What the Bible says about Sexually Transmitted Diseases

Deuteronomy 6:6-9

A number of years ago, PBS Frontline produced a disturbing report on "The Lost Children of Rockdale County." It chronicled a story just outside of Atlanta, Georgia, in which high school and even junior high children—some as young as 13—were involved in a web of multiple sexual partners over the spring and summer of 1996.

By the time it was over, 17 young people tested positive for syphilis, while more than 200 others were exposed and treated. A registered nurse with the Rockdale County Public Health Department commented, "You don't expect to see a 14-year-old with 20, 30, 40, 50, or 100 partners. You expect that of someone who is more into the line of being a prostitute or something. And these girls were not homeless. They were not abused in any way. These were just normal, everyday, regular kids"—from middle- and upper-middle-class homes.

These were not poor kids. They had their own TVs, VCRs, cell phones, and many even had their own cars—including a number with BMWs. The report points out that these activities mostly took place in homes while the parents were at work or away on trips. Therein lies a major source of the problem: The parents were more involved in providing material possessions for their children than they were providing what really matters, a stable, secure home with nurturing and instruction. The teens had the gadgets—what they needed were families.

The PBS Frontline report repeatedly came back to the role of the parents in the lives of these teenagers, and the fact that many of the parents felt powerless against the culture. "What can you do about it? You know, you can't lock a kid in a closet, 13, 14, 15 years old," one parent said with resignation. Another lamented, "I think what it is is we've lost control over our children. You can't spank them now, or they'll turn you in to the police . . .." But underlying all of the identified "causes"—television, external groups, peer pressure—was the fact that the parents were more interested in their own lives than the lives of their children. The children were "lost" because the parents let them wander away.

Homosexuality is another perceived threat to American culture, and rightfully so: When perverse relationships and lifestyles are portrayed as normal and even to be sought after, the foundation of the society—the family—is in grave danger of disintegrating. However, can we honestly say that homosexuality is a more common threat to the average family than dysfunction and/or parental apathy? Would homosexuality even be a threat to the culture if the family unit were truly intact? Rising rates of homosexuality are better seen as a symptom of a damaged family than a cause.

In God's preparatory instructions to Israel before entering the Promised Land—and to us, before entering His Kingdom—He makes our parental responsibilities plain (Deuteronomy 6:6-9; see also Deuteronomy 11:19). Teaching at all times requires continual, active involvement, not passive observance. It demands that a higher priority be placed on instruction than on a higher salary or more possessions. It calls for the willing sacrifice of that most precious of all commodities: time. As adults, the pace of our lives may indeed be frenetic, but if our children are not properly instructed and cared for even in the midst of chaos, they, too, may become "lost."

The above stories do not represent all teenagers. While they may not be isolated incidences, they also are not the norm—so far. There are encouraging signs that a part of the culture is coming to its senses and is determining to provide security and nurturing to the next generation.

Homeschooling is increasing at a tremendous rate across this country. More women are recognizing that the cost of "having it all" in terms of careers and generous salaries is too high—that it does not reward with families and children but loneliness. Mothers with children under three are leaving the workplace.

But what is most needed is for the fathers to shake off the shackles of materialism, narcissism, and feminism and to provide for their families what is truly needed: leadership, security, attention, involvement, and instruction. We cannot afford any more "lost" children.

David C. Grabbe
Are We Losing Our Children?

Romans 1:24-27

What are the results of rejecting God?

1. Uncleanness, meaning moral impurity;

2. Longing or desiring, especially what is forbidden;

3. Disgracing each other by mutual consent, meaning unlawful and impure connections with one another. Verse 24 contemplates not just a perversion of sex—homosexuality—but any use of it outside of God's law, such as fornication.

Paul describes more of what rejecting God leads to:

For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due. (verses 26-27)

Should we be shocked at the explosion of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) in today's world? God tells those that reject Him that such diseases are fitting penalties for the wrong use of sex. Mankind has tried to "advance beyond consequences" in this area by advocating "safe-sex" through the use of contraceptives. However, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recently admitted that condoms do not prevent the transmission of most STDs. Mankind cannot outsmart God!

David C. Grabbe
What Evolution Really Means

Romans 2:14

Even before Isaac Newton wrote down his observations about gravity, people had a pretty good working knowledge of the principle. It was widely understood that when an apple fell from a tree, it would hit the earth. Children learned at an early age not to throw rocks straight up—what goes up, must come down. The average peasant did not need Newton's proofs to verify these things; he had enough experience on his own to vouch for this natural law. The effect was easily observable.

The law of gravity exists entirely apart from human legislation. Isaac Newton did not create it, but merely wrote it down. It is a fact of everyday life and cannot simply be ignored. It is always in operation. A man may choose to pretend it does not exist, but he does so at tremendous risk to himself and others.

Gravity is but one of the many natural laws—those phenomena, not of human origin or governance, that have been proven to always occur whenever certain conditions exist. These cause-and-effect principles govern much of our lives. We may not be aware of the specifics—or willfully choose to ignore them—but, like gravity, they operate continuously. These are not laws we can vote on. We either comply, or we suffer the consequences.

The rest of God's laws are no different. They are not of human origin, and thus are beyond human regulation. They are always in force. They were not created by Moses but were merely recorded by him. And, like gravity, a man may choose to pretend they do not exist, but he will still reap the consequences for transgressing them.

One of these very broad natural laws is stated as follows: "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life [through] Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23). We normally consider "death" just to mean "the cessation of life," yet that definition is too narrow for this verse, where death is contrasted with eternal life. Eternal life is more than just life without end; an endless life would be torment without relief unless it also had with it the proper quality. Eternal life is living the way God lives. It is knowing or experiencing God (John 17:3), which will always produce the best and the most. It is not necessarily synonymous with material success, but instead consists of things that money cannot buy: security of mind, peace among relationships, joy without regard to physical circumstance, etc.

Death, then, while it would include the cessation of life, also means not living the way God lives. It means having a quality of life that is not eternal, whether in duration or in excellence. We can see that sin produces death by three means: 1) Sin brings on the penalty of eternal death, which can only be atoned for by Christ's sacrifice; 2) sin will always diminish the excellence and quality of life, whether it is immediately recognized or not; and, 3) some sins hasten physical death.

A few examples demonstrate this powerfully:

• The article, "The Empty Cradle Will Rock: How abortion is costing the Democrats voters—literally" (Wall Street Journal), details the "Roe Effect." This postulates that since children tend to absorb the values, political views, and lifestyle of their parents, abortionists are actually damaging their cause through its very practice. They are destroying the individuals in the next generation who would be most likely to support abortion. Abortion not only results in the death of an innocent, but also in a greatly diminished quality of life as the mother copes with guilt, depression, and even an increased risk of breast cancer.

• As Pam Stenzel discusses in her sobering presentation "Sex Has a Price Tag," some of the most common sexually transmitted diseases may not be fatal but instead render the recipient unable to have children. Incidentally, a large number of these STDs can be contracted even when so-called "safe sex" is practiced. In this example also, the individuals in one generation who practice a sinful lifestyle have a decreased chance of producing another generation. Yet, even if neither pregnancy nor infection occurs, there is still an emotional price to pay. Sex outside of the bonds of marriage will always result in a diminished quality of life.

• Likewise, the homosexual lifestyle is aptly named the "culture of death." It is more concerned with self-gratification than with having a stable, secure family life as God intends. In addition, this lifestyle is essentially synonymous with AIDS and other debilitating diseases. From 1981 through 1999, there were 751,965 cumulative reported cases of AIDS in the U.S. At least 56 percent of the AIDS diagnoses occurred in homosexual or bisexual men. In other words, two percent of the population had at least 56 percent of those reported AIDS diagnoses (see "A Pharmacist's View on Gay Marriage"). As well, the average life expectancy for homosexuals is 20-30 years less than for heterosexuals, not only because of the high rate of disease, but also because of the extremely high rates of suicide, substance abuse, and "domestic violence."

Natural laws, whether they govern falling apples or human relationships, can be seen as harsh or restrictive, especially if one is on the wrong side of them (Romans 8:7). Or they can be seen as benevolent guides to help us live the way God Himself lives—both with excellence and longevity. The apostle Paul considered God's laws to be holy, just, and good (Romans 7:12) because they instruct us in the best way to live—the way that will not just produce length of days but also true fulfillment. We can either take God's Word for it, or we can observe the consequences of the choices of others. Or we can do what is natural for mankind and personally re-prove each of these laws the hard way.

Jesus Christ was once asked what should be done in order to have eternal life. His answer? "If you want to enter into life [eternal life—godly life], keep the commandments" (Matthew 19:16-17).

David C. Grabbe
Natural Law

1 Corinthians 6:9-10

The homosexual community, with ample help from the media, is trying to convince Middle America that deviant sexual behavior is normal. Mary Eberstadt ("The Family: Discovering the Obvious," First Things, February 2004, p. 10) summarizes evidence that proves the contrary to be true.

• Drug Abuse: The "propensity to addiction . . . is ubiquitously documented to be worse among lesbians and gays. Virtually every study one can find on the subject confirms it." A recent issue of the Journal of Gay and Lesbian Psychotherapy dedicated an entire issue to the topic.
• Alcoholism: The Gay Community News points out, "The statistics do point to the gay community, particularly gay men, as being most at risk of becoming alcoholics." A website which focuses on gay and lesbian health issues claims that "alcohol, drug, and tobacco use all occur at significantly higher rates in the GLBT community than in the general population" (glbthealth.org). Eberstadt points out that gay Alcoholics Anonymous chapters flourish in "many localities—an interesting detail, given the numerically small proportion represented by the gay population."
• Depression: Depressions and phobias of a variety of types appear disproportionately in the homosexual world. Eberstadt quotes the Archives of Sexual Behavior, which she points out is "no socially conservative rag": "The levels of depression and anxiety in our homosexual subjects, whether HIV positive or HIV negative, are substantially higher than those found in representative general population samples."
• Attempted Suicide: The findings of a highly-respected 1978 study by Alan Bell and Martin Weinberg contradict the authors' song of tolerance for homosexuals. They note that the incidence of attempted suicide by white homosexual males is no less than six times higher than that of their heterosexual counterparts. Newer evidence suggests that the attempted suicide rate of gay and lesbian teenagers is three times higher than that of their heterosexual peers.
• Educational Dropouts: Eberstadt points to evidence that "[n]early one-third of gay teens drop out of school annually, three times the national average."

Bottom line: Members of the homosexual community are not statistically normal. On a number of measures, they manifest behavioral problems in far greater numbers than the general (heterosexual) population.

Homosexuality is not normal, any more than it is free. Rather, it is costly to the individual, who, even in these days of "tolerance" and legal protections, is racked by the guilt, fear, and disease his sin exacts from him. In addition, it is costly to society at large, which must fund disease-control centers, psychotherapy facilities, detoxification programs—all these and more to fill the gap left by an individual who is psychologically, educationally, and socially "wasted," not performing to his potential.

Do not fall for the media's preachments. The homosexual "preference" is everything but normal. It is a highly self-destructive sin.

Charles Whitaker
How Normal Is Deviance?