Chastity

[Miles]

.
The Bible says people shouldn't have sexual intercourse (sex) before marriage, and, in fact, deems sex so distasteful, even immoral, that god had to invent marriage to legitimize it.

1 Corinthians 7:1-2
1 Now concerning the matters about which you wrote. It is well for a man not to touch a woman. 2 But because of the temptation to immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband.

So, for whatever reason, god finds sex pretty reprehensible, for which he provides only a single remedy, and one not fitting everybody. However, according to the most recent statistics I could find, of never-married 18-22 year-olds, on average 74% of Christian females and Christian males have had premarital sex.



source


Now, considering god's stand on premarital sex, to me them's pretty daunting statistics. Chastity be damned, as it were. Stats I would think to be more fitting the non-religious.

In fact, as of five months ago "half of U.S. Christians say casual sex between consenting adults is sometimes or always acceptable."
source (My emphasis)



So, what do you think about chastity and sex before marriage? In time will chastity no longer be a concern of Christianity?

And what group do you fall into?


.

[Rose2020]

Depends if you want true lasting happiness.
I do come from a generation and upbringing where it mattered.

What a world it is where people may well be ashamed of being a virgin or admit to saving themselves for marriage.

A world where such disclosure is greeted with derision, mockery, pity even. Why is that?

[Miles]

Depends if you want true lasting happiness.

Are you really suggesting that keeping the gift of your body for a truly special person that you love will bring true lasting happiness?

I do come from a generation where it matters.

I assume then you're an early Baby Boomer, Like at least pre-1960 anyway.

In my youth I certainly steered clear of any man with that attitude. I have never regretted it. There is so much that is so much more important.

And considering what you don't regret, it wouldn't take much to be more important.



.

[ProtoGlenn]

[Replying to Miles in post #1]

I don't think it is God's standard. It is the Puritan standard.

The only one who was not to have sex before marriage, was a woman. But the context of that, is that a woman could not live by herself back then. And that is why marriage was so important for the wellbeing of the woman. That doesn't even apply to the here and now of things. Women are more than capable of sustaining their own life without the "need" to marry. Furthermore, they aren't treated as a valuable commodity to be sold by the father for coin or animals. While marriage was talked about in the Bible, it was never enforced. The only thing that defiled the bed was whoredom and adultery.

[2ndRateMind]

.
The Bible says people shouldn't have sexual intercourse (sex) before marriage, and, in fact, deems sex so distasteful, even immoral, that god had to invent marriage to legitimize it...

In fact, as of five months ago "half of U.S. Christians say casual sex between consenting adults is sometimes or always acceptable."
source (My emphasis)



So, what do you think about chastity and sex before marriage? In time will chastity no longer be a concern of Christianity?

And what group do you fall into?


.

Speaking as a celibate male, and therefore with no personal axe to grind in this matter, my opinion is that, within the law and with due care, people may have sex with who they want, when they want. I have always resented others trying to insert their morals into my private affairs, and see no reason to insert mine into theirs.

Best wishes, 2RM.