Good News and Bad News

The morals of this nation and most of the world are in the sewer. Unless Christians learn to gird themselves and take the ridicule of the arrogant news and entertainment media, and speak boldly, disaster awaits. The host of children being born outside of marriage and without both parents, is judged to be a bomb waiting to explode. But in that a bomb signifies instantaneous disaster, another figure may be more apt. The situation is probably more like a cancer that will methodically eat away at the vitals of civilization until it dies away in agony.

If though, Christians maintain the righteousness of their confession, there are glimmers of hope. There are opportunities available if we have enough faith to meet the challenge. For instance, there are some encouraging statistics on teen sex. Sexual activity in some areas seems to be declining after decades of rising. For instance, in 1970 the number of girls aged 15-19 who had experienced a sexual relation was 29%. But by 1988 the number rose to 53%. The climb continued until in 1990 when it reached 55%. But by 1995 that dropped back to 50%; disastrous still, but a reversal nonetheless. The frequency of sexual activity may also be declining, as indicated by figures relating to boys. In 1988 the number of boys who had sexual relations within the previous three months was 43%. In 1995 that number had dropped to 38%.

The bad news is that teens who have sexual relations, do so at an earlier age. From 1988 to 1995 the number of teen girls having such experiences before they were 15, rose from 11 to 19%. Much of that increase is so compelled that the girls later judge the experience "unwanted." This means boys are not learning respect for girls. It means, as feminism has increased, respect for girls has decreased. This means, besides changing the thinking of boys, girls are going to have to be instilled with character strong enough to withstand peer pressure and meaningfully say no, mean it, and unhesitatingly and unmistakably show it in their actions.

Another hopeful statistic is that the teen age birth rate has fallen by 12% since 1991. Some suppose this is due to more abortion and use of contraception. That is unclear. But there seems to be something more fundamental at work. In 1987 a poll of college freshmen asked if "sex is okay if people like each other." 52% said yes. By 1996 only 42% thought so. This indicates a shift in moral values.

Now, for the necessity of teaching not only what the Bible says about sex outside marriage, but also what it teaches about the family, this fact should alert us. In families with two biological parents, teen sex at age 15 occurs only half as often as in one parent families. While this indicates there are some one parent families where morals are instilled, it does show the increased difficulty of accomplishing that. We must stop making selfish excuses, and where possible, keep marriages together and heal the sick ones.

These statistics came from an article by Robert Samuelson in the Washington Post ( 7-1-98 ). He was criticizing an article in TIME magazine which made it sound that among teens, "everyone is doing it" (sex). Samuelson learned that the careless editor of the TIME article did not know recent surveys are showing less teen sex. Do some reporters and editors have an agenda? -- Dale Smelser