In my front yard.
On the deck out back.
"Abstinence programs show kids there are too many great things riding on their future to risk it to STDs, pregnancy and broken hearts. Abstinence is a message our kids want to hear…"
(Sioux Falls, SD)—A new study released today shows that abstinence education is highly effective in reducing sexual activity among youth. It also showed contraceptive sex ed programs to be ineffective.
The decrease is noteworthy; the study followed students a full two years after completion of the abstinence class. One third of students showed a decrease in sexual activity, compared with those who didn't participate in the class. Whereas, condom-promoting programs didn't affect youth behavior at all. Students in these programs showed no reduction in sexual activity and no increase in contraceptive use. (Photo by: Israel Papillon)
"Finally, a study that proves what those of us who have been teaching abstinence have known for years. These programs help develop self control and self esteem, teaching kids they do not need to fall prey to the game of Russian Roulette with condoms," said Leslee Unruh, President and Founder of the National Abstinence Clearinghouse. "Abstinence programs show kids there are too many great things riding on their future to risk it to STDs, pregnancy and broken hearts. Abstinence is a message our kids want to hear—this study shows youth are making healthier choices and changing their behavior in response to this refreshing message," Unruh said.
The study, involving black middle-school students, appears in the February 2010 Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, published by the American Medical Association. It was compiled and released by Drs. John and Loretta Jemmott from the University of Pennsylvania and Dr. Geoffrey Fong from the University of Waterloo and the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research in Waterloo, Ontario.
This study utilized state-of-the-art evaluation techniques, using random assignment. For more information about this study and its design, click here.
Source: Abstinence Clearinghouse
Me and my friend, Paul...I think I win the beauty contest when it comes to the 3D glasses!As Holocaust Day, January 27, is noted, an historian says: "A small community of Protestant Christians, descendants of Huguenots, were faced with a choice that would challenge the very essence of their faith. Would they live what they preached or would they put their own safety first?"
(France)—Somehow, stories of faith and heroism resonating from WWII continue to inspire us. Perhaps it is because we are still connected to the war by parents and grandparents who fought in it. Perhaps it is because in our times of tribulations there are more lessons to be learned from those who encountered similar trials before us.
Case in point: Le Chambon sur Lignon, a small village in south central France set on a plateau high in the mountains. It is where, according to reporter Russel Bowles, one of the most remarkable expressions of love of the whole war occurred when the Christian inhabitants defied the Nazi occupation and provided a safe haven for thousands of Jewish people—many of them children. No Jew that requested shelter was turned away.
As reported in Inspire Magazine, it was the pastor at Le Chambon, André Trocmé, who challenged his small flock with the question of who their neighbors were in the Biblical context. Soon, the small flock—risking their lives to do so—began taking in Jews.
According to the report, eventually the pastor and his assistant Edouard Théis were arrested. "However, amazingly, they were released before they were due to be deported to the east. The Gestapo also arrested the Pastor's cousin, Daniel Trocmé, and he died in Majdanek extermination camp."
"Bad as these events were," writes Bowles, "it seemed that the Almighty had His hand of protection on the village, for in all about 5,000 Jews were sheltered when the Nazis were leaving no stone unturned elsewhere in their pursuit."
