James Burgess Topic #3. Purity is advocated by many religions, but is it an outdated idea? In secular society, sexual abstinence before marriage is viewed as a joke. Why deprive yourself? What is the point? Many adults do not even think it is possible to keep teenagers from having sex. But is purity really an outdated idea? Purity can only become outdated if it is not practiced. Its value is integral as a foundation for strong marriages and families. In order to investigate the purpose of purity and its importance going forward, we must look into the value of purity, its benefits, and common themes and attitudes in our society regarding purity. Most of the world’s religions advocate their followers to practice sexual purity prior to marriage. Why is this? Even if one does not agree with these religions, or religion in general, the fact that abstinence is a common teaching in many cultures is significant. These cultures valued the meaning of saving oneself for one’s future partner. To dismiss this shared wisdom as outdated without carefully considering its merit would be foolish. Staying pure says an enormous amount about your character. It says that you are strong and able to avoid temptation. In our culture teens are bombarded with sex from the media and popular culture. It takes determination and having a clear goal to stay on the path to purity. Staying pure says that you are worthy of complete trust. If you have refrained from cheating on your future spouse before you even met, how much less likely are you to cheat once you are together? Purity tells your spouse that you are absolutely committed to your marriage. It says that you will love unconditionally without judgment or making comparisons. Purity really speaks for itself, and the lessons it teaches are prerequisite for becoming a mature person. Another key reason why purity is still relevant is that there is value in purity. Maintaining purity before you are married allows you to give all of your love to your spouse. By spreading your love around before you are married, you lose your ability to love with an unbroken heart. If you save that, you will give your spouse the most precious gift he or she can receive. Also, if you remain pure, once you are married you will not have any regrets for having had previous relationships. Someone who is willing to save his or her love for his or her future partner is practicing true, sacrificial love. Even those who do not agree with practicing abstinence can recognize this. However, many young people in our society do not see the purpose of maintaining purity before marriage. They view their virginity as an embarrassment and try to do away with it as quickly as possible. Sex loses its deeper meaning to these people and becomes similar to an addiction. Purity, on the other hand, is about becoming the best person you can be for your spouse. It is impossible for the value of purity to be outdated. I think the main problem with the attitudes of most youth is that they see the culture that we live in and lose hope. They give in to the probability that their future spouse will probably not have kept their purity. If this is the case, they feel they might as well. The youth also feel like they do not want to miss out on something as glorified as sex. It is clear that this common attitude is less than ideal. Youth today are settling for less in their future marriages in order to gratify their desires, rather than waiting for true happiness in their future families. The effects of impatience over sex seen in the 1960’s have already hurt families. This is not a dead and outdated issue. It is imperative to teach the next generation the significance of practicing abstinence before marriage for the sake of the building blocks of our society.