Dating: Getting to KnowYouIs it possible to achieve this authentic
sexuality within a dating relationship? By
biblical standards,no.When you see
yourself and your dating partner as
children of God—destined for eternity—
you cannot justify premarital sex,
especially when you also consider the
physical and emotional toll it takes.
The Physical Toll of Premarital Sex
Premaritalpregnancy andsexually-
transmitteddiseasessuch asHPVand
AIDSareamongthemost obvious
negativeresultsof premaritalsex.Many
peoplearguethat theuseof condomsand
other contraceptivedevicescan reducethe
physicalimpact of premaritalsex.Thus,
our contemporary cultureoften promotes
theidea that premaritalsexisnot wrongif
couplesusecontraception.However,just
from a strictly physicalstandpoint the
oddsof so-called“safe-sex”practicesare
generally comparabletothoseof playing
Russian roulette.Whilereducingthe
number of bulletsin thegun’schamber
can better one’soddsof escaping
unharmed,noonecan reasonably argue
thegameshouldat allbecharacterizedas
“safe”(let alonemoral),even if only one
bullet remainsin thechamber.Theethical
standardbeingpromotedin“safe-sex”
argumentsisit isnot badif youcan just
“get away with it unharmed.”
Unfortunately,many safe-sexproponents
willnot even entertain theproposition of
abstainingfrom thegame—of puttingthe
gun down in favor of committingto
monogamy.
Relativism.Giving credibility to this
kind of acceptance of premarital sex is the
worldview of relativism,which holds that
ethical truths depend on—are relative
to—those holding them.After years of
analyzing undergraduate essays about
sexual morality,we have concluded the
most common ethical view inAmerican
culture is relativism.Through the lens of
relativism,then,premarital sex is seen to
be acceptable under the right conditions:
the couple is in love,planning to marry,
and using contraception.Premarital sex can bring a lifetime of disappointment.E.Dygas/Taxi/GettyImages