Unmarried Couples Going Camping

Eating w/o gluttony is not a sin. Sleeping in the same tent w/o lust is not a sin either. Both are sins only when abused. Neither is playing with fire if you have a right relationship with the object of potential temptation.

 

17 year old gets pregnant on camping trip for inner city kids.

It is obvious that unmarried people who are in love, if walking too close to the line between sin and godliness, can fall prey to their own lusts.

Why walk close to the line? One would think those who are Christian would want to stay as far away from that line as possible. Why take a chance on falling to temptation at all?

 

Actually, the problem is this: How "close" to the "line" of sin do you want to be? Yes, Scripture is the ONLY guide for Christian living....and "common sense" would tell you to follow that guide if you profess Christ.

Proverbs 1:7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

There is no fear of the Lord when a professing Christian has no desire to move far away from that "line" of sin.

 

Oh, no doubt. It's not like it was in the good old days when people never compromised.

 

I can't speak for anyone else, but I already clarified that I was talking specifically about adults and not a teenager. Letting your child go off overnight with her/his boy/girlfriend would be horrible parenting.

I assume the OP is about a young adult and not a teenager, or the question probably would have instead asked, would you allow your daughter to go camping.

 

...Which leads to the inevitable conclusion that people shouldn't interact with the opposite sex except when absolutely necessary. After all, this is staying as far away from that line as possible. Anything else is just taking unnecessary chances of falling to temptation.

Oh, and lust? Either ladies better wear burkahs or men should avoid looking at women altogether if they aren't their spouse. Better yet, pluck your eyes out. Anything less is taking a chance to fall to temptation.

Clearly the idea of staying as far away as possible is unsound logic since it leads to absurd conclusions. Its much more reasonable to understand that the "line" is at different place for different people. One really should avoid playing around the "line", but that line may be a in very different place for them than for others. Thus it quickly leads to absurdity if you start drawing other people's lines based on your own or other's failures. Such practice leads easily to legalism.

 

If sharing a tent is sinful because Jesus said looking on a woman with lust is equated with adultery, then it must be a sin even for men and women to be in the same church building at the same time.

 

"Common sense" is variable. What may be "dangerous" for one may not be for another. The line moves based on one's proclivities and personal weaknesses. Thus to draw the line for other's consciences is wrong...and it leads to all sorts of absurdities if one tries to apply it consistently.

I know - I have been part of a group which tried to apply such reasoning consistently. All sorts of things which you would probably consider well within the bounds of "common sense" were seen as flirting with temptation, getting to close to the "line" - giving place to the devil. They even had a diagram showing how things like having a Teddy Ruxpin in your house could lead to the Devil taking control of your life. Don't even think of guys and gals having normal interaction with each other. Were they taking it to extremes? No, just its logical conclusion. The problem is not the extremes but the logic itself - the idea that your conscience should bind other's.

 

You just say that because you want to compromise with evil. You just want to get close to the line. Common sense would show that men and women worshiping together is wrong.

Think of how many temptations they have just being around each other. Common sense would tell you that they are just a big bag of hormones looking for any opportunity to fornicate. Better to just keep them separate.

And I am not going to extremes - just the logical conclusion of your reasoning. The only difference is that my (actually not mine, but plenty of people I know) "common sense" is different than yours. Who is to say which is the proper "common sense"? Common sense is a subjective and wavering guideline.

 

This is entirly different. They were married (to other people) it is inapropriate to be spending time alone with each other

How well do you know this person? Have you spoken about this very subject with her? Do you know that this is an area of struggle for them? If it is, then I would agree they should not. But if this is something that they do not struggle with, have spent enough time dating and have discussed this together, you might be wrong and it would not create a lot of temptations for them. That fact is with the information you have given us we can;t know. It really depends on their level of spiritual maturity.

How is it inappropriate if nothing happens?

 

But were they camping? :laugh:

Seriously though that just proves my earlier point. If a couple is in their twenties and dating, I don't think camping is going to be the determining factor whether or not they are going to compromise themselves.

 

It seems to me their biggest setup mistake was in thinking "they could not fall because he was a pastor." The main reason I am not a pastor-- that I have an introverted personality and am rather blunt-- is also the reason I don't get close to people and am not seen as a people-pleaser and one to "chase" after. Since pastors-- ministers-- generally do have some of such traits, the temptations can be greater. So it is deceptive and dangerous to get into the line of thought "because he is a pastor...."

No-- but how do you know they "didn't go all the way?" Were you there? Or do you think because he is a pastor they wouldn't lie or mislead or lessen the offense? After all, the subject here is the "appearance of evil," ain't it?

 

Well, I know what happened 27 years ago when I went camping with my fiance and some friends ;-)

 

I know this sounds out of touch and not in the same view as the world. But if in doubt one must ask. Does this glorify God? We as Christians tend to forget that it is not about us but about our Lord!

 

Is there a difference? Does it matter if the couple is a young adult couple or a teen age couple? Last I checked morality and purity applied to everyone. Just because you become an adult does not mean that it is suddenly okay to ignore what the Bible says regarding the matter of moral living. Yes this is a situation where it is not only extremely unwise but is definitely one that no unmarried Christian couple regardless of age should be in. It is not just a poor testimony for the couple involved but a poor testimony to Christianity. Don't tell me that other people that are aware of this camping trip are not going to assume that something other than enjoying nature took place. We wonder why Christians have such a poor testimony in this world it is because of things like this. It absolutely matters what other people around us think about our behavior and given that we as Christians need to be more than just a little careful with what we say and do. I Peter 2:9 "But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light;". Everything that we do is supposed to be a reflection of His marvelous light, not our (supposed) spiritual maturity, and anyone that can say that they can be alone in a tent with someone that they are in a romantic relationship with and not be tempted in that way is either lying or a very foolish person for thinking that they are above that (Jeremiah 17:9 the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked). It seems that too often Christians are trying to figure out what they can and cannot do instead of thinking about what they should and should not do. Big difference in thought process, one leads to us trying to find ways to justify our behavior and one leads to us trying to consistently live a life that is intent on reflecting Gods greatness and righteousness.

 

Amen! :thumbs:

 

Yep! :thumbsup: