World News and Trends: U.K. teenagers told they have "right" to a good sex life
U.K. health services issue statements encouraging sex among young teens.
According to the British Daily Mail, the United Kingdom's National Health Service (NHS) "is telling school pupils [mainly teens] they have a 'right' to an enjoyable sex life and that it is good for their health. A Health Service leaflet says experts concentrate too much on the need for safe sex and loving relationships, and not enough on the pleasure it can bring. But family campaigners last night [July 11] condemned the guidance, saying it encouraged underage sex and could increase rates of sexually-transmitted diseases" (Daniel Martin, "Pupils Told They Have a 'Right' to a Good Sex Life," July 12, 2009).
"Steve Slack, director of the Centre for HIV and Sexual Health at NHS Sheffield, ... added that as long as teenagers are fully informed about sex and making decisions free of peer pressure as part of a caring relationship, they have as much right as an adult to a good sex life" (ibid., emphasis added throughout). The tragic results of this type of teaching are manifestly clear: "About 40,000 teenagers become pregnant every year in the UK—the highest level in western Europe. More than half end in abortion" (ibid.).
We should all consider the advice of the late American historians Will and Ariel Durant, which applies both to young people and the adults influencing them. "No one man [or woman], however brilliant or well-informed, can come in one lifetime to such fullness of understanding as to safely judge and dismiss the customs or institutions of his society, for these are the wisdom of generations after centuries of experiment in the laboratory of history.
"A youth boiling with hormones will wonder why he should not give full freedom to his sexual desires; and if he is unchecked by customs, morals, laws, he may ruin his life [or hers] before he matures sufficiently to understand that sex is a river of fire that must be banked and cooled by a hundred restraints if it is not to consume in chaos both the individual and the group" (The Lessons of History, 1968, pp. 35-36).
If you would like help in educating teenagers to the real dangers of premarital and extramarital sex, introduce them to a sound biblical approach with our free booklet Marriage and Family: The Missing Dimension. (Source: Daily Mail [London].)
An Article from:
Good News Magazine: September - October 2009
Course Content
Jerold Aust
Jerold Aust has served in the ministry for 52 years, as a public speaker for 58 years, a published writer for 38 years, and is employed by UCG’s Media and Communications Services. He is a Senior Writer, interviewer, and editor for Beyond Today Magazine and has taught Speech Communication for UCG’s ministerial online program and the Book of Revelation for ABC.
Jerold holds a BA in theology from Ambassador College, Pasadena (1968), an MA in Communication from California State University, Fullerton (1995), a distance-learning Ph.D (2006), and a Famous Writers School diploma in non-fiction writing (1973). Additionally, he studied post-grad communication at University of Southern California (1995), radio, TV, voice-overs, and Public Relations at Fullerton College (1995-1996), and graduate communication at Wichita State University (1978). Jerold has taught communication at the University of South Alabama (7 years) and ABC (17 years). His published works include, Ronald Reagan’s Rhetoric: Metaphor as Persuasion and EZSpeakers: Public Speaking Made Easy in 7 Steps. Jerold's overarching goal is to share with humankind its incredible destiny!
John Ross Schroeder
John died on March 8, 2014, in Oxford, England, four days after suffering cardiac arrest while returning home from a press event in London. John was 77 and still going strong.
Some of John's work for The Good News appeared under his byline, but much didn't. He wrote more than a thousand articles over the years, but also wrote the Questions and Answers section of the magazine, compiled our Letters From Our Readers, and wrote many of the items in the Current Events and Trends section. He also contributed greatly to a number of our study guides and Bible Study Course lessons. His writing has touched the lives of literally millions of people over the years.
John traveled widely over the years as an accredited journalist, especially in Europe. His knowledge of European and Middle East history added a great deal to his articles on history and Bible prophecy.
In his later years he also pastored congregations in Northern Ireland and East Sussex, and that experience added another dimension to his writing. He and his wife Jan were an effective team in our British Isles office near their home.
John was a humble servant who dedicated his life to sharing the gospel—the good news—of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God to all the world, and his work was known to readers in nearly every country of the world.
