Stones Cry Out has a good reminder about the dangers of immorality. Even with 100% condom use, 30% of the people in one study acquired the cancer-causing human papilloma virus (HPV). Condom use is proclaimed as a successful way to “reduce risk,” but sexual morality seems like the only reasonable way, in my opinion.
Abstinence works. Morality works. Latex might not.
Some people engage in immorality and manage to avoid STDs and other obvious physical complications, but genuine spiritual and social harm is still there. How great the need to teach people to hold the higher standards that God has given us, and to remain or become pure and clean before Him. How great the need to teach the power of repentance and the hope it brings to those many who fall.
First of all, I’m not arging against your position. For reasons both spiritual and physical, abstinence before marriage is the best (make that the only right) way to go. Such was my decision, and it is the decision I encourage my children to make.
That said, the article you linked to, and some others I have read, omit one important fact: As I can tell you from personal experience, it is possible for even those who have followed the law of chastity (and I mean really follow it, not just being technical about things) to have HPV.
Anonymous is right. I used to work in a cytotechnology lab (where they screen pap smears), and I would send out samples for HPV testing, so I got to learn a lot about the virus from the pathologists that I worked with. HPV is very easily transmissible, even through casual skin-to-skin contact. The virus can live outside the genital areas of the body. There are many different strains of HPV, but only a few are known to cause cervical cancer. Those are the strains they’re looking for when you are tested for it. People who have HPV can go throughout their whole lives symptom-free and never know about it, but a few will end up with lesions on the genitals, on the mouth or even other parts of the body, though it is rare. And then there are the strains which cause cancer. I was told by one pathologist that about 97% of all cervical cancers are associated with HPV.
But I definitely agree, abstinence before marriage is the way to go.
it is an undeniable fact that unlike every other form of birth control or “protection” abstinence is the only one that works every single time it’s tried.
Well, there are some who try but fail.
yes good advice and while we are on the subject of abstinence i also think we should all stop flying because its not natural and endangers our lives…as do cars and especially motorbikes…ban them…oh and while i am on the subject do not ever share a cup with anyone else, as the danger of catching herpies or other such germs is just to great…and while I’m on abstinenece before marriage is just not good enough…i mean remember even the thought of a sexual nature is a sin so maybe we should invent %100 light blocking glasses so we can not see anything to be tempted by…yes thats it or maybe we should just do what intelligent growing understanding thoughtful human beings have done since the dawn of time, and that is to keep working towards finding cures for the many diseases that we have in this world and stop saying ” its gods punishment” or are we still living in the dark ages? maybe we should burn a few witches while we are on?
Okay so a danger of immorality is getting some scary viral infection that may or may not make your life miserable, but is that really the reason morality should be stressed. I’ll go so far as to say it has little if nothing to do with the actual reason(s) why immorality is against all Christian religions founded on the gospel of Jesus Christ. Please don’t use scare tactics on your children or on youth in general.
Scare tactics?? What exactly did you find to be so frightening and manipulative? I said that latex might not provide protection against disease – I’m sorry if you’re scared by that. But hiding that information is far more irresponsible and dangerous than sharing it.