Christians and counseling those with STDs

[17yearsfree]

Ugh. My experiences in the past with this kind of activity is that it has the opposite effect of intention, in that college-aged tend to view that kind of "counselling" as slut-shaming. I agree with previous posters it should be left to the health care providers that specialize in these matters.

My short marriage fell apart when I discovered the ex's multiple affairs, with multiple partners. After promptly packing up, I decided to find an urgent care center to get tested for STD's as well as seek help for extremely crippling anxiety over the whole deal. There was one facility open near me this day, a Catholic Hospital and I went in and got tested there. The doc came in to give me good news, told me for anxiety to "start a journal" about it. Fine, okay, whatever. Then the doc had to throw in a comment about him being catholic and they did not believe in birth control. Granted, I had never inquired into birth control at any point being there. But I felt it was completely unnecessary to bring that up, or assert his religious affiliation into my situation. It left a completely sour taste in my mouth and I vowed to stay the hell away from these types of places.

[GuitarHero]

I've known more than one person who was completely monogamous and faithful to their spouse, when... surprise.. why is it burning when I pee?? Just because you're faithful doesn't mean the other person will be. Hell, I knew a preacher's wife who was quite taken aback to learn that her husband had employed the services of multiple prostitutes. One of the last COCs I attended literally had 5 preachers in a row that had ended their employment by running off with a member's wife. About half of the marriages that I was aware of occurring at Freed-Hardeman have ended in divorce, most with sexual infidelity as the cause.

And there's the fact that Christians pretty much have just as much pre-marital sex as non-believers. I believe Christian Mingle reported that over 60% of those surveyed said they were willing to or had had sex before marriage. Other studies have put the number of Christians who have had premarital sex up at somewhere around 80%.

So while KLP's nice little dig at Planned Parenthood sounds nice, it in no way reflects reality, not even a little.

[agricola]

I guess I feel about good sex ed the same way I feel about vaccinations. In an ideal world, people would wait to have sex until they were married and both partners would only ever have sex with each other, and neither would have an STD. And also people would never come in contact with anybody with a contagious disease and wouldn't need to be vaccinated against them - however -
this isn't a perfect world, and people DO sometimes have sex before marriage or even during marriage with somebody else (and when you have sex with any person, you are coming in sexual contact with EVERYBODY who ever had sex with that person AND all the other people THAT person had ever had contact with, ad infinitum). And also you can't guarantee that you will never be around somebody who might be carrying a virus - and so, we advocate vaccination, and for STD's not just vaccinations (when they exist) but also education. People 'should' practice abstinence ideally BUT they should also understand what it takes to be safe, regardless. Self protection is a good thing.

[Ivy]

For instance herpes will only be transmitted 10% of the time over the course of a couple having sex for a YEAR.

Source, please?

One reason I like Planned Parenthood is that people of either sex can go there for services and discuss sexual concerns
without being judged. I don't have a full understanding of what was happening with the aborted fetal tissue, so don't have an
informed opinion on that. Hopefully PP was handling the tissue as per the limits of the law, with informed consent of the mother,
and only charging for their shipping / handling costs of getting the tissue to the researchers. I am aware of the "sting" videos,
but haven't watched them.

Edited to add: I did find a resource which confirms chris's statement, but there are apparently many variables related to HSV 1 and 2 transmission:

h**p://www.healthassist.net/conditions/herpes.shtml

[agricola]

So that whole having sex with one person means you're exposed to everyone they've ever had sex with and everyone they've ever had sex with etc... Is total propaganda nonsense. No STD has a 100% transmission rate or anything close to it. For instance herpes will only be transmitted 10% of the time over the course of a couple having sex for a YEAR. HIV has a transmission rate of less than one tenth of a percent per instance of vaginal intercourse (it's around ten times that for anal sex, which is still less than 1 percent).

Given condoms have around a 99% effectiveness rate - you have next to no chance of getting an STD in normal circumstances.

Also I don't think it's an ideal world to have sex with only one person in your whole life. Men (and women too, but to a lesser degree) are biologically and therefore psychologically programmed to have multiple partners. Monogamy is great once you're old enough and mature enough to handle it, which I don't think is nearly as likely if you've never gotten to indulge your natural tendencies in the past.

The transmission rate can be low but it is never ABSENT. Yes, you are having 'contact' even second and third hand (or more). SOME STD's are very easily transmissible and some aren't. Some diseases are very contagious and some aren't as contagious. Is that a valid reason not to be vaccinated (assuming the vaccine itself is 'safe')? No.

Did you miss the part where condoms are a form of birth control, which requires an understanding of the mechanics of sexual activity, aka 'sex ed'?

We 'control' our natural tendencies all the time. Why give 'sex' a pass? If I can learn to go to a toilet to empty my bowels, I can certainly learn to control my 'natural tendency' to f*k all and sundry passing strangers.

I do think the 'Biblical ideal' is 'one person' - AT A TIME. Monogamy or serial monogamy is the 'ideal'. What I DON'T think is that 'the ideal' is something that widely exists in the actual world, and therefore, 'the ideal' is not something that should be relied upon.

probably TMI - ahem. I did not 'indulge' and never did. DH is the one (and only), and at my age (past 60) I don't anticipate a flurry of orgies in my future, either. Blame (or credit) some of that on a coc upbringing, of course, and a great deal of paralyzing shyness.

[KLP]

I was raised to think that engaging with multiple partners was riskier then monogamy or abstinence in terms of picking up an STD. I assumed that someone at some time got an STD from a doorknob or swimming pool, but generally that was a super low possibility. To me it seems obvious that the least risky behavior will result in the least risk. A society, culture, or people may choose some other path than the least risky behavior, but that does not redefine what is the least risky path.

My original point wasn't that the CofC STD tent counselling was right or best or anything. My point was that it should be fairly obvious to anyone with half a brain that a Bible based group is going to give advice based on the Bible. If you don't like what the Bible has to say on the topic, then maybe that is not the place to get help. But it is not like the CoC has ever hid the fact that they are going to go BCV on some topic and are not going to "modernize" the rather simple Bible teaching about sex being part of a union of man/woman starting from creation.

I doubt it makes much difference if a rape is a "date rape" or not as far as STDs, probably less risk for STD but who knows. But I did find a report from our US Dept of Justice Dec 2014 that says the rate or rape of college women is actually lower than non-college. http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/rsavcaf9513.pdf
So if there is a high rate of STDs in college students it must be from something other than rape and if it results in an STD then whatever it is must have a risk.

[agricola]

I think the idea that people in the late teens to early twenties, away from home, and with ready access to the opposite sex, puts the idea in many people's minds that of course they are all having mad monkey s*x every minute because, you know, they CAN.

Having been such a person and in college (and grad school) a total of nearly a decade, I can say with reasonable confidence that: a) young people away from home do a lot of stupid things and b) they aren't all having mad monkey s*x every minute of the day either. A few have lots of encounters, and a few have none at all, and the vast middle have some. How much 'some' amounts to, I have no real information. Most surveys I've seen give an average which is skewed toward the high end due to the relative few that really ARE having mad monkey s*x every time they get the chance. Two people with 100 partners can really pull an average up, even if 90 are having like maybe three, and 8 others aren't 'doing it' at all.

[KLP]

According to what I have read, the Olympic Villages have young folks having lots of sexual encounters and partying, especially after they have finished their competition event.

[agricola]

Hoo boy - so now the local coc's might need to get passes to pass out pamphlets....

[KLP]

Hoo boy - so now the local coc's might need to get passes to pass out pamphlets....

http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/sochi-2014 ... d=22419884

For college kids, here are some quick tips on STD prevention and treatment from the CDC, not the CofC (emphasis added)
http://www.cdc.gov/family/college/

Quick Tips:
- If you are a sexually active female aged 25 years or younger, get tested every year for chlamydia. If left untreated, chlamydia can affect your ability to have children.
- If you are diagnosed with an STD, notify your sex partners so they can be tested and receive treatment if needed. If your sex partner is diagnosed with an STD, you need to be evaluated, tested, and treated.
- The most reliable ways to avoid transmission of STDs, including HIV infection, are to abstain from sexual activity or to be in a long-term mutually monogamous relationship with an uninfected partner.
- Latex male and female condoms, when used consistently and correctly, can reduce the risk of transmission of some STDs.