From: kilroy@gboro.glassboro.edu (Dr Nancy's Sweetie)
Subject: Protection and Immorality (was "Safe Sex")
Organization: Glassboro State College
Date: Fri, 17 Apr 1992 18:41:57 GMT


Kerry Stephenson writes an article opposing having schools distribute condoms,
and makes several points:

1) Giving away condoms is an inducement to use them.

2) Lying about the failure rate of condoms is irresponsible.

3) As Christians, it is our obligation to promote moral behavior and to stand
   against immoral behavior, no matter what the cost.


On the first point, I don't know of any proof for this claim.  It may be true,
and it seems obvious to me, but that isn't proof.  Public policy should, as
much as possible, be based on some kind of statistically meaningful evidence,
not what "seems obvious".

On the second point, I have heard many different statistics about the failure
rate of condoms, from many different studies.  Without a careful and detailed
review of each & every one, it is a mistake to claim that study XXX is correct
and study YYY is wrong.  It is both fallacious and unkind to accuse people of
lying when you do not have conclusive evidence that they are wrong.

On the third point, I disagree.  There are people addicted to heroin who have
no choice but to continue taking the drug -- they are not able to control
their addiction.  Giving them clean needles may promote their habit, and it
may even be endorsing immoral behaviour.  But most addicts are people who just
made stupid mistakes, and claiming that they deserve to die for a stupid
mistake is inexcusable.  Unless you believe people can come to know Christ
after they're dead, it seems to me that keeping everyone alive to hear the
Gospel should be your highest priority.

I also disagree because I believe that public policy is not the place for
religious people to get their particular ideas on morality legislated; civil
power should be used only to maintain public order and safety.


M Stephenson wrote:

> Recognizing that people do immoral things does not release us from the
> obligation to oppose that behavior.  If that were the case, Christians would
> remove themselves from politics, and the United States would still have
> slavery, women would not have the right to vote, and drugs, prostitution,
> and murder would be legal across the board.

I believe your history is somewhat mistaken.  While some Christians opposed
slavery, many others used references from the New Testament to justify it.
The question of abolition was part of what split the Southern Baptist
Convention off from the American Baptist Convention (I say this with some
unhappiness, as I am a Southern Baptist -- you can probably guess which side
the SBC took on slavery).

I believe in the separation of church & state; I believe that the church
should NOT resort to the civil power to accomplish its purposes.  When you
make prostitution or homosexuality or drug use illegal, you are essentially
saying that you are going to use violence to make other people obey your moral
code.  That is how the police and courts and prisons work, after all; violent
coercion.

When Christians lay down with with the government to use violence as a way to
enforce the Bible, I think we have forgotten everything we should have learned
from the trial of Jesus.

Looking at it from the other side, as an American I believe we should defend
the Constitution, which specifically says that the government will not
infringe the free practice of religion.  Some people apparently want to take
this passage out, but IMHO that would `radially alter' the US and make it
something unrecognisably different.


Sorry for the emotionalism, but I'm a little touchy on this issue.  It was
only 400 years ago that Baptists were getting drawn and quartered, and only
300 years ago that Baptists in Virginia were arrested for the crime of
`Preaching Without a License'.  I do not know of a single instance when
Christians running government has worked out well, and I am wary of repeating
past errors.


Darren F Provine / kilroy@gboro.glassboro.edu
"NOBODY expects the Spanish Inquisition!" -- Cardinal Ximinez
Comments: Gated by NETNEWS@AUVM.AMERICAN.EDU