Really now Allen, don't we have enough losers here in America for you to 'minister' to?

SO you want to teach poor Lucian kids about abstinence? Why, so they can have more kids at an early age that grow up and tithe to the Mt. Pisgah satellite church (kind of like a franchise) you plant there?

I say that because study after study has shown that abstinence education simply doesn't work. Better to actually tell them about contraceptives and donate condoms and birth control pills. Unless of course, your real motivation is to increase the size of the flock by keeping them ignorant ...

Bad information. Objective studies show that abstinence education works. Only Planned Parenthood and their biased research dispute that.

Visit St. Lucia and witness the total breakdown of the family structure and envision where America will be in 50 years at the rate we are going with over 40% of our births out of wedlock last year.

No plans for a Mount Pisgah satellite . Just a desire to offer hope and help in the name of Christ, the Hope of the world.

Name me one "objective study" that shows effectiveness of teaching abstinence until marriage Allen. And "objective" is not synonymous with "commissioned by Focus on the Family", by the way, just to make that clear.

Why is it that in Western Europe, which is much more permissive about sex than the US while having a similar standard of living, the incidence of teen pregnancies and STDs is so much less than in God's Own Country? Maybe because European teens get the facts early (even before they are officially "teens") and that there is no expectation of virginity until marriage. Heck, there is no expectation of virginity until 12th grade (not that everyone gets lucky by then, but no one expects you to not do it). In US the reality is similar to Europe: most teens have sex. But the society in US sets unreasonable expectations, fueled by a long since outdated sexual morality. The results are obvious: STDs (including AIDS) and unwanted pregnancies.

Both Europe and US have a lot to learn from each other, in different areas.

Face it Allen: Biblical "morality" does not work in the 21st century.

I feel bad for the St. Lucians, I really do.

The last Cainanite (Canaanite?) makes some valid points. There have actually been a few studies showing some positive effects from abstinence ed but the majority of studies show no effect whatsoever. More importantly though if you look at the countries with lowest teen birth rate- Japan, Netherlands, Sweden- they are also the most irreligious, atheistic nations as well.
By contrast, the Jesus'd up US has one of the highest rates of teen pregnancy in the world. What does THAT tell you?

Allen,

God bless you and keep you and the girls as you reach out to the kids of St. Lucia. We are so proud of you!

Lori and Richard