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 A young Christian at an purity rally spreads the word.
September 27th, 2011
08:39 AM ET
Why young Christians aren't waiting anymoreBy John Blake, CNN (CNN) -True love doesn’t wait after all. That’s the implication in the upcoming October issue of an evangelical magazine that claims that young, unmarried Christians are having premarital sex almost as much as their non-Christian peers. The article in Relevant magazine, entitled “(Almost) Everyone’s Doing It,” cited several studies examining the sexual activity of single Christians. One of the biggest surprises was a December 2009 study, conducted by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, which included information on sexual activity. While the study’s primary report did not explore religion, some additional analysis focusing on sexual activity and religious identification yielded this result: 80 percent of unmarried evangelical young adults (18 to 29) said that they have had sex - slightly less than 88 percent of unmarried adults, according to the teen pregnancy prevention organization. The article highlights what challenges abstinence movements face. Movements such as “True Love Waits,” encourage teens to wear purity rings, sign virginity pledges and pledge chastity during public ceremonies. Yet many of these Christian youths eventually abandon their purity pledges, Relevant’s Tyler Charles concludes in the article. Tyler talked to people like “Maria,” an evangelical woman who said she wanted to wait until marriage to have sex. CNN's Belief Blog – all the faith angles to the day's top stories But she said she started having sex with her college boyfriend when she turned 20 because nearly everyone, even most of her Christian friends, were having sex. Maria:
Relevant theorizes about why it’s so hard for so many young Christians to wait, including the saturation of sex in popular culture, the prevalence of pornography and a popular “do what feels good philosophy.” Yet the article also asks a question that rarely comes up in discussions about abstinence movement. Relevant notes that in biblical times, people married earlier. The average age for marriage has been increasing in the U.S for the last 40 years. Today, it’s not unusual to meet a Christian who is single at 30 - or 40 or 50, for that matter. So what do you tell them? Keep waiting? Scot McKnight, author of “The Jesus Creed,” and "One.Faith: Jesus Calls, We Follow," acknowledges that young, single Christians face temptations that their counterparts in the biblical age didn’t face. He tells Relevant:
So what should a Christian parent or youth pastor do? How do they convince more young Christians to wait until marriage, or should they stop even trying? soundoff (5,770 Responses)« Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 Next »
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The CNN Belief Blog covers the faith angles of the day's biggest stories, from breaking news to politics to entertainment, fostering a global conversation about the role of religion and belief in readers' lives. It's edited by CNN's Daniel Burke with contributions from Eric Marrapodi and CNN's worldwide news gathering team.  |
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Who wants a good time?
The easiest chick I ever slept with was a diehard Christian.
You are probably a big fat slob who has never kissed a girl trying to put on a show out of spite ... just because you hate God. You poor soul. I pity you.
That shows real class. I am positive your mother,sisters ,wife all the women your life hope their boys turn out to be just like you.
Good, we don't need one more generation of repressed individuals with an unhealthy relationship with the most natural of body functions.
Or we can go in the other direction of everyone and everything doing it all together and spreading STDs.
It's amazing how such badly written and poorly researched articles tend to bring out the slimy creepy creatures of this planet ... the type which only take glory in their shameful lusts.
Your anger turns me on big boy!
@Ram me baby!
Oppressing our natural desires and the very reason we are alive to begin with only creates more sick people. See: Catholic priests.
*Suppressing
Bristol Palin is the poster child.
The U.S. has the world's largest Christian population....
GOD BLESS ALL CHRISTIANS.......... I love Jesus forever! ... PS! Jews for Jesus
Thats not as big of a leap of faith as you might think. I was jewish. You want a leap of faith? Athiests for Jesus. Not THAT is spiritually powerful!
Oh, and go have some s e x.
There's the humility Jesus preached.
www jesusradicals com – Real Christians.
Just Christians? Remember if a non believer reads this he may think you are a jerk. So let's say God Bless everyone. Muslims, Non believers, whether they are gay, straight, black or white God bless them
God bless all humankind. May all come to know you through your son, Jesus.
Christianity grew in America under Reagan because it was an era of ego and greed and again during the housing boom for the same reason. Evangelical Christianity teaches that all is forgiven no matter what you do, that you're right about the only question that matters and that you're some kind of special snowflake. Modern Christians don't praise God. They just are giving themselves an unlimited supply of Get Out of Jail Free cards for their consciences. It all comes back to them. It's all about selfishness.
Do I know you? You just wrote about me Christian ,living during Reagan but you do not know me. do not write like you know all about me you do not . It is a straw man argument ( 40 years since college I may have pulled the wrong label out of my head . Truly don,t do a lot of debate these ays
Don't buy the car without test driving it.
and make sure that car has a big back seat!
i agree . i would perfer a used model , that way you can skip driver's ed .
I waited until marriage, as did my wife. I was 28, she was 21. It was absolutley worth it. I regret nothing. I've heard countless stories of first time experiences where there is nothing but regret. One of them was drunk, pregnancy fears, the relationship falls apart, etc. They all remember their first time and many have admitted to me, "I shouldn't have done it that way probably." When I look back on my first time, it is a triumph. I fought the battles, denied temptation and look at my wife and know she was the first and I smile everytime I remember my first time, and she smiles right back at me. I was meant for her, and she for me and she was worth waiting for.
Didn't touch a woman until 28? Oh dear god man, just come out, will you? You are clearly gay.
So it worked for you, it must work for everyone else too. Blow me.
Previous two posts–and TONS of others on any subject dealing with religion or faith...proof that we still need adult supervision to make us play well with others.
It is nice to know there are true gentlemen left in this world. These people who rush into intimate relationships with anyone and everyone have no idea what they are missing. I commend you and your wife for being strong. Just because it is right doesn't mean it is easy. Pay no attention to the lude comments posted here. We should pray for them as well as the young couples who are dealing with temptation.
@BillyBones, so anyone with more self control than you, or some imagined break point, is gay? I'm sure if he was gay that wouldn't have stopped him from having intercourse, it just wouldn't have been with a woman.
Craig
I waited until marriage, as did my wife. I was 28, she was 21. It was absolutley worth it. I regret nothing. I've heard countless stories of first time experiences where there is nothing but regret. One of them was drunk, pregnancy fears, the relationship falls apart, etc. They all remember their first time and many have admitted to me, "I shouldn't have done it that way probably." When I look back on my first time, it is a triumph. I fought the battles, denied temptation and look at my wife and know she was the first and I smile everytime I remember my first time, and she smiles right back at me. I was meant for her, and she for me and she was worth waiting for.
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I am happy for you. Serious. Just remember not everybody is the same and some of us were created for more than one.
No one gets any guarantees. The fact that your life is working right now is no guarantee that it always will. I certainly do not have any ill will for you, but you sound as if your story has ended. It hasn't ended – and anything could happen, at any time, which means you'll have a nice memory of how great everything was, right before it all went to hell in a handbasket.
Karen
It is nice to know there are true gentlemen left in this world. These people who rush into intimate relationships with anyone and everyone have no idea what they are missing. I commend you and your wife for being strong. Just because it is right doesn't mean it is easy. Pay no attention to the lude comments posted here. We should pray for them as well as the young couples who are dealing with temptation.
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And then you have the clueless and judgemental that thinks their shoe fits everybody. Save your prayers for yourself that you might be more understanding and less close minded. Save your prayers for yourself so that you can honestly look in the mirror and see only yourself instead of everybody else as you.
@Tom Where do you see that Craig said that because it worked for him that it should be that way for everyone? He's merely giving an example of how waiting for marriage can work out and be worth it. I hope you're just trolling otherwise you come off sounding like an assuming toolbag.
@Utah Gary
Here's your badge for the duty of being hall monitor. Now get to work.
Now kids, its either $ex or bible study, you make up your mind.
Oh and thankyou to CNN on how this belief topic has backfired on them.
No one likes bible study even without $ex.
kimsland
Now kids, its either $ex or bible study, you make up your mind.
Oh and thankyou to CNN on how this belief topic has backfired on them.
No one likes bible study even without $ex.
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Reminds me of an adult play I was involved in. God was C@ ck blocking Satan and screaming out his scripture while banging Mary. God had the head of a pig...much like how men are viewed who take advantage of women. In the end we are god's who res which god sacrificed his only g a y son.
This is what happens when 10-12 year olds make "purity pledges"under the guise of religion only to find out some years later that religion is simply about social control rather than spirituality.
Think about this for a second, Jesus's Mom had $ex with a ghost and gave birth to a human! How totally k inky is that?
haha...goes to show religious nuts are just that...nuts. I waited...but because i wanted to...not because of Jesus or whatever. Silly religious peeps...when will you see that dictating life rules to others based on made-up stories is dumb.
So...how many of you nonbeliever bloggers that come to the Belief site were among the group Obama invited to the White House, to push his agenda on the electronic front, which just coincidentally happened right before the Arab Spring, and was just coincidentally propogated through the electronic media? And all of a sudden now the Internet and cell phones are basic human rights? Shows all you nonbeliever "professional" bloggers don't know much, especially regarding matters of Faith. Yet you all can't help posting here to only show your H8 and ignorance, instead of wanting to come here to make friendships or bonds, or learn. Don't know much about love do you?
Steveinmo, do you have any idea how ridiculous you sound accusing people who disagree with you of being on someone's payroll? Just to be clear, what bonds and friendship are you offering when you accuse people of such things? People can look at the same set of facts and reach a different conclusion. It has happened since the dawn of man about every topic we could come up with. Be less petty.
Well Atomic Drone, if you were to even come here for anything other than attacking believers, then you might know. And if you had read some of my posts over the weekend on the "Rapture" thread, one would hope you might see I was trying to say something from my heart for the well-being and love for others, meant in the best way, and with no character attacks; that is until everyone turned on me accusing me of thing I didn't say.
And where is it written that I can't ask an honest question? Or does the question scare you? Perhaps it jus doesn't fall within your criteria and rules of free speech? That's right, the nonbelievers and the liberals (yes, I'll keep them separate instead of saying they're one group) are so threatened with the old ways and what's right they pass laws to shut us up, yet say their right and freedom to slander what's good and say what they want, while saying it's their right not to tell us to keep quiet. So what's your agenda and real reason for being here? If you don't like what we believe in, you have the freedom NOT to come here. But you can't even answer what's on your heart of why you come here because totally honesty with yourself is out of your reach at the moment.
2 Thes 2:11-12 - And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie; That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
@Steveinmo
You're upset .. so what? Go have some s-e-x.
Well, just look at some of the people they've hired, like Piers Morgan and that shows pretty well how stupid CNN has become. At least they're not like MSLSD or Fox...
sorry this was supposed to be a reply to BBoy705 below, but the site dropped it in the wrong place.
Thank you!
The biggest regret I have in my life was waiting.
Mary Rottenbox, is that you?!
This makes me really sad. God does not change – His standard for holiness hasn't changed regardless of when it is socially acceptable to marry. Thankfully grace applies to those who are truly repentent. "Should we keep on sinning such that grace increases all the more? Of course not!" We as Christians must be light in the darkness. We should pray for our young people and not-so-young single brothers and sisters who struggle with temptation.
Get some batteries girl and go to your room!
You barely made sense with your religious gibberish, but I will fight and die for your right to mouth off religious gibberish.
BTW, young christians are fkn more these days cause they are animals like everyone else. FYI. Animals like to fk.
True that, it makes them look very hypocritical, but that isn't new to religion at all now is it.
So irritating. Quit assuming you know what your deity wants for you and me. You know nothing. And your deity is nothing but make-believe.
Jesus is not as satisfying as an orgasim, that's why.
Well, to that I say, let me give you an orgasm!