Quote Originally Posted by Jimbo View Post
Sorry guys, I didn't mean for it to sound like I thought it was a bigotted or crazy idea. I'm just curious - I've heard of it, but never really understood how it played out in practice.

Personally, my wife and I were together 10 years before we were married. We're now coming up to 9 years of marriage. We met when I was 18. We didn't practice abstinance, just monogomy.

However, while I agree that the failsafe approach to stds, unwanted pregnancy etc is abstinance, I also think you need the saftey net for those who choose not to abstain. As for whether these things should be taught with a moralistic spin, I'm definitely not qualified to judge on that one. All I do know is that kids today are quick to spot inconsistancies between what you say and what you do...

James.
No, don't worry; I don't think it came across that way at all. I think Matt was simply observing that the notion of Christians refraining from being “unequally yoked” with non-Christians often seems to be rather hard line at first glance. It is, ultimately, a matter of practicality: if two people have drastically different and incompatible views, a union is just a setup for failure. I should point out, however, that if one member of a non-Christian marriage converts, they are strongly encouraged to remain with their spouse. The “unequally yoked” idea is not a universal constraint, nor is it a consideration applicable at all times.

I do hope that I don’t sound too fanatical myself; it is not my intent to judge others in my babbling here. I simply aim to attempt to explain how these matters are approached from a Christian perspective, and present the ideals which we try to achieve. We do not succeed in achieving them. Only one person ever has. I pointed out earlier real standard of sexual purity. God concerns himself with a man’s heart far more than his actions; the actions are merely the outward symptoms of the condition of the heart. How would everyone compare if the veils of flesh and outward appearances were stripped away and we all stood naked, as we truly are? All the handicaps that hindered one, removed; the hypocrisy of another, revealed? If we toured Heaven, and considered who we found there and who we did not, there would certainly be surprises.

I do agree on the need to provide a safety net of knowledge for those who chose not to abstain. Should education have a moralistic spin? I doubt the authority of schools to provide moral education. In public schools especially, we would never all agree on what that was. In a general sense, almost everyone can recognize “right” from “wrong,” but when we get to particulars, our moral compasses need tuning, and we aren’t all using the same set of instructions. And as you said, “All I do know is that kids today are quick to spot inconsistancies between what you say and what you do...”

More is caught than taught.

-Michael