For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. 1 Thessalonians 4:3-7
Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. Galatians 6:7-8
(CNN) — When Jennifer Nicholas sees television shows or movies where characters "hook up" or have sex with "friends with benefits," she cringes, because that’s how she got herpes.
"Getting an STD wasn’t even something that crossed my mind," said Nicholas, 39, who learned that she had herpes at age 22. "One day I’m at the doctor’s office and it was, ‘Surprise! You’ve got herpes.’ "
Experts in sexually transmitted diseases say they’ve become increasingly concerned about the trend toward having what they call "sexual involvement in nonromantic contexts" — the technical term for hookups or "friends with benefits" — because they’re especially likely to spread sexually transmitted diseases.
The concern is that that people who have nonromantic relationships tend to have several partners at one time — "concurrency," in sexual behavior lingo — in contrast to people engaged in romantic relationships, who tend to be monogamous for the duration of the romance.
"We’re concerned that concurrency is speeding up the transmission of sexually transmitted diseases," said Tony Paik, an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Iowa who recently published a study on the subject.
"This is a direct route for spreading STDs. There are important implications here for public health," he added.
