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l^hen you think of the word
pure many things may come to
mtnS. One of the most iconic
Christian figures who repre
sents purity in the bible Virgin
Mary. But, how many people
really abide to abstinence until
marriage?
For some people college is the
ultimate freedom or the time
to be successful and strive for
their life long goals, and most
of all "the experience".
"You make a lot of decisions
in life, most of them you think
you can keep until you've been
exposed to what seems to be
the forbidden fruit," said Kim
McIntyre, a Fayetteville State
University student. "The world
that we live in is sin."
This is why the purity pledge
is an interesting phenomenon.
The purity pledge, also known
as the virginity pledge or vow
of abstinence, is a personal
pledge to not indulge in the
lustful life nor taint or corrupt
their values. Those who take
the purity pledge see life from a
biblical perspective.
"Food for the stomach and the
stomach for food"-but God will
destroy them both. The body IS
not meant for sexual immoral-
itv but for the Lord, and the
Lord for the body," according to
Corinthians 6:13.
"My decision of purity was
based off of religious and per
sonal reasons," said Cheyenne
McDonald a student at Camp
bell University. "I noticed in
high school how sex was "the
thing" to do, but I never really
felt up to it and I didn't force
myself or allow anyone else to
[pressure me]."
There a many different forms of
purity pledges people take, the
Purity Vow, the Purity Pledge,
the Purity Promise and the Dat
ing Contract. All of which start
will a portion of the bible verse
from Psalm 25:21 "Because I'm
worth waiting for."
The Purity Vow begins by say
ing "I have acknowledged that
God has made me in His image,
and desires for me to stay pure
until I wed the person He has
chosen for me".
"My reasons are deeper than
just one," McDonald said. "I'm
not ready to have sex, there
fore I'm not going to force
myself to just for a guy. True
love does wait! Also, people fail
to realize that when they have
sex, it's more than just sex. You
are becoming one with that
person. That's why it's impor
tant to wait until marriage."
The Purity Promise starts with
the same "I acknowledge"
phrase then adds, "God has
made me in His image, precious
in His sight, and has made my
body to be His temple. I believe
that 3od has saved me from
my sin, and it is my desire to
please him by living a life of
purity."
When people commit to the
Dating Contract it states that,
"I acknowledge that my par
ents and I have agreed on a
code of dating conduct and
that I will behave in accordance
to those guidelines while dating
and attending social activities.
I also understand that I am
responsible for my own actions
and accountable to myself and
my parents for all that I do."
Lastly there is the Purity Pledge
which says, "My parents have
defined the integrity from
which I chose to live my life
and I pledge this day to honor
their beliefs and work for the
goals set for my life".
The National Campaign to Pre
vent Teen and Unwanted Preg
nancy surveyed young Christian
adults and concluded that 80
percent of them are having sex
outside of marriage, even those
who did make a vow to wait.
So where does the true mean
ing of love lie?
"The way I feel towards a virgin
girl I respect them more for
their beliefs and I believe that
I would be more focused on
us, (like me and her) in the
relationship instead of lust
ing over each other and being
together for the wrong reasons
so the relationship would last
longer and be more pure/' said
Fayetteville Technical Commu
nity College.
Although there is the percep
tion that true love can wait, it
doesn't always wait for long.
There can be many conflicts
found with vowing to take a life
of purity.
For instance what is a person
to do when a couples values
begin to cause conflict in their
relationship? Some may go into
a relationship with the same
idea of what they plan to get
out of it, then slowly lose inter
est and need physical ties to
their significant other instead of
just an emotional connection.
"I have had sex [before] and
wouldn't be able to last," Carroll
said. "I also believe when hav
ing sex it brings the two people
closer physically and mentally."
The dilemma of being pure
consists of religious values ver
sus personal morals and choic
es. The bible counts premarital
sex as an unforeseen act of
unfaithfulness to God. However,
what about the people who
have sex before marriage and
then wed? Furthermore, what
about the people who wait and
enter into a binding marriage to
find out the person they chose
to lay with for the rest of their
life is not the one for them?