Some Good Reasons to SAVE Sex For Marriage

There are a lot of good reasons to save sex until you are married. One of them is spiritual (your relationship with the Lord). Another reason is mental and emotional (preserving virginity of mind and feelings until you present your body as a gift to the person you marry). For these reasons see the links at the end of this page.

But another important reason to save sex for marriage is health. Here is a list of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) that you can become infected with by having sex outside of marriage. The danger is very real. Our church deals with people on a regular basis who are devastated by contracting these diseases. Some are without cure and will affect you for the rest of your life.

CHLAMYDIA

• MOST COMMON STD. 3 MILLION NEW CASES A YEAR IN U.S.A.
• MOST VICTIMS DO NOT KNOW THEY HAVE CHLAMYDIA. IF YOU HAVE HAD SEX, YOU MAY NEED TO BE TESTED, EVEN IF YOU FEEL HEALTHY.
• 25% OF MALES DO NOT SHOW SYMPTOMS. 70% OF FEMALES NO NOT SHOW SYMPTOMS
• COMMUNICABLE WITHOUT SYMPTOMS
• SCAR TISSUE CAN BLOCK SPERM DUCTS IN MALES & BLOCK FALLOPIAN TUBES IN FEMALES
• IN WOMEN CAN CAUSE PELVIC INFLAMMATORY DISEASE AND INFERTILITY
• EASILY TREATED WITH ANTIBIOTICS, BUT DOES NOT REPAIR THE DAMAGE

HERPES

• 1 MILLION NEW CASES A YEAR IN U.S.A.
• THE INFECTION IS TRANSMITTED DURING SEXUAL INTERCOURSE OR BY OTHER INTIMATE CONTACT WITH GENITALS, MOUTH OR RECTAL AREA. HENCE, A CONDOM DOES NOT GUARANTEE PROTECTION AGAINST HERPES  (see below)
• VIRUS REMAINS IN YOUR BODY FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE
• TINGLING, ITCHING, AND PAIN IN THE GENITAL AREA, FOLLOWED BY ERUPTION OF SMALL CLEAR BLISTERS, WET ULCERS THAT ARE TERRIBLY PAINFUL TO THE TOUCH
• A WOMAN WITH HERPES CAN PASS THE DISEASE TO HER BABY
• SOME PEOPLE INFECTED WITH HERPES WILL HAVE NO SYMPTOMS AT ALL
• THERE IS NO CURE FOR HERPES
• HERPES IS VERY CONTAGIOUS, ESPECIALLY WHEN SORES ARE PRESENT. BUT IT CAN BE CONTAGIOUS WHEN THERE ARE NO OBVIOUS SORES. AFTER THEIR FIRST OUTBREAK OF HERPES, SOME PEOPLE SHED ACTIVE VIRUS PARTICLES EVEN THOUGH THEY DON'T HAVE ANY SYMPTOMS THEMSELVES. HENCE, HERPES CAN BE SPREAD TO OTHER PARTS OF THE BODY OR TO OTHERS BY SKIN-TO-SKIN CONTACT

GENITAL WARTS

• 1 MILLION NEW CASES A YEAR IN U.S.A.
• SKIN-TO-SKIN CONTACT
• COMMUNICABLE EVEN IF NO WARTS SEEN
• RARELY, GENITAL WARTS CAN DEVELOP IN THE MOUTH OR THROAT OF A PERSON WHO HAS HAD ORAL SEXUAL CONTACT WITH AN INFECTED PERSON
• MAY HAVE THE DISEASE AND NOT HAVE SIGNS OR SYMPTOMS
• NO TREATMENT CAN KILL THE VIRUS. WARTS MAY LEAVE BUT THE VIRUS REMAINS, ALWAYS INFECTIOUS
• MAY LEAD TO CANCER OF THE CERVIX (MOST COMMON CAUSE OF ABNORMAL PAP SMEARS), VULVAR CANCER, ANAL CANCER, AND CANCER OF THE PENIS
• LIFETIME DISEASE
• VERY CONTAGIOUS. THE ONLY WAY TO PREVENT INFECTION IS TO AVOID DIRECT CONTACT WITH THE VIRUS, WHICH IS TRANSMITTED BY SKIN-TO-SKIN CONTACT. A CONDOM DOES NOT PROVIDE GUARANTEED PROTECTION (see below)

CRABS

• PUBLIC LICE OR "CRABS" ARE VERY TINY INSECTS THAT INFEST THE PUBIC HAIR AND SURVIVE BY FEEDING ON BLOOD
• PARASITES ARE MOST OFTEN SPREAD BY SEXUAL CONTACT, BUT THEY CAN ALSO BE CAUGHT THROUGH CONTACT WITH INFESTED BEDDING, CLOTHING, LINEN, OR SKIN-TO-SKIN-TO-SKIN CONTACT
• CAN LIVE FOR 24 HOURS ON A SURFACE
• PRIMARY SYMPTOM IS ITCHING IN THE PUBIC AREA. TOUCHING OR SCRATCHING MAY SPREAD THE LICE TO OTHER PARTS OF THE BODY
• CONDOMS PROVIDE NO PROTECTION AGAINST CRABS (see below)
• TREATABLE BY KILLING THE LICE WITH LOTIONS AND SHAMPOOS. ALL FAMILY MEMBERS AND ANYONE ELSE COMING IN CONTACT WITH THE PERSON SHOULD BE TREATED AS WELL

CYTOMEGALOVIRUS (CMV)

• CMV CAN CAUSE DISEASE IN UNBORN BABIES
• IF INFECTED DURING PREGNANCY, 1/3 OF THESE WOMEN WILL PASS THE DISEASE ON TO THEIR UNBORN CHILD
• DUE TO CMV APPROXIMATELY 1 IN 750 CHILDREN IS BORN WITH OR DEVELOPS PERMANENT DISABILITIES
• CMV IS AS COMMON A CAUSE OF SERIOUS DISABILITY AS DOWN SYNDROME OR FETAL ALCOHOL SYNDROME
• TRANSMISSION OCCURS THROUGH CLOSE CONTACT WITH BODY FLUIDS (SEMEN, VAGINAL FLUID, URINE, SALIVA, BREAST MILK, TEARS). HENCE, CONDOMS ARE NO GUARANTEE AGAINST SPREADING CMV (see below). CHANCE OF GETTING FROM CASUAL CONTACT IS SMALL
• MOST INFECTIONS ARE "SILENT," MEANING THEY CAUSE NO OUTWARD SIGNS OR SYMPTOMS IN AN INFECTED PERSON
• INFECTION IS LIFETIME. NO CURE

GONORRHEA

• AFFECTS UP TO 2 MILLION PEOPLE IN U.S.A. EVERY YEAR
• AFFECTS THE MUCOUS MEMBRANE OF THE GENITAL TRACT, THE RECTUM OR THE EYES
• CAN CREATE A DISCHARGE OF PUS. WIPING CAN SPREAD IT TO THE URETHRA, RECTUM, OR EYES
• EJACULATION NOT NECESSARY FOR TRANSMISSION
• 80% HAVE NO SIGN OR OUTWARD SYMPTOMS
• SCAR TISSUE CAN BLOCK SPERM DUCTS IN MALES & BLOCK FALLOPIAN TUBES IN FEMALES LEADING TO INFERTILITY
• GONORRHEA IS EASILY CURED. BUT UNTREATED CASES CAN LEAD TO SERIOUS HEALTH PROBLEMS. IT CAN REACH THE BRAIN OR HEART AND BE FATAL
• A CONDOM IS NOT ALWAYS A PREVENTATIVE (see below)

HEPATITIS B

• PRESENT IN BLOOD, SALIVA, SWEAT, TEARS, VAGINAL SECRETION, SEMEN
• HEPATITIS B IS 100 TIMES MORE INFECTIOUS THAN AIDS
• THE MAIN CAUSE OF LIVER CANCER
• may feel tired, achy and have NO APPETITE. MAY BE NAUSEATED, HAVE A MILD FEVER, EXPERIENCE VOMITING AND ABDOMINAL PAIN. MAY CAUSE JAUNDICE
• VACCINATION AVAILABLE TO PREVENT HEPATITIS B, BUT NO CURE ONCE INFECTED
• CAN LIVE OUTSIDE THE BODY FOR MONTHS (ON SURFACES)
• EVEN WHEN THE PERSON DOESN'T NOTICE ANY SYMPTOMS, THEY CAN TRANSMIT THE DISEASE TO OTHERS
• CONDOM DOES NOT PROVIDE PROTECTION (see below)

CHANCROID

• TRANSMITTED THROUGH SKIN CONTACT (EJACULATION NOT NECESSARY)
• NO SIGNS OR SYMPTOMS, IF ON CERVIX
• CAUSES PAINFUL SORES
• CONDOM DOES NOT PROVIDE PROTECTION (see below)

AIDS (HIV)

• BETWEEN 40,000 AND 50,000 PEOPLE IN U.S.A. BECOME INFECTED WITH HIV EVERY YEAR. HALF OF THEM UNDER AGE 25.
• HIV IS PASSED THROUGH BLOOD AND BODILY FLUIDS. MAINLY SEMEN, BLOOD AND VAGINAL FLUIDS
• SMALL AMOUNT FOUND IN SALIVA. CAN ENTER THE BODY THROUGH A SORE.
• STUDIES SHOW THAT 26% OF SEXUALLY ACTIVE TEENS THINK IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO GET HIV THROUGH ORAL SEX. THE TRUTH: IT IS POSSIBLE. (Source: Center for Disease Control)
• RISK WITH TATTOOS, BODY PIERCING, AND SHARING NEEDLES
• 1 IN 4 HIV INFECTED MOTHERS WILL PASS THE DISEASE ON TO THEIR BABIES
• CONDOMS DO NOT PROVIDE 100% PROTECTION (see below)
• NO CURE, LIFETIME DISEASE
• ONCE INFECTED YOU WILL EVENTUALLY DEVELOP AIDS. DRUGS CAN SLOW THE PROCESS OF THE DISEASE, BUT EVENTUALLY THE IMMUNE SYSTEM BREAKS DOWN AND THE PERSON BECOMES VULNERABLE TO DISEASES THAT HEALTHY PEOPLE RARELY DIE FROM. EVEN THE FLU CAN KILL A PERSON WITH AIDS

SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASES AND CONDOMS

• SOME STDs CAN BE TRANSMITTED WITHOUT INTERCOURSE OR EJACULATION (see above). SOME STDs ARE TRANSMITTED BY MERE SKIN-TO-SKIN CONTACT, CUTS, SORES, BLOOD, SALIVA, OR OTHER BODILY FLUIDS. CONDOMS DO NOT PROVIDE PROJECTION AGAINST THESE DISEASES.
• CONDOMS FAIL. THEREFORE, CONDOMS DO NOT PROVIDE 100% PROTECTION AGAINST ANY STD.
• WHAT IS CONDOM FAILURE? APPROXIMATELY 1 IN 165 CONDOMS TEAR DURING VAGINAL INTERCOURSE (Stanford University). THEY CAN ALSO SLIP. EITHER TYPE OF FAILURE CAN RESULT IN LEAKAGE OF BODILY FLUIDS. IF ONE PERSON HAS AN STD, THEN CONTACT WITH BODILY FLUIDS MAY TRANSMIT THE DISEASE
• WHAT IS THE RISK? TAKE THE EXAMPLE OF CONDOMS AND PREGNANCY. FAILURE RATES OF CONDOMS ARE 3%-36% FOR PREGNANCY. THIS MEANS OF 100 USERS WHO USE A CONDOM "PERFECTLY" (CORRECTLY AND CONSISTENTLY), THE LOWEST ESTIMATED FAILURE RATE WOULD STILL BE 3 PREGNANCIES IN ONE YEAR. WITH TEENAGERS, THE CONDOM FAILURE RATE IS AS HIGH AS 36%. IN TYPICAL USERS THE ESTIMATED FAILURE RATE IS 14 PREGNANCIES OUT OF 100 USERS IN ONE YEAR (Sources: Stanford University, Alan Guttmacher Institute, Center for Disease Control).
• THE RISK OF CONTRACTING AN STD, EVEN WHEN YOU USE A CONDOM, VARIES DEPENDING ON THE STD. BUT EVEN HIV, WHICH IS NOT AS HIGHLY CONTAGIOUS AS OTHER STDs CAN BE SPREAD TO ANOTHER SEXUAL PARTNER. 2% OF WOMEN WHO HAD PARTNERS WITH AIDS AND USED CONDOMS "PERFECTLY" STILL CONTRACTED THE DISEASE (http://www.thebody.com/Forums/AIDS/SafeSex/Archive/PreventionSexual/Q8978.html)
• HENCE, EVEN "PERFECT" USE (THAT IS, CORRECT AND CONSISTENT USE) OF CONDOMS DOES NOT ELIMINATE THE RISK OF RECEIVING AN STD

For the latest statistics check out "Sexually Transmitted Diseases" or "STDs" at the Center for Disease Control. As of this writing 1 out of every 5 persons in the United States has an incurable STD!!! The Center for Disease Control estimates that 19 million new infections occur each year, almost half of them among young people ages 15 to 24.

Other Links:

• Loving Limits

• What's wrong with sex before marriage?

• Premarital Sex and the Bible

• Where in the Bible does it spell out that premarital sex is sin?

• What does "waiting" mean?

• I don't have anyone I can talk to about sexual addiction

• Being gay is not wrong!

• Resources for Sexual Education

• What is Repentance and How Do I Do It?

Last update: 09/09/2006

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