"You Don't Need My Permission"

Tonight I watched an episode of the Fox sitcom The Mindy Project that had a seen where Dr. Mindy is talking a group of high school girls.  She says to them before she thrusts condoms on them, "I can't stop you from getting your hearts broken, and I can't stop you from having sex, but I can stop you from getting STD's."

I and said out loud, "No you can't!"

Giving someone a condom does not stop them from getting an STD.  They still have the choice to use it or not.

I always find it ironic that the same people who preach to us that we shouldn't impose our morality on what happens in people private bedrooms also tend to be the people who tell us that it morally wrong to have unprotected sex.  There is a kind of moral illogic there.

In that same episode, Mindy tries to talk the sweet, innocent young girl from having sex with her loser boyfriend.  But then teen wants to meet Mindy's boyfriend and concludes that the doctor is sleeping with a loser.  Mindy lost all moral credibility because she was doing the thing that she was telling this child not to do.  Our current culture wants total moral freedom in this area.

I remember I was teaching one day and the subject of condoms came up.  Students asked me if it was okay to use them.  I said that it should be an issue for any of them since none of them were married.

"But," one of them said, "What if we're going to do it anyway?"

I responded, "I'm sorry, but did you suddenly cease being human?  Have you turned into a beast and lost your ability to make free choices?  No.  You have a choice.  You can either do it or not do it.  God says wait until marriage."

"But if we're going to do it," another protested, "Don't you want us to be safe?"

At this point I was exacerbated.  "If you've already decided not to listen to me about waiting for marriage, then why in the world do you need my permission to use a condom?  You don't need my permission to do what's wrong.  Right or wrong: make a choice."

On that note, if you haven't seen this American Papist video on the Pope and condoms, you should: