Abstinence Pledges?

Dr. Anthony Bradley is not a fan of teenage abstinence pledges. He writes:

Over the past 15 years, I’ve worked in too many churches and in too many college ministries all over America to know that an adolescent abstinence pledge, outside of a passionate pursuit of the Triune God, is about as trustworthy in the long-run as pledges to call home every Sunday, to drive under the speed limit, to never abuse alcohol, to never lie, and so on.

If five years after their pledges, those who pledge and those who do not are no different in their rates of premarital sex, sexually transmitted infections, or participating in certain sexual acts, then what’s the point of these programs? Why do churches use them? Outside of a commitment to Christ (John 14:15-31) these programs can be reduced to nothing more than rhetorical exercises.

Perhaps this why Jesus recommends that men and women seek first God’s Kingdom and His righteousness (Matthew 6:33). What if teens were encouraged to devote their lives to the Kingdom in all areas of life, including their sexuality? Jesus-loving baptized teens, living out the implications of frequent partaking of the Lord’s Supper, carried by the Holy Spirit, is the 2,000-year-old practice that never needed an extra-biblical religious ceremony.

It may be the case that the best way to settle the confusion over the effectiveness of abstinence pledges is to admit that they are well-intentioned but do not produce the intended long-term results and should be terminated.

Read the whole thing.