abstinence.  In the thirty years after the introduction of the pill, out-of-wedlock births increased by over 400%.

Do you want to protect your children from the heart break of sexually transmitted diseases, unplanned pregnancies, and the emotional devastation of having the most intimate and personal of all human relationships drug through the moral gutter?  Then this study has an important message: Either parents give their children the moral foundation they need, or society will lead them down a slippery path to self-destruction.

It's been several years since we've seen that young lady, but the last time we saw her, she introduced us to her husband and let us hold her baby.  She had chosen to save God's gift of sexuality for that one special relationship, and she had no regrets.

For GN Magazine, I'm David Johnson.

 

 

 


Who Is God? © 1995-2009 United Church of God, an International Association | Privacy Policy
Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. All correspondence and questions should be sent to info@gnmagazine.org. Send inquiries regarding the operation of this Web site to webmaster@gnmagazine.org.