ABSTINENCE OR THE USE OF CONDOM
Condom use is a critical element in a comprehensive, effective and sustainable approach to HIV prevention and treatment. Prevention is the mainstay of the response to AIDS. Condoms are an integral and essential part of comprehensive prevention and care programmes. They are a safe-sex measure to protect oneself against STD's, H.I.V, unplanned pregnancy and their promotion must be accelerated based on scientific grounds. Biblical reflections on Sex before and outside Marriage are referred to as Fornication and Adultery respectively. Should Christians Have sex outside or before Marriage? Questions like should they use Condoms when having sex outside or before Marriage need to be considered. Most people would not argue with the need for condom use especially in our day and age where HIV is on the rise. However, condom usage and safe-sex is on a steady decline. Considering the implications of not using condoms, should Christians promote or protest the use of safe-sex measures such as condoms?
The predominant HIV prevention strategy exported to Africa from the United States has three messages: abstain from sex, be faithful to your partner in monogamous marriage, or use condoms every time you have sex. Abstain, Be faithful, Condoms: ABC. This exportation comes through the funding the Bush Administration has committed to HIV prevention and treatment through the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). The first and third messages—abstinence and condom use—are defined in opposition to each other. “Abstinence” is a noun that invokes a certain kind of behaviour—a behaviour of refusal—and connects that behaviour to identity. We know what kinds of persons abstain. “Condom” is a noun that invokes a certain kind behaviour—a behaviour of activity—and connects that behaviour to identity. One who abstains does not use a condom as Abstinence is as an act of self-control over the natural desire to have sex.
One of God's first commands to mankind was "Be fruitful and multiply!" Condom use and birth control effectively cut out the occurrence of "being fruitful and multiplying". Most people don't even put second thought into condom use. It's a given that we should practice safe sex. Condom use is emphasized as a protectorate from venereal diseases but it's also a protectorate from unplanned parenthood. Christian should that if we didn't plan to be parents, we shouldn't be having sex in the first place. Hence, we would have no need for condoms. By slapping on the rubber are you replacing God's ultimate plan for sex and procreation? Should contemporary Christians revive this discussion on condom use and "safe" sex if one is to engage in sex at all? The bottom line is safety. Now personally, I believe you shouldn't be engaging in sex with someone you're not committed (married) to.
The Journey teaches that one of God's purposes for sex is pleasure, so I don't believe it's necessarily a sin to have sex for reasons other than reproduction. I think sex was created to be a sacred act that cements or reinforces a bond between two people, so it would be unjust, for example, if a husband and/or wife who happened to be sterile was then deprived the opportunity to consummate their marriage. That said, since the Bible teaches that God's plan for sex is for it to exist solely within the context of marriage, But we know in the real world that many people, including some that called themselves Christians, have extramarital or premarital sex, thinking the use of condom will be a channel to cover their immoralities. There are people who are able to remain abstinent until/unless they get married, and that is divine expectation as a child of God. STDs and HIV/AIDS not withstanding, Christians should know that promoting condom use outside of marriage is equal to condoning 'illicit' sexual behaviour. The need to discourage immoral' sexual behavior is far more important than preventing the spread of disease and limiting the number of unintended pregnancies.
To the married, the second behavior in the ABC triumvirate is ‘Be faithful.” “Be faithful” is a natural partner to “Abstinence” for the predominant sexual ethical narratives of Christianity. Invoking abstinence and fidelity, those narratives articulate common claims of upright morality as well as socially approved identities: people who are abstinent until marriage become faithful partners in marriage. However an extramarital affair is a sin if truly your aim is to make heaven, for unclean man will never get there.
Olatunji Olusegun
Redeemed Christian Fellowship
victorolat@gmail.com
