Can abstinence be taught?
Sex doesn’t happen by accident; any time we are in a situation where we decide whether or not to have sex, we have already made choices that have brought us to that point. These choices involve who we’re with, where we go, what we wear, what we carry with us, and what we’re thinking. In reality, everyone practices abstinence most of the time. Any time we are not actually having sex, we are abstaining from sex. If you are not having sex with every attractive person that you meet, then you are practicing abstinence so you must know of some context in which abstinence is realistic. What we need to do is to learn how to practice abstinence consistently. Abstinence can be learned and practiced the same way we learn and practice any other skill, from playing the flute to driving a car. To successfully practice abstinence, we need to learn how to make choices that support our decision to be abstinent. Recognizing situations and making choices are skills that can be learned and practiced. Back
