Sex Before Marriage - 9/25/12

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Today's show is a bit of a hot topic, and I want to take a second to acknowledge it as such. Not everyone will agree with my personal opinions about sex before marriage, and that's absolutely fantastic. If we all had the same views, we would live in a boring world. That said, I try my very hardest to understand other viewpoints, whether I disagree with them or not. I don't expect anyone to agree with me, but I expect respectful discussion, which is something I think our society lacks.

Both this and the topic of same-sex marriage tend to bring up very, very strong emotions. That's natural, but I hope that what you take away from this episode, above all of the other opinions you hear, is that we talk about sex before marriage in a very civilized way. We might have differing opinions, but that doesn't mean we need to be petty. This is why I thought that Jill Filipovic's article was fantastic: it was relatively neutral, and very much empathetic to both sides of the topic. 

I implore you, if you want to talk about this or any subject that you want to discuss with another person, try to follow these rules:

• Be respectful
• Put yourself in their shoes before you speak
• Speak to others as you would like to be spoken to
• Be objective when you can
• No yelling

I hope that you enjoy today's show, and I would love to discuss the topic at greater length if you want to post your thoughts, or e-mail me. 

Useful links:

1. Waiting till the wedding night -- getting married the right way
2. The moral case for sex before marriage
3. Reciprocal Effects of Religiosity, Cohabitation, and Marriage
4. Taming desire: Celibacy, sexuality and the Church

Music you heard:

1. "Peggy's Minute Rag" by Elena Kats-Chernin
2. "Body and Soul" by Billie Holiday
3. "A Lover Like You" by The Avett Brothers

Thanks!