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Originally Posted by Infinite_Loser
As a "Former" evangelical, you shouldn't need to ask this question as I'm quite sure you know why pre-marital sex is such a big deal for many Christians. It's one of the most spoken about topics in the Bible. According to the Bible, sex is ordained for marriage-- No and's, if's or but's about it. It's not an obsession with what other people are doing so much as it's people wanting to uphold a moral code of conduct.
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Oh, I do know why it's such a big deal for American Protestant Evangelical Christians, yes. Now, for the rest of the world, I am really not sure if it has the same preoccupation. It is NOT one of the "most spoken about topics in the Bible," though yes, it is clear that sex is ordained for marriage (unless, of course, one's wife is sterile and then you'll have sex with her maid in order to reproduce, like many of the men in the Old Testament did... funny that no one mentions that, eh?).
As for "wanting to uphold a moral code of conduct," no. If that were true, then these Christians would be just fine upholding their own code of conduct, not enforcing it on other people. That goes beyond morals to being morally superior and bordering on arrogance. In my opinion. Which is why I am a
former evangelical, frankly.
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After all, Christians (Much like the followers of any other religion) are commanded to go out and spread the Word.
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... sorry? What does this have to do with the discussion about premarital sex?
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And, for the record, there are a fair number of Christian organizations which provide food and clothes to third world countries, sponsor homeless shelters, build schools and other places of learning as well as provide health care services to those in need.
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Fair enough, but there are very few Christian organizations who provide all of the above without some kind of agenda to, as you said, spread the Word. Which is their prerogative, of course, but there are still strings attached. Also, my point is that your average American Protestant Evangelical Christian is not out in the inner-city of America, or the poorest areas of other countries, concerning themselves with giving away their hard-earned wealth in a personal manner (not simply sending off checks to charities and missionaries) and working to equalize access to health care and education in their own local communities. No, I simply never saw that with the churches I attended. Christians love to have money in this country, and that bothers me deeply. But that's another topic.
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Edit: Could someone tell me how they get their statistics? I've always wondered where some of these numbers come from...
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This I don't know, but I'd have to say it's pretty common sense, overall. Sure, most of my evangelical friends waited till marriage to have sex... but that's a very small sample of the world, and I'm well aware of the bias inherent in that observation.