A preachers daughter in Maryland celebrated her wedding day by giving her father a special gift a certificate of purity, according to The Blaze.
The certificate, which included a passage from Corinthians 6:20 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies. was also signed by a gynecologist, who confirmed Brelyn Bowman was still a virgin, according to The Blaze.
Bowman also wrote on the certificate that she had remained pure of drugs, alcohol and tobacco in honor of her father, God and her own spirit.
I have kept this commitment and present this certificate to my father Dr. Michael A. Freeman to show how I have honored God and my earthly father in my body by maintaining my purity and that my hymen is intact on this 10th day of October 2015, the certificate read.
Bowman's father, Michael Freeman, told BuzzFeed he was surprised to receive the certificate, even though his oldest daughter, Brittany, offered him a similar certificate six years ago, according to BuzzFeed. All of his daughters vowed to follow a life of chastity until marriage, BuzzFeed reported.
It's not about what they did for me, rather what they did for themselves, Freeman told BuzzFeed.
But Bowmans recent certificate has caused a debate online, specifically about whether it was appropriate or not for the preachers daughter to share those details with her father. Many commenters spoke out both for and against the certificate on Bowmans Instagram account, where she posted a picture of her offering the contract to her father.
Some supported her for living a chaste life, like Instagram user snking_, who wrote, Amen. Good for you.
Similarly, User meld hall wrote, This is so positive and encouraging. Thank you for sharing the message and setting a God example #makejesusfamous.
Others, though, said it was inappropriate to share those details with her father.
I don't think people are mad you were a virgin but rather more about the certificate and needing to prove your purity, Instagram user kmarkshack wrote on Instagram. That should just be between you and your husband, not the world and not your dad.
But this is by no means a new phenomenon in the modern age. In fact, NFL superstar Russell Wilson and his wife Ciara publicly vowed to remain celibate until they tie the knot, which I wrote about in July. Wilson said he was told to follow Jesus way and abstain from sex before marriage.
In fact, research shows that waiting until marriage to be intimate with your partner may be the best practice.
Earlier this year, a report called Before I Do from the National Marriage Project found that a couples premarital experiences often affect their marriage, according to Deseret News writer Lois Collins.
Specifically, the study found that married couples are happier if they wait to have sex until they are married, Collins reported.
In general, couples who wait to have sex later in their relationship report higher levels of marital quality, the study said, according to Collins. There are many possible explanations for this link. One is that some people who are already more likely to struggle in romantic relationships such as people who are impulsive or insecure are also more likely to have casual sex.
Similarly, a 2010 study from Brigham Young University found that relationships are more stable when couples wait to have sex until they are married. Specifically, relationship stability and relationship satisfaction were 22 and 20 percent higher, respectively, among couples who waited.
Couples who hit the honeymoon too early that is, prioritize sex promptly at the outset of a relationship often find their relationships underdeveloped when it comes to the qualities that make relationships stable and spouses reliable and trustworthy, Mark Regnerus of the University of Texas told BYU.
The certificate, which included a passage from Corinthians 6:20 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies. was also signed by a gynecologist, who confirmed Brelyn Bowman was still a virgin, according to The Blaze.
Bowman also wrote on the certificate that she had remained pure of drugs, alcohol and tobacco in honor of her father, God and her own spirit.
I have kept this commitment and present this certificate to my father Dr. Michael A. Freeman to show how I have honored God and my earthly father in my body by maintaining my purity and that my hymen is intact on this 10th day of October 2015, the certificate read.
Bowman's father, Michael Freeman, told BuzzFeed he was surprised to receive the certificate, even though his oldest daughter, Brittany, offered him a similar certificate six years ago, according to BuzzFeed. All of his daughters vowed to follow a life of chastity until marriage, BuzzFeed reported.
It's not about what they did for me, rather what they did for themselves, Freeman told BuzzFeed.
But Bowmans recent certificate has caused a debate online, specifically about whether it was appropriate or not for the preachers daughter to share those details with her father. Many commenters spoke out both for and against the certificate on Bowmans Instagram account, where she posted a picture of her offering the contract to her father.
Some supported her for living a chaste life, like Instagram user snking_, who wrote, Amen. Good for you.
Similarly, User meld hall wrote, This is so positive and encouraging. Thank you for sharing the message and setting a God example #makejesusfamous.
Others, though, said it was inappropriate to share those details with her father.
I don't think people are mad you were a virgin but rather more about the certificate and needing to prove your purity, Instagram user kmarkshack wrote on Instagram. That should just be between you and your husband, not the world and not your dad.
But this is by no means a new phenomenon in the modern age. In fact, NFL superstar Russell Wilson and his wife Ciara publicly vowed to remain celibate until they tie the knot, which I wrote about in July. Wilson said he was told to follow Jesus way and abstain from sex before marriage.
In fact, research shows that waiting until marriage to be intimate with your partner may be the best practice.
Earlier this year, a report called Before I Do from the National Marriage Project found that a couples premarital experiences often affect their marriage, according to Deseret News writer Lois Collins.
Specifically, the study found that married couples are happier if they wait to have sex until they are married, Collins reported.
In general, couples who wait to have sex later in their relationship report higher levels of marital quality, the study said, according to Collins. There are many possible explanations for this link. One is that some people who are already more likely to struggle in romantic relationships such as people who are impulsive or insecure are also more likely to have casual sex.
Similarly, a 2010 study from Brigham Young University found that relationships are more stable when couples wait to have sex until they are married. Specifically, relationship stability and relationship satisfaction were 22 and 20 percent higher, respectively, among couples who waited.
Couples who hit the honeymoon too early that is, prioritize sex promptly at the outset of a relationship often find their relationships underdeveloped when it comes to the qualities that make relationships stable and spouses reliable and trustworthy, Mark Regnerus of the University of Texas told BYU.