Abstinence-Committed Youth Gear Up To Mark Third Annual 'Day of Purity'
by Allie Martin and Jenni Parker
February 13, 2006
(AgapePress) - - This Valentine's Day, young people throughout the nation and the world are taking a stand for sexual purity, self-respect, and voluntary sexual abstinence as the third annual "Day of Purity" takes place on Tuesday.The Day of Purity, a project of the Florida-based pro-family organization Liberty Counsel, is an annual observance designed to encourage young people to remain sexually pure until marriage. Mathew Staver, president of Liberty Counsel, says the message of the special focus day and its related events run counter to the teen-targeted messages about sex that come from secular culture.
The Day of Purity is "a day for youth to stand up for sexual purity, to go against MTV and the counter-culture that is suggesting that youth should engage in sexual activity early, often, and with many," Staver explains. He believes the alternative message the Day of Purity offers is sorely needed in a culture in which more than three million American teens are infected with sexually transmitted diseases each year, and nearly one million teenage girls become pregnant each year.
Mat Staver | |
The head of Liberty Counsel contends that secular messages about sex are often damaging and dangerous, encouraging sexual experimentation and rebellion against parental standards. "In fact," he notes, "one ninth-grade textbook tells students that testing their ability to function sexually and give pleasure to one another may be less threatening in your early teens with people of your own sex."That book goes on to tell young people they may "come to the conclusion that growing up means rejecting the values of your parents," Staver says. However, he insists that the "information" coming from such books and from the Hollywood media "that early sex is desirable and happening frequently is absolutely wrong."
Another important aspect of the Day of Purity, the Liberty Counsel spokesman points out, is letting youth and young adults know about the consequences of pornography, an influence that is not only harmful but also addictive. In a recent statement, the group cited some alarming statistics regarding child sexual abuse and minors involved in sexual behavior, relating these to the sex-saturated climate in which young people live today. "One explanation for these shocking statistics," the statement noted, "is that we, as a nation, don't convey the message to our youth that we value sexual purity."
Most young people know that the messages they are getting about sex from MTV, Hollywood and other secular media sources are wrong, Staver asserts. For those young people who want to take a stand for the truth, he says, the Day of Purity "gives them the opportunity to stand up, to dress in white or to wear the Day of Purity tee shirts and to stand for sexual purity."
Staver is urging those young people not already involved to visit DayofPurity.org for more information about the February 14 event, during which youth are encouraged to hand out flyers and wear clothing expressing pro-abstinence messages. He says the website allows those interested to download a planning manual and informative flyers on several topics, to order tee shirts, or to link to other valuable resources.
By Liberty Counsel's latest count, more than 600 organizations and individuals representing ten different countries have expressed support for the Day of Purity.
