Virginity

In the light of Trevor Stammer's editorial, searching the web for articles on being a virgin might be seen as a risky business. Always the intrepid web explorer, I ignored links to Richard Branson's company, pages about Mary's perpetual virginity (whatever that is) and sites displaying explicit pornography. 'Virgin sex' was one headline - which to me at least is a contradiction in terms.

Virginity in Vogue is an American campus-orientated page, boldly proclaiming the message that holding onto virginity until marriage is a good thing. The VIRGINITY FAQ, written by Christians, is an excellent resource which cleverly avoids Christian arguments for virginity directly until almost the end of the page. Although a little lacking in format, it is well-reasoned and makes good reading. The Family Research Council site also has a good section of virginity-related articles and Bible Sex Facts is a collection of short pieces on every aspect of sex covering most issues succinctly. The CMF Website pages on Sexuality are well worth a visit too.

Cannabis

I was amazed to discover a UK-based mail order site (where anyone can buy cannabis seed) which claimed that any responsibility for illegal propagation was the buyer's alone. A page offering information, kits enabling people to pass drug tests having consumed cannabis, fake cannabis plants (to surprise your boss) and even free seed samples astonished me even more. For ethical and legal reasons I have not advertised the links to these pages.

The Nectar of Delight gives a seemingly believable, although unreferenced, account of the history of cannabis. At least, there is no repetition of wild claims made elsewhere that Jesus and the Old Testament prophets consumed cannabis in order to experience ecstasy and hear from God. Sorry folks, but I could not bring myself to publish the web address of that particular page either! Drugs and the Christian is an altogether more helpful site that marshals biblical arguments well. Whilst not afraid to point out some of the medicinal uses of cannabis and give a detailed history of its pharmacology, it raises no doubt that it is opposed to Christians using the drug.Drugs and Alcohol - the Truth is a high-octane statistic-filled web article by Patrick Dixon which also gives links to many other drug related sites.

Near Death Experiences

One of the major near death experience websites (www.nderf.org) illustrates many of the worrying aspects of these phenomena for Christians. In Guy's NDE Story, the author claims to have met Jesus but the outcome for him is sorrow at being alive and a divorce. Other pages on this site mention 'soul mates' and other concepts Christians would be uncomfortable with. Similarly worrying is the experience of Dr. George Ritchie, which initially sounds typically Christian. But George sees disembodied spirits of people walking around on earth, something that is definitely not part of Christian belief. Sadly on the internet it is all too clear that many near death experiences are leading people into spiritualism and are being used to give substance to beliefs that are anti-Christian. Religious Interpretations of Near-Death Experiences is a thorough, well referenced examination of the subject and points out that many people who experience these phenomena become more open to Eastern religions. This last article is very helpful in explaining the universality of the experience, possible biological causes, and the role of religious beliefs in modifying the experience.