Regional Synod of Canada - Reformed Church in America

Pioneer Christian Monthly

Date - Jan/73

Contributor - William Lensink

Title - Sex Education in the Church

Topic - Sex Is the church involved in the most intimate of human relations? Around the turn of the century when this continent was swept with a strong wind of religious revival the emphasis was on Christian living. Preachers warned against the pleasures of the flesh. Dancing, smoking and drinking were sinful. Love was respectable but sex belonged to the animal world and girls were taught that sex was an unpleasant necessity for the purpose of having children. Boys should not have nasty thoughts and always be in complete control of their emotions. Marriage and sex were forcefully postponed and forbidden until approved by relatives and sanctioned by the church. Offenders were made to confess before consistory and disciplined in the presence of the congregation. Was the church right in presenting such a strong and extremely puritan standard?

Less' than a century later the church today faces a situation in the other extreme. The validity of marriage is being questioned, the rules of monogamy disregarded, premarital relations accepted and homosexuality defended. Abortion is being practised as one of the means of birth control, venereal diseases have risen to alarming proportions.

Many different thoughts are applied to find the causes and contributing factors of these changed conditions. Statistics are issued and recommendations given to cope with the results of the changes. Once the underlying reasons for the changed attitudes and behaviours are fully explained and understood the new situations are generally accepted. Accepted even by church spokesmen, as the recent statement by the Christian Action Commission in Michigan indicated.

Must the church stand by and join the observers of the new morality of sex as satisfying basic human needs and meaningful interpersonal relations? Does the church have any message for its young people growing up in this type of environment?

It appears so often that the gospel is restricted to the spiritual, relating only to the soul, the mind and the emotions. Man's physical relationship to His Creator and Redeemer is equally important, since it simply is not possible to separate the two. The creeds specifically include the resurrection of the body.

BIBLICAL AUTHORITY

The proclamation of the gospel does include the instruction of God's unchangeable standards of morality. The Bible has much to say about God's institution of sex, His divine purpose for it, the many laws that govern marital relationships and the punishments for the misuse of sex. The clearest statement is found in I Cor. 6 : 18-20: "Shun immorality. Every other sin which a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you which you have from God? You are not your own, you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body!"

The Church has a prophetic ministry that rings with the same Divine authority as when Nathan was sent to King David to tell him what God thought of his actions, to pass sentence and to hand out Divine judgment.

SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITIES

Local and provincial governments have taken over many of the responsibilities for the maintenance of family life; Social workers provide counselling services, health and welfare departments help families through difficult times and family courts settle differences in family relations.

Society however continues to recognize the church for the institution of marriages and provincial governments specifically license ordained ministers to perform marriage ceremonies. This position gives the church a definite responsibility to prepare young people for marriage.

This includes the development of true values for happiness and a sense of responsibilities to the society in which they grow up and must find a useful place. Only the church has a unique formula for this in its Christian doctrines which must be taught to children at a time when they have open minds.

PUBLIC SCHOOL SOLUTION

Is it any wonder that other avenues of education took over to fill the need for sex education. School boards assembled the so-called family life programs and now from kindergarten to high school children are thoroughly learning the facts of life and the biological functions of the human body. In the higher grades the studies include such items as family planning, abortions, common law living and homosexuality. The discussions in mixed classes are open so that students can share their views with the opposite sex. These courses are doing much to help children understand their own bodies and their sex drives and possibly help to reduce the number of illegitimate pregnancies. Unbiased evaluations of these courses may not be available for some time, but some questions arise even now. In establishing a familiarity with the reproductive process of the human race what happens to the mystery and the miracle of God's involvement in the procreation of human life through immortal souls?

The promise of Divine guidance and protection in God's covenant to men in all generations adds the third dimension to human relations and raises human sexuality to a level far beyond the . mal world. "Be ye holy for I am holy"

The functions and the facts of sex may be taught in the public schools, but the origin and the purpose of human life remain a definite part of the church curriculum.

Please click the "Back" button of your browser to return to previous page.