Safe Sex Message of Our Culture

Josh McDowell in his book Why True Love Waits describes the danger of the safe sex message of our culture:

The ‘safe sex’ message of our culture encourages a false sense of security in our young people. They rationalize, ‘I want to have sex, but I don’t want to get pregnant or catch a disease. So I will do what my health class teacher recommends. I will practice safe sex by using a condom.’

The only problem is this: Safe sex isn’t safe. At best, safe sex is only ‘safer sex.’ And yet condoms are often recommended in schools, even distributed in some. Physicians warn their patients, ‘If you’re going to have premarital sex, at least protect yourself with a condom.’ Even agencies such as the Public Health Service state: ‘Although refraining from intercourse with infected persons remains the most effective strategy for preventing human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections and other sexually transmitted disease (STDs), the Public Health Service also has recommended condom use as part of its strategy.’

These warnings make about as much sense to me as any of the following warnings:

• Russian roulette is potentially fatal, so you should never play it. But if you just have to play, we recommend that you only put one bullet in the cylinder.
• Driving the wrong way on a busy freeway can get you killed, so it’s best to stay on the right side of the road. But if you just have to try it, we recommend that you flash your lights and sound your horn.
• Jumping off a fifty-story building can be hazardous to your health, so don’t do it. But when you just can’t fight off the urge, we recommend that you at least flap your arms on the way down to slow your fall.

These warnings are meant to be totally ridiculous, of course, to illustrate the point. When condom use is peddled among our youth under the heading of safe sex, they tend to believe condoms can keep them totally safe from pregnancy and disease. The recommendation of condoms comes across to many of them as approval of premarital sex and safety from harm. As we shall see, leaving out one little ‘r’ – the difference between safe sex and safer sex – can spell disaster for some our kids.’

People say that it is unrealistic to preach abstinence to the teens of today; I say it’s unrealistic and deadly not to and leave them to the alternative which can only lead to a disastrous “but” in their own lives.

HT: The Abstinence Clearinghouse Blog