Rob Colquhoun

The Truth will set you free

 

Building the civilization of life and love.

 

In this article, the positive aspects of the virtue of chastity are explained in a manner that is encouraging and embracing to young people. This virtue is vital for building a culture of life because it calls for young people to experience and understand the true value of sex and love. The New Testament teachings on sex and chastity are examined, and light is shed on the damages and dangers of the culture of death.

 

Why chastity education for teenagers is important today

 

John Paul once said that “Chastity can only be thought of in association with the virtue of love.”[1] At the crossroads between the culture of life and a culture of death, a signpost of chastity education points to the culture of life. As chastity and self control are one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit (Gal 5:23-4), God gives us a gift of purity of heart if we love and keep his commandments (John 14:15).  This purity is can be given as the fruit of prayer, especially when asked with humility.

 

It is vital to communicate to teenagers that the virtue of purity is not first of all a “no” to illict sex, but a yes to authentic love. It first and foremost affirms and celebrates the goodness of our bodies and the gift of sex. It is not a repressed repetition of “no” but a continual “yes” to Jesus. Mary offers the perfect example of love and obedience by saying “Let it be done to me according to thy word.” (Luke 1:38). The more we imitate her “yes,” the more joy and peace we will let into our lives. If we are unable to say “no” to sex, what is our “yes” really worth?

 

Living a life of authentic chastity means that it is easier to cherish your future marriage more than passing pleasures. Living a chaste life within a relationship helps couples to express intimacy in a way that is not necessarily physical. This intimacy helps people to be themselves. An unhealthy intimacy makes couples feel as if they were losing their identity.

 

Rather than trying to live life trying not to offend God, we should live life trying to glorify him. Every single act and moment in our lives can be considered an act of worship to God. Because God’s laws exist because he loves us and wants us to share in that love, we should concentrate on the “yes” to true love rather than obsessing on the “no” to sin. God invented sex and he designed us. That is why “When you decide firmly to lead a clean life, chastity will not be a burden on you: it will be a crown of triumph.”[2]

The truth of the culture of life

There is no condom for the heart or the soul. The very heart of trying to make sex “safe” is a total contradiction in terms. Sex is supposed to be a total gift of self. “Protection” is normally an action against your enemies, not your most closely beloved.

 

A truly chaste life is free of the pollution of the culture of death. The great secret for young people to discover living and experiencing the culture of life is joyful and fosters a true experience of love! Young hearts feel "a desire for greater generosity, more commitment, greater love. This desire for more is a characteristic of youth; a heart that is in love does not calculate, does not begrudge, it wants to give of itself without measure.”[3] No doubt this love will require sacrifice and be demanding at times.

 

Sex education programs must communicate that sex is beautiful and good within the confines of marriage. It must be taught that the purpose of sex is for babies and bonding. Educators must be able to show teenagers that chastity is a way which we glorify God with our bodies. They must also show the problems and dangers of fornication and clarify and communicate the distinction between loving and using somebody. Living in chastity and purity authentically cannot be imposed by fear, circumstance or by hiding facts. These are not entrance points to a truly chaste life.

 

Teenagers increasingly are being educated by the media, which does not necessarily have the best interests of its users at heart. Parents and those who act in loco parentis must be the guardians of their children’s responsible use of the media.

 

What does the New Testament say about pre marital sex?

It is abundantly clear that the New Testament shows that pre marital sex is not in accordance with a life of grace. I Cor 6 (RSV version) shows us that message with utmost clarity: “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived… neither the immoral, nor adulterers, nor sexual perverts… will inherit the kingdom of God. The body is not meant for immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.” (1 Cor 6: 9-10, 13-14).

As our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, we glorify God in our body. In the Thessalonians, the virtues of holiness through Chastity are further extolled: “For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from unchastity; that each one of you know how to take a wife for himself in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like heathen who do not know God; For God has not called us for uncleanness, but in holiness.” (1 Thess 4:3-5,7-8).

In the Ephesians, Paul tells us “fornication and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you.” In Titus we are told not to be hypocritical like those who “profess to know God, but deny him by their deeds.” (Titus 1:16). Paul talks of learning true bodily self control lest his teaching be in vain. (I Cor 9:27). True love then demands a personal commitment to the will of God[4], who pours love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us. (cf. Rm 5:5).  Ultimately whatever we have done to another, we have done to Christ himself (Matt 25:31-46).

The damage and dangers of the culture of death

 

In the United Kingdom, Government endorsed sex education programs to reduce unwanted teenage pregnancies have had precisely the opposite effect. Yet our Government is too embarrassed to change its promotion of safe sex now we know that such a term is not only oxymoronic but statistically inaccurate. There is no convincing evidence that condoms reduce the transmission of HPV, Chalmydia or HSV.[5] As consistent use of condoms is very low, to promote their use as a “safe” form of sex is nothing short of a lie. Not only that, there is an intimate link between contraception and abortion, because they are fruits from the same tree. Without forgetting that abortion has only been partially decriminalised in this country, we must remember its original purpose of the legalisation of abortion was not to be the reaction to failed contraceptive use. The misuse of terminology is particularly evident with the ‘morning after pill’ which can actually also be an abortifacient.

 

It is extremely important for our society to acknowledge the damage to health that the culture of death brings. In a July 29th 2005 press release, the World Health Organization openly admitted that cobined estrogen-progestogen Oral Contraceptives are carcinogenic to humans.[6] There is a growing consensus to bring more informed consent to our abortion laws. A recent study has shown that women who had abortions had twice the level of mental health problems and three times the risk of a major depressive illness as those who had never given birth or been pregnant.[7] The American Psychological Association has now withdrawn an official statement denying a link between abortion and psychological harm.[8] As more and more studies increasingly confirm a definitive link between abortion and breast cancer, preterm delivery and depression[9]- some doctors might wake up to the fact they are doing serious harm.  As lawsuits have been brought against smoking and pharmaceutical companies for medical misinformation, I see no reason why such procedures should not be brought against abortion providers. 

 

Organisations such as IPPF stay in business through promiscuity, just as condom companies get money from people buying condoms. If legislation was introduced to prevent abortion providers from making financial profits, such organisations would not have the conflict of interest between promoting their services and making profit. Medicine truly serves the human person when it does no harm and avoids treating people as if they were commodities.