Okay, I'm starving. I need a real meal.

[apocalypsos]

62,077 / 100,000 (62.1%)

Little by little, I'm getting there. I think going over the chapters I finished at the beginning was a good idea. It refreshed a lot of things in my head, so that's good.

But now I need dinner.

EDIT: Couple's first kiss happened at the altar. They're abstinence educators.

In other news, tomorrow I start teaching brain surgery classes at Scranton's new med school. I've never done a surgery before but I'm sure that won't be a problem. (The end where the face is is the one I cut into, right?)

Comments

[azurelunatic]

Usually most car dealerships let you take the car for a test-drive before you commit to buying it.

[tinylegacies.livejournal.com]

Amen.

I mean, don't get me wrong, I respect people who wait for marriage to have sex.

But there is nothing wrong with kissing. Geez.

[apocalypsos.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the lack of kissing kinda dragged me right over the edge from "to each his own" to "no, seriously, come on."

[misty-writes.livejournal.com]

All the negative comments to that article are making me sad. I personally would probably not be able (or want) to do what that couple has done, but they're not hurting anyone and errr, coming from a very conservative Pentecostal family, ALL of my married relatives abstained from sex (and kissing, too, I believe) before marriage. And they're all happy! No divorces, lots of kids, LOTS of crazy family gatherings. Different strokes for different folks, I guess.

[agent-mimi.livejournal.com]

My biggest issue with this is that it's being touted as a news story. Sure, it's their life and their choice, but if they're publicizing it then I would assume the reason is less than noble. Given how they're making a big deal about being abstinence educators "practicing what they preach", I don't think this is just some benign public interest news article.

[cat-eyed-fox.livejournal.com]

I also respect people for doing and believing whatever they want, but those two are hurting someone. In fact many someones. My understanding is that they are abstinence only teachers. That is harmful. Not telling kids how to use condoms and birth control pills, and giving them misinformation which research has shown occurs in almost every abstinence only education programs is harmful. Telling kids that kissing not only leads to dirty disgusting stuff (IE SEX), but is itself dirty and disgusting is just the most recent evidence of evils (yes and I mean that) of the abstinence only eduction. I respect you and your friends and families for making the decisions they did, but having abstinence only taught in public schools is... awful.
Sorry, Soapbox meets Betsy and this happens.

[beautifulstars.livejournal.com]

Hrm...I understand where you're coming from, as an educator. I have refused to teach in Catholic schools before, where we *had* to teach the non-use of condoms. But should we assume that the schools these two educate in are completely pro-abstinence? My assumption would be that they preach pro-abstinence, but not to the exclusion of other educators in that school teaching other things (birth control, etc).
Also, they didn't necessarily make any connection between sex = dirty or even kissing = dirty. They've just said it's a temptation they want to resist.
Coming from a strict Pentecostal background, I don't agree with everything they do, but it can be done subtly and pleasantly sometimes, and is not necessarily evil.

[cat-eyed-fox.livejournal.com]

True. I hear abstinence only and I cant' help remembering that when I graduated from high school 4 years ago, which is 8 years after my school system started teaching abstinence only, 14 young women were pregnant, 12 of those being freshmen. It makes me sick to my stomach. I'm pretty sure they are abstinence only teachers, but I don't have the article in front of me so I can't explicitly say.
My dad's a doctor, my mom was a nurse and we're unitarian, so I've always been told the whole truth about sex since I was old enough to care about it. My family's *very* open about stuff like that so people who aren't kind of confuse me. And educators who aren't completely truthful about everything, especially important health concerns like sex and condoms piss me off. But like you said, they might just emphasis abstinence, not only teach it.
Thanks for not freaking out at me.

[beautifulstars.livejournal.com]

Lol!! That's fine! Why would I freak out? They may be abstinence-only, in which case I agree with you. I still have trouble believing any school would be teaching pure abstinence in sex ed. Perhaps I'm naive!!!
I understand you on the whole 'open' thing. Despite coming from a very strict background in which I was strongly encouraged to be abstinent, my parents were very open about sex as well and my mother, who was a nurse, would give birth control advice to any of my non-religious friends who asked her. She felt the more information we knew, the better off we were, despite any choices we might make, abstinence or otherwise.

[cat-eyed-fox.livejournal.com]

*shrug* People get twitchy and defensive when issues like sex and sexual education are discussed.
I remember reading my sophmor year of high school that parents were freaking out in my old middle school because they felt that the health books had a chapter deemed to "explicit" about sex and reproduction. They pulled the book, started teaching the Bush approved abstinence only curriculum, and since then the levels of SDIs and pregnancies have increased every year in both Middle Schools and High schools. Apparently cause and affect are too deep a concept for some school boards.

[etoilepb.livejournal.com]

I commented at Jez earlier, but I have a very good friend here on LJ who is Orthodox Jewish and obeys (-ed; she's married now) all of the no-touchie rules that goes with it.

I may think she's a bit nuts, but she's a smart, level-headed girl and the terms under which she lives work for her, her husband, and their families. So there's room in the world for both. I mean, I may think those abstinence-only nutters are off base but at least they're trying to practice what they preach. There's room in the world for all of it, you know? I won't make fun of their lifestyle if they don't make fun of me having the time of my life living in sinny sinful sin with my boyfriend.

[raisedbymoogles.livejournal.com]

I won't make fun of their lifestyle if they don't make fun of me having the time of my life living in sinny sinful sin with my boyfriend.

I think that's really the point of this article - not the couple themselves, but the self-righteous abstinence-only crowd who want to rub the couple's happiness in the faces of those who don't fall into their line like good little ducklings. -_-

[scary-being-me.livejournal.com]

If people want to abstain from sexual contact before marriage; more power to them. I personally don't think it's wise; but if that's what they believe; then they have the right to go for it.

No kissing? Where in the bible does it even hint at that?

Here's the problem with abstinence only education: These people are 28 and 30. They believe in it wholeheartedly enough to teach it. They STILL needed chaperones so they didn't have sex. What chance does a 16 year old who's having the belief forced on them have with their hormones raging?

[apocalypsos.livejournal.com]

Oh, yeah, God knows I have no problem with people abstaining from sex in general, but I think "no kissing" is being a little too extreme. And these two feel (at least to me) like they're advertising how awesomely modest they are. And ... yeah, the chaperone thing bugged me, too.

[mamadeb.livejournal.com]

I have been to a number of weddings in the past few years where I'm absolutely certain that the bridal couple never even held hands until their wedding day. (And that first kiss was in private.)

So long as both parties are held to the same standard and they get adequate instruction ahead of time, I don't see the problem.

[honorh.livejournal.com]

My sister and her husband had their first kiss at the altar. Five years and two kids later, they're happier than ever. *shrug* Can't figure why it would be a big deal.

[emella.livejournal.com]

Have you ever seen those TLC family related shows like John and Kate plus 8 or 17 kids and counting? Jon and Kate are normal people with a large family, but 17 Kids and counting is about an evangelical christian family who have 17 kids (by the same two parents) and an 18th on the way, but anyway their oldes who is like 21 got married and waited to have his first ever kiss to his wife. She did the same but I think she was like 19.

People be crazy sometimes.

[acetal.livejournal.com]

Penis goes where?!

[emella.livejournal.com]

LOL