Speaking for myself, I am a Christian and remain abstinent as a moral choice, out of respect for God and respect for the wife I may in the future have. That said, I must confess that although some might say I am doing pretty well in that regard (having never woken up with someone else), in the eyes of him whose opinion really matters, not so much (Mathew 5:28).

Recognizing that most do not live by such a standard, in defense of abstinence from a pragmatic view I propose the following rant:

***** Begin Wee Hours Rant *****

Speaking of math, Jimbo, what’s the numbers? I heard a report on the news saying that somewhere around 25% of sexually active people my age have an STD. And why shouldn’t they? There are dozens to choose from. Prior to the whole “sexual revolution” thing, there was pretty much only two you had to worry about if you intended to mess around. Syphilis and Gonorrhea; both of which were curable with antibiotics by the mid 1940’s (I think; its 3:00 a.m. here, I’m to tired/lazy to look it up. Fifties latest, but I’m pretty sure both where curable at one point with penicillin). Now, there are a plethora of viruses floating around, ranging from “wow, this sucks” to “great news, you’re sterile” to “There are only two universally fatal diseases known to man. Congratulations, you have one of them!” Even old ones like Gonorrhea are making a comeback; I saw a headline this morning about how it’s becoming resistant to antibiotics.

And birth control? I am told that originally, my parents only intended to have two children (Thank God for small mercies; it is rather difficult to imagine what life would be like without the youngest around to temper the household). And, oh, yah, as for me, feb ’86 minus sept ’85 doesn’t quite add up to nine months… (For the record, they blame the year long engagement )

***** End Wee Hours Rant *****

Feels good to have that out of my system. Anyway, teenagers and twenty-somethings are not known for thinking things through, so well rounded education is a must. I really have to agree with what everyone else has said so far, that abstinence should be stressed as the only reliable, safe, and respectful method, but that “safe sex” practices and birth control should be taught as well, as plenty of people are going to ignore the abstinence stuff and they should be provided with the best knowledge possible to minimize their regrets down the road.

Matt, you hit that one right on the head, I couldn’t agree more.

- Michael