True Love Does Wait
Abstinence is not a word you hear very often, especially in my generation. However, it is a term used, taught and practiced in the Christian church. This does not mean if you are a Christian or belong to a Christian church you automatically follow the teaching of abstinence. It is still a decision one would have to make. Many Christian influences contribute to making and keeping this decision; however, the greatest one to me was the song “Wait for Me” by Rebecca St. James.
I was first introduced to the idea of abstinence when I was in the sixth grade. The youth pastor at my church brought a new program into our youth group; it was called “True Love Waits.” Some people might think the sixth grade is a little young to begin talking about sex, but they must realize by that time most preteens have already had a year or two of sex education. This new program was a mix between sex ed and God’s plan for our lives. We discussed the reasons why you shouldn’t have sex before marriage both in the physical and spiritual sense, and why God desires this plan for our lives.
The youth who decided to go through this new program ranged in ages from 11 to 18; and attended classes once a week for three weeks. Once the program was over, the youth group held a Commitment Service on Valentine’s Day. The youth who participated made the commitment official by signing a card and receiving a ring to wear which symbolizes the commitment;”True Loves Waits.” The commitment read as follows;
“Believing that True Love Waits, I make a commitment to God, myself, my family, my future mate, and my future children to be sexually abstinent from this day until the day I enter a biblical marriage relationship.”
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...world facing the same challenges, and making the same life altering commitment. I also had never thought about the fact Rebecca had made the same commitment and this song was her encouragement. This song was my ring and my strength when ever I needed courage to stand strong I just thought of the song and the millions of other teens who are facing the same challenges.
Over the past year or so I have realized just how much I want to wait until I marry and how the decision affects my relationship with God. But, still today this song keeps me in check even though I do not need it anymore. It reminds me of what I went through and just how much I want to keep the promise I made to my future wife, kids, to myself and God. I no longer need to depend on “Wait for Me” because I have found the power to keep strong in my decision though Christ and through self discipline.
The eugenics movement started in the early 1900s and was adopted by doctors and the general public during the 1920s. The movement aimed to create a better society through the monitoring of genetic traits through selective heredity. Over time, eugenics took on two different views. Supporters of positive eugenics believed in promoting childbearing by a class who was “genetically superior.” On the contrary, proponents of negative eugenics tried to monitor society’s flaws through the sterilization of the “inferior.”
It has been almost thirty three years since the first federal funding was put to use in “. . . sex education programs that promote abstinence-only-until-marriage to the exclusion of all other approaches . . .” according to the article “Sex education” (2010) published by “Opposing Viewpoints in Context;” a website that specializes in covering social issues. Since then a muddy controversy has arisen over whether that is the best approach. On one hand is the traditional approach of abstinence (not having sex before marriage), and on the other is the idea that what is being done is not enough, and that there needs to be a more comprehensive approach. This entails not only warning against sex, but also teaching teens about how to have “Safe Sex” (“Sex Education,” 2010).
This song uses a range of different techniques to get the main message of the song across to the audience. Repetition is used in verses 2,4, and 8. “God help me, I was only nineteen”. The effect this gives is to emphasize how the composer is feeling. You feel the pain and the grieving the veterans went through whilst fighting for our country in the war. It makes you realize that some men and women were so young to go out and experience such things that no human being should go
The primary argument which most advocates for abstinence only education have is that sex before marriage is immoral, not appropriate and that abstinence is the only completely effective method of preventing teen pregnancy and STI contraction. These advocates also emphasize that condoms are not a sure-fire way of preventing pregnancy and STI contraction. Many of the proponents for abstinence-only education believe that educating youth with information concerning sex and contraception will embolden them to become to begin or increase sexual activity. Such advocates accredit the lowering of teenage pregnancy to abstinence only education (Collins, Alagira, and Summers 12-13).
The modern day eugenics movement all started with Francis Galton who, in 1869, proposed that procreation between the upper class men and the wealthy women could lead to a superior race. This led to the American Eugenics Society being founded in 1926, a society that wanted restricted access for immigrants of inferior genetic makeup into America as well as the right to sterilize the insane, retarded and epileptic within the country. This was with a view of furthering humanity and improving the gene pool by preventing the poorly endowed (genetically speaking) from continuing their blight on the world.
The concept of eugenics has to do with the belief or practice of improving the genetic quality of the human race (“Eugenics” 2010). The concept was first introduced by Francis Galton, a researcher who wished to apply Darwin’s theory of evolution to the human race. Much like many endeavors that start off with good intentions, the results of applying this concept in real life were gross crimes against humanity. The eugenics movement in the early 20th century perverted the original concept by employing morally objectionable techniques including forced sterilization, marriage restrictions, segregation, internment camps, and genocide (Black 2012). In War Against the Weak: Eugenics and America’s Campaign to Create a Master Race, Edwin Black discusses the root of the eugenics movement in the United States of America and how this ultimately influenced the horrifying actions taken by the Nazis in pursuit of the pure Aryan race.
The concept of eugenics was originally advocated by scientific and religious leaders at the beginning of the twentieth century. It was considered utopian and was driven by rhetoric of social reform. At this time, this form of eugenics was not connected to genetic testing but rather used methods such as sterilization, immigration restriction, family planning promotion schemes, and anti-miscegenation laws (Paul, 1995). In the United States, such methods were mostly directed towards immigration and focused on racial issues, whereas in the United Kingdom, class-oriented eugenicists were driven by the fear that if the “lower classes” outbred their social superiors, this would lead to evolutionary regression (Mazumdar, 1992).
National Abstinence Education Association. “Comprehensive Sex Education Is Inappropriate And Harmful.” Do Abstinence Programs Work?. Christina Fisanick. Michigan. Greenhaven Press, 2010. 33-42. Print.
The term eugenics was coined in the late 19th century. Its goal was to apply the breeding practices and techniques used in plants and animals to human reproduction. Francis Galton stated in his Essays in Eugenics that he wished to influence "the useful classes" in society to put more of their DNA in the gene pool. The goal was to collect records of families who were successful by virtue of having three or more adult male children who have gain superior positions to their peers. His view on eugenics can best be summarized by the following passage:
...r me to discover that there are about 60% more teens acting on abstinence in today’s society than ever before, was just shocking. While it may seem in our culture that sexual activity is a growing normality for teenagers, more teenagers are actually waiting. Studies show that more teenagers are willing to make a pledge to be abstinent if they are educated about it. More teens if given the option would choose a basic sex education program, not an abstinence only program or a contraception only program. Abstinence is the ONLY full proof way to avoid unwanted teenage pregnancies.
It may surprise people how much of the information in abstinence-only curricula is inaccurate. More than 80% of the abstinence-only curricula used by over two-thirds of Special Programs of Regional and National Significance Community-Based Abstinence Education (SPRANS) grantees contain false, misleading, or distorted information about reproductive health ("What the Research Shows”). According to a 2004 study by the Government Reform Committee Staff, out of the thirteen most commonly used abstinence-only education curricula, only two are completely accurate. The other eleven, used by sixty-nine organizations in twenty-five states, contain medical inaccuracies, treat gender stereotypes as facts, blur religion and science, and contain outright
There are a couple of diverse conflicting emotions that convey change throughout the song. It mainly focuses on relief after accepting God. In the song, the author expresses, “ Every heartache and failure, every broken dream; You're the God who sees, the God who rescued
This credible website offers an opportunity for the public to learn more about our American history in an interactive and creative way. The creators of the image archive arrange features, cross-referencing and images with the Adobe Flash plug in program in order to enhance learning. The site offers various virtual exhibits that can be explored. The American Eugenics Movement included key events, persons, and social conditions that formed the development. There are nine specific virtual exhibits that are presented: social origins, scientific origins, research methods, traits studied, research flaws, eugenics popularization, marriage laws, sterilization laws and immigration restriction. All of these options show evidence of the development and expansion of The American Eugenics Movement.
The study of eugenics has been around for many years. China runs the largest and most successful eugenics program in the world. This is becoming more common and accepted by many people. However, simply because it is accepted does not make it right. Eugenics comes from the Greek word meaning “good” or “well born”. It is the belief that some people are genetically superior to others; and that one inherits their relatives’ mental and psychological traits. Eugenics started off as a positive theory, encouraging educated people (positive eugenics) to bear more children and raise them in a constructive manner, but has become a negative theory threatening the sterilization of people with unwanted traits (negative eugenics).
Abstinence is when you abstain from sexual activities. Abstaining from sexual activities is a great way to prevent teen pregnancy, and the risk of getting a sexually transmitted disease. In the past few years less sex and more condoms use has meant lower rates of teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease. Abstinence is not a crime, as most teenagers and their peers seem to think. The actual crime among teens is not being able to fit in. Most teens have sex because of their peers being sexually active. The percentage of sexually active males declined from 57.4 percent to 48.8 percent, essentially erasing the gender gap. In high school students alone the rate for being sexually active went from being 66.7 percent to 60.9 percent in the years of 1991-1997. Abstinence is very important, but the peers of teenagers are just as important. " The Nurture Assumption " says that peer groups matter a lot more than parents influencing how kids turn out, because you can pass your genes, but not your values. CFOC’s National Survey of Family Growth stated that teens are having less sex. CFOC also stated that more teenagers surveyed that their closest friends were involved in some sort of sex education class, and they were not sexually active. Abstaining...