I'm not using religion to justify my position. I actually think that organized Christianity, as practiced today and in the past, often has very little to do with what Jesus said and did. Look up "fornication" in a concordance: the old testament has little to say on premarital sex, but it is against interracial sex; the new testament is more clearly against divorce than premarital sex in the gospels; and finally the remaining incidences of "fornication" in the NT are all written by Paul, a guy who never met Jesus, but sure had a lot to do with the direction church policies went. What I am arguing is that these policies developed for political and economic reasons, and have little to do with what Jesus said and did, and a lot more to do with churches that would like to leverage their claims to god for reasons of consolidating power. These policies generate larger congregations, which in turn assures the survival of those churches. I'm not saying ignore one part of the bible, I'm advocating you ignore most of it and at least read the parts that Jesus actually said and did. That's the Jeffersonian bible. I'd rather you ignore most of it, and attend to the parts that Jesus thought mattered, than rely on the current state of an argument made for over 2000 years by men in funny hats. I doubt you keep sheep. You probably shave. If you are a man and your brother's wife dies, you will likely not marry her. You might have a tattoo, and if you don't, you likely don't think that a tattoo should bar you from a religious funeral and burial. You probably don't keep kosher. There's a massive portion of the bible that christians today completely ignore, so don't tell me that you don't pick and choose. If you think that's all OT stuff and christians only need to pay attention to the NT, well, you likely haven't sold off your possessions, given the proceeds to the poor, and sought to bring the gospel to the world. Sorry. That's what J-man did, that's what J-man advocated. Getting married got in the way of god, so the apostles and disciples left their wives and lives behind. What I am saying is remove that ol' chunk from your own eye. I'm saying Jesus would likely have more problems with our materialism, which supports wars and he clearly DID have a problem with [both war and materialism], than our *******, which he clearly didn't mind, at least in others if not himself.

what the ****?

what the ****?

I am 23, and I was sold on the whole "waiting till marriage" thing in my late teens, when I could have been out ******* all the tight, hot girls and the looser ones who had some experience. I thought that by now, I would be married and wouldn't have to worry about waiting to have sex anymore, but it hasn't turned out that way. I see it this way: In the the church they teach young people to wait until marriage, using quotes like 'Flee the evil desires of youth'. However, when the Bible was written, 'youth' had a very different meaning to what it does now. Youth was being pre-pubescent. In Biblical times, if you weren't married by the age of 18 that was an unusual thing. Also consider the primitive methods of contraception back then, so obviously you wouldn't want to be sleeping around, getting STD's and bringing a scandalous name to yourself in the small, tight-knit communities that existed back then. These days, I think it is completely retarded for anyone to think God expects them to still be a virgin on their 30th birthday. It's actually not good for your health. I can see the advantages of waiting until you are married if you are in a relationship with someone, but if you are single and you meet a girl/ guy who is out for some fun, just do it! To the guys out there who are waiting for some good Christian girl to give your entire sexual life to, consider this: Do you really want to sacrifice some great years of ******* to slip the ring on the finger of some churchie prude who won't do anything remotely fun sexually (anal, BDSM, dressing up, ******* in public places etc.) because it's "immoral" and who's idea of being sexually adventurous is doing it (missionary style, of course!) with the lights on? I think not. I challenge any Christian who waited until marriage to have sex to tell me, completely honestly, that their sex life is anywhere near as satisfying as those who don't give a **** what the church thinks about where you put your dick or how you put it in them. And before you label me a heretic or whatever else: I consider myself a Christian. I love Jesus. I just have alot of issues with the masses who organise themselves in His name.

OP: I can say this - your mom is absolutely hilarious. As to the whole debate over "wait until marriage" or not, if you and your significant other are amazingly close, then I don't see why you wouldn't do it. As for the religious argument, God would probably be a lot less happy if you did it with someone you didn't think it was right to do so with. For example, if you're feeling overly pressured, then don't do it. For background, I am a Christian that has had many faith-based issues over the years.

HHHAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHHAHAHAAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I like your mom.

you know what guys? i have two extremely hot girl friends that are waiting until their married and it is TOTALLY THEIR CHOICE. so **** your mom. be strong. it doesn't matter if you CAN'T or you WON'T. if you want to do something then don't let anyone make you feel shitty enough to change yourself. if you change your mind later, then make sure it's your choice.

hahahaahhahaha at #33's comment Also, your mom is funny so calm the **** down.

she sounds like the exact opposite of my parents. good for you for making a decision you intend to stick to. don't listen to your mom- that was extremely rude and it sounds like she's got some issues of her own if she's taking it out on you for no reason.