Let's Have More Teen Pregnancy...

[Christos Anesti]

Outside of people who specifically set themselves aside for virginity in some sort of consecrated life like becoming a monastic I doubt the percentage of people who remained virgins into their 30's was incredibly high even "back in the day". People who were going to get married typically did it young. They usually had the help of their parents trying to arrange a good marriage too.

 

[Dorothea]

I think that too often in this society, sex is treated as something inevitable. Everyone has the capacity to bring their passions into submission. It may take time and a great deal of work, but it is worth it.

I don't disagree with you, but you are saying essentially the same thing we are, except we are talking about marriage, and you are talking about celebacy. And in this society, neither celebacy, nor marriage is looked upon as the best for people in their 20s. What's looked at in people's 20s in this culture and society is "hooking up," "dating," "playing the field," "living together." Don't settle down with just one when there are so many other fish in the sea. That's the general picture we get through our society via tv, movies, etc.

So, promoting celebacy is probably even harder than promoting marriage at an early age. These are just my feelings on it. I don't envy the dating scene, and I don't look forward to my boys dating when they get older, as I'm sure it won't be any easier by the time they're old enough...probably harder the way this world is going (and is expected to go).

 

[Gwendolyn]

Thanks, Dorothea. That makes more sense to me now.

 

[Dorothea]

Thanks, Dorothea. That makes more sense to me now.

Thanks. And you're welcome.

 

[rusmeister]

I was under the impression that that did not apply to people who were too lazy to cultivate virtue. Yes, it is true that virtue is not encouraged or expected in today's society, but I don't think marrying younger in this society would be smart, either - precisely for reasons already discussed in the thread. If we believe people could be groomed and raised to marry young, then it would also follow that people could be raised to practise chastity as well.

I think that too often in this society, sex is treated as something inevitable. Everyone has the capacity to bring their passions into submission. It may take time and a great deal of work, but it is worth it.

Your point, that the sex desire can be controlled and it is not a thing of "fornicate or die!", is quite true.

I would add to what I had previously said by saying that marrying young without a culture that normalizes it, or more importantly, a philosophy (faith) that enables it to really work, marrying young for the sake of marrying young is useless, so I'll agree with you there. But people raised/trained in an Orthodox culture, who have a clear idea of what marriage is, properly understood, as even our Protestant ancestors understood it, really can get married early.