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Americans have a high opinion of themselves – and lingering reservations about others. Despite their self-satisfaction, many Americans want to continue to change and grow.
Among the terms that more than four out of five adults selected to describe themselves were loyal, reliable, independent thinker, supportive of traditional family values, clear about the meaning and purpose of their life, making a positive difference in the world, and well-informed about current events. More than two out of three also noted that they are open to new ideas and easily adapt to change.
The prevailing paths to maturation, however, are usually not characterized by planned or intentional development; instead, engagement in a series of adventurous experiments seems to be the norm. When it does occur, growth takes place rather unpredictably, and the changes accepted are typically adopted on the basis of feelings. Most Americans, it seems, are willing to change as long as the pathway promises benefit and enjoyment, and generally avoids pain, conflict and sacrifice.
Americans increasingly require unique personal applications for the things they experience. Somewhat paradoxically, they also want to be seen as being in the mainstream of what’s happening in society. It seems that many Americans are seeking to be viewed as individuals distinct from the ever-growing masses.
Nouveau Christianity
People are reframing not just faith in general, but Christianity in particular. While slightly fewer adults – and many fewer teens – are identifying themselves as Christians these days, the image of the Christian faith has taken a beating. This battered image is the result of a combination of factors: harsh media criticism, “unchristian” behavior by church people, bad personal experiences with churches, ineffective Christian leadership amid social crises, and the like. The result is that those who choose to remain Christian – however they define it – are also reformulating the popular notion of what “Christian” and the Christian life mean. Some of those changes are producing favorable outcomes, while others are less appealing.
Spiritual practices among those who claim to be Christians are shifting dramatically. New practices are in vogue: embracing racial diversity and tolerance within congregations; pursuing spiritual diversity in conversations and relationships; valuing interpersonal connections above spiritual education; blending all forms of the arts and novel forms of instruction into religious events; and accepting divergent forms of spiritual community (e.g., house churches, intentional communities, marketplace ministries). Traditional ventures such as integrating discipline and regimen in personal faith development are becoming less popular. Repeating the same weekly routines in religious events is increasingly deemed anachronistic, stifling and irrelevant. Rigidity of belief – which includes the notion that there are absolute moral and spiritual truths – perceived by a large (and growing) share of young people to be evidence of closed-mindedness.
The result is a nouveau form and structure for the Christian faith that will have broad-based consequences on the practice of Christianity for years to come.
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Having sex at early age has long been linked to a laundry list of health problems from an increased risk of sexual disease to an increased risk of cancer.
But now, Columbia University and New York state researchers say waiting too long to have sex may carry its own risks, according to an ABCnews.com report.
People who lose their virginity between the ages of 21 to 23 are more likely to suffer sexual dysfunction problems later in life, according to a study from Columbia University and the New York State Psychiatric Institute’s HIV Center for Clinical and Behavioral Studies.
The study, which is will appear in the January 2008 issue of the American Journal of Public Health, found that men who lose their virginity in their 20’s seemed more likely to have problems sexually.
But the researchers pointed out that men who started having sex early were also at an increased risk for sexual dysfunction and said further research is needed to determine if a causal interpretation can be made.
I’m frequently baffled by articles that are deemed newsworthy. Some questions came to mind as I was reading this “news” that I’d like to just throw out here.
- What kind of research is used to formulate this kind of study?
- How many people will take this seriously and bring about their own psychological dysfunction based on the information such as this?
- How much money was spent conducting this research?
- How many “professionals” within the medical community will write illegitimate prescriptions for people who take this information seriously?
While I understand that human sexuality is a legitimate issue and can be a serious concern for many, many people, why is it that people (even Christians) are more likely to heed information released in a news study than they are to take their concerns to the God who gave us the gift of sex?
