I’m the pastor of an evangelical church in southern Missouri, the “buckle of the Bible belt.” Based on stereotypes and clichés, I should have been cheering the Pope recently when he blasted the use of condoms as having any helpful part to play in the fight to stop HIV/AIDS:

“You can't resolve it with the distribution of condoms,” Pope Benedict XVI told reporters last week. “On the contrary, it increases the problem.”

Similarly, by virtue of my church affiliation, I should have been excited about John McCain’s choice for a running mate since Sarah Palin was a fellow evangelical who opposed most sex education programs being taught in public schools:

“The explicit sex-ed programs (those teaching more than abstinence-only) will not find my support,” Palin said in answering a questionnaire from the conservative Eagle Forum during her 2006 gubernatorial race.

After all, as Bible-believing evangelicals we ought to rally behind our religious and political leaders who make strong moral stands based on the teachings of Scripture. If God is against sex outside of marriage then teaching anything else as a viable alternative is less than God’s ideal and we can’t let that happen. And if the Bible teaches that parents are to bear the responsibility of teaching their children morality, then we shouldn’t be allowing teachers to instruct our children in the scholarship of sex education within the confines of secular institutions.

Unless it’s irresponsible and morally objectionable to take those stands.

Can we consider the possibility that it may be?

I didn’t always feel that way. There was a time when I found the idea of sex education in public schools to be out of place and out-of-line. I believed that it was the task of parents to teach their children about such things. I believed condoms solved nothing. I would have agreed with the Pope and with Palin.

But, increasingly, I’m realizing that what is ideal and what is right given the reality of the situation are not always the same thing.

Ideally, according to the Scriptures, people would wait to have sex until they have found the significant other they choose to make a life-long commitment to. Ideally, according to the Scriptures, responsible parents would put the needs of their children before their own selfish desires and raise them according to God’s precepts.

In reality, these ideals are rarely met. I see this first hand precisely because I am a pastor; people are more willing to be open in discussions with me about their hurts, their fears, and their struggles when they realize I love and care for them. What observations have I made?

It’s entirely possible that my generation, often referred to as “Generation Y” or “Millennials,” currently comprises the most selfish group of parents this planet has ever seen. Having been raised as much by the global markets as by our parents, having been shaped more by targeted advertising about what we are entitled to than by the ever-softening voices of our parents encouraging us to put others first, we have largely become a generation incapable of sacrifice, empathy, or compassion. We define ourselves more by the brands we purchase and the foods we eat than the family that surrounds us or the friends we keep.

Time and time again in Texas, Illinois, and Missouri I have seen children who are not being taught basic life skills or moral standards by their parents. And when we have a society that refuses to tend to their responsibilities, it is irresponsible to stand by and not act. Merely pointing at the problem and lamenting the bad behavior of these parents doesn’t help children who need someone to teach them.

People are going to have sex outside of wedlock. Atheists, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, Christians, clergy, priests: there will be percentages from all of these factions who fall short of God’s ideal. In the United States, 46% of 15-19-year-olds have had sex at least once. By the age of 19, 70% have engaged in sexual intercourse. _source

AIDS is killing 3 million people a year, with 40 million people currently being infected with HIV/AIDS. Almost 3 million of those currently infected are children. Sub-Saharan Africa is more heavily affected by HIV and AIDS than any other region of the world with an estimated 22 million people living with HIV at the end of 2007. Approximately 1.9 million additional people were infected with HIV during that year. In just the past year, the AIDS epidemic in Africa has claimed the lives of an estimated 1.5 million people in that region. More than eleven million children have been orphaned by AIDS. _source

At what point do we allow the reality of the situation to overcome the spiritual utopia that resides in our heads?

Ideally everyone would follow after Christ, resist the temptation of sex outside of a lifelong commitment, and raise their children in the ways of the Lord. Realistically there will be many, many people who choose not to follow after the way of Jesus.

Sex education, condoms, and birth control have the potential to save millions of lives and prevent thousands of children from being aborted or born into homes that don’t want them. These methods of protection are not the ideal and they aren’t the best hope for the world. As a Christian, it is my firm belief that our true hope lies only in Jesus Christ.

But the current evangelical stance on safe sex and sex education will only usher death in early and give people less opportunity to choose our True Hope.

Tags: sex education, condoms, Pope, Sarah Palin