Pre-Marital Sex

Firstly, it is through the Word of God that it is revealed that Sex brings about an incredible bond between two people. Paul reminds the Ephesians Church of Gods written word in relation to marriage, this is quoted through Genesis 2:24, “For this cause man shall leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife and they two shall be one flesh” Ephesians 5:31. The act of sexual intercourse has such a strong bonding effect that God describes engaging in it as bringing about such a union of man and woman as for them to become one flesh or one body. It must also be said, that sex outside marriage is referred to in the Bible and it is not seen as aesthetically as the quotation above in reference to sex between man and woman. A straight forward scripture in relation to sex outside marriage is- “Nevertheless, because of sexual immorality, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband” 1Cor 7:2

This fierce topical debate on premarital sex has been discussed through two articles to which I will be examining at length the strength and weaknesses of both pieces. Although the articles share a common theme, they produce a different tone to the reader, and it is through this tone that I felt they grasped or failed to grasp my attention. Julie A. Collins’ article “LoveвЂ"And Do What You Will” was without a shadow of a doubt the easier of the two to comprehend as in comparison to the article by Janet Smith. Collins’ writing was fresher and more up-to-date. It was her contemporary construction of this article that allowed me to evaluate her viewpoint with the minimum of ease.

The reason why I liked this article is due to the fact that Julie Collins is a religion teacher for adolescent boys and so can therefore give a viewpoint from both sides, albeit a very sheltered from the side of the boys. She has used this adolescent link-up for numerous other Catholic articles such as “Virginity, lost and found” and “Adolescent male Spirituality”. It is her slight association with the adolescent males' that gives her the ability to construct her article in a language that the readers can relate to.

The fact that she used phrases and words that the readers can relate to would definitely be her greatest strength in the article. It is her media reference and subtle use of lingo which removed the sense of boredom while reading. At certain times I found myself sniggering but that was purely for the reason of some of the American phrases that she uses. This piece would definitely refer to a ten year cycle from the beginning of the teenage years to, at least, early twenties. Reference at the worst of times still gives students the ability to understand what they are talking about. But it is the reference to “Friends” and “Sex in the City” which would allow students to realise through the power of television that it is not the Catholic way to have pre-marital sex. Collins definitely delves into the mind of an adolescent who maybe is at the stage of questioning “what should I do?”. It is a question like that which people are afraid to ask out loud. So it is definitely an inherent strength of Collins to relate to those people who need answers, but ever so subtly. Peer pressure is always present in schools and as the older they get the peer pressure is still apparent it’s just the act they are coaxed into doing this time changes. Sex, as well as alcohol can be seen as the major act that adolescents think will gain them acceptance. Yet Collins here seems to explain that social acceptance will come with consequence, whether it is a STI or a child. The beauty of this article is that Collins almost refers to all people of the social ladder. So from this, whoever is reading this there will be some reference to who they are, what they could be or even what they want to be! Even the paragraph structure of Collins article was to a tee. Her introduction was perfect as she set the theme for her article in the fact that “human beings crave the most is to be competed, connected and comforted” and if you keep that at the back of your mind while reading throughout it seems quite apt. I feel the best article for adolescents to refer to, is not the media reference or the lingo, but the fifth paragraph where she invites the teenagers to ask themselves: “What do you want most in your life?” There is nothing that will push someone than by making them make a choice. This is even cemented with the last sentence of the paragraph “…you only get one life вЂ" you have to make choices”. The article itself could have been double the length if Collins decided to вЂ?waffle’ on for a bit but everything she brings up had significance and a bearing on our life choices, fine examples of this could be the three outcomes before marriage and even the flip-switch idea.

But like everything…..nothing is perfect! But in saying that, as an article it is a minuscule fault. I said in the previous paragraph how her article relates to almost everyone. The one person who should have been praised is the person whom the article was inextricably written about, and that is the virgin who will wait or had waited until their marriage day. I know it is mentioned through arranged marriages but praise should have been given to those who abstained and believed everything the Christian religion has taught them. By doing this Collins would have shown by example to adolescents that it can be done and it is not just an ideal the Catholic Church is trying to impose on you. But in relation to the amount of strengths from this article, I think Collins need not lose any sleep and that fault alone!

These two articles are effectively chalk and cheese, even though they are talking about the same subject. The informality of Julie Collins’ article is completely turned on its head here when reading Janet Smiths article “A Christian View of Sex: a Time for Apologetics, Not Apologies”. Through discussions with fellow students they seem to be completely disinterested in taking on board the views of Smith. I can, to a certain degree, see their point as it is not exactly geared for adolescent reading material. I did feel that her structure, although drawn out, was very competent. Collins’ article, although fresh, was much of a summary of what could have been discussed at length. This is what we get here and due to the size of the article in comparison to Collins’ article the strengths are going to be generalised and quite sparse. Her approach to NFP was very professional and although