Article August 26, 1967 Issue

The Question of Premarital Sex

ROSS ENAR BENSON

One of the greatest challenges facing the young adult today is how to resolve the question of premarital sex relations. The term "premarital sex" implies at best a temporary relationship. It is often thought that if the parties involved have arrived at a state which they consider to be true love, then premarital sex should be a natural and acceptable way of expressing this love. This is an erroneous conclusion. Paul states that "the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord; and the Lord for the body." I Cor. 6:13; Love should be based on respect and honor—the respect for chastity and the honor of purity. Mrs. Eddy writes in Science and Health, "It is chastity and purity, in contrast with the downward tendencies andearthward gravitation of sensualism and impurity, which really attest the divine origin and operation of Christian Science."Science and Health, p. 272;

If a person recognizes the importance of chastity and purity, he will not yield to the temptation or desire for premarital sex. If a relationship of respect and honor develops with a realization that all real love expresses the nature and permanency of God because God is Love, then marriage, not premarital sex, is the natural culmination.

To many in this era, the marriage ceremony is cynically considered as a meaningless ritual set up by "the establishment." True, the repetition of vows does not necessarily change character or improve morals. But when a relationship is based on mutual respect, which in turn is based on an understanding of divine Love, the marriage ceremony signifies the end of one relationship—during which a couple learn much about one another—and the beginning of a greater relationship—of moving into physical and spiritual unity.

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