|
| Christian news worldwide |
 Home |
 Archives |
 Subscriptions |
 Adverts |
 Find a church |
 About us |
 Contact us |
 Site Map |
 PrintableVersion What is going on in Christian sex education?Confronting the sexual cultureWHAT IS GOING ON IN CHRISTIAN SEX EDUCATION? Dr. Williams was Director of Public Health for Croydon Health Authority for many years and is the author of several other books and booklets on sex education, pregnancy counselling and contraception Ð some of which have been previously reviewed in Evangelicals Now. Indeed, in the Preface, Dr. Williams highlights that two of his books were negatively reviewed in these columns! Sex education is an emotive and difficult subject for Christians and therefore a book that seeks to set out a biblical framework and give help to struggling parents and others involved with young people through their critical teenage years is surely to be embraced. The main purpose of the book is clearly stated (p.10): it is ‘to describe the version of sex education developed by CARE (Christian Action Research and Education — see www.care.org.uk), a large well-funded Christian charity that receives financial and prayer support from many evangelical churches’. Sounds as if we are in for a critical pathway — and we are! So we follow how CARE evolved out of the National Festival of Light (chapter 2) and became involved in the political arena and the media and then developed a sex education programme (chapter 3) and policy (chapter 5 — see www.evaluate.org.uk). The latter emerged according to the author, ‘not from a deeper understanding of Scripture but in response to a crisis in the sexual health of young people’. He is very critical of many aspects of the CARE ministry, pointing out that it does not teach biblical standards with regard to sexual conduct, but that it helps children and young people develop their own values to guide their sexual decisions (p.54). The overwhelming message is that CARE is in line with government policy rather than biblical standards. I would be surprised if there were many readers of EN who are not dismayed by many aspects of what is happening in relation to the family, education and the media — all potentially impacting on the sexual behaviour of a growing generation. However, surely our main weapons have never changed — the Bible and prayer; sow the seed and pray earnestly that God would do the miracle of transformation in the lives of individuals (yes, our own children), families around us and communities in which God has placed us. If this does not happen, everyone will continue to do what is right in their own eyes (and that should not surprise us — Judges 17.6). At the same time we need people and organisations prepared to try and engage with our non-Christian world. We may not agree with all CARE does, but at least it does something. Read this book and at the same time review how your church fellowship is giving support to its families and youth leaders and teachers who are daily confronted with an increasing sexual culture. Professor David Back,
|
|
