I wrote an article a few years ago in the National Examiner about celibacy before marriage (click here to see article ).  I got a number of reviews both on and off line with varying views on the subject.  The discussion that resonates more than ever was one I had with a young lady who recently broke up with her boyfriend.  Through the course of dating, they were actively engaged in an intimate relationship.  When she gave her life to Christ one Sunday and discussed celibacy with her boyfriend of 1 1/2 years, he seemed to be hesitant, but open to her decision.  Eventually, her decision took its toll on the relationship and he gave her an ultimatum resulting in her choosing to stay in the relationship and resume having sex with him.  Unbeknowst to her, he had already found a partner during the "dry spell" and they broke up when she found out.  She believes the demise of their relationship had more to do with her decision to move to celibacy than his lying to her about being ok with abstaining and then stepping out of the relationship.  I found that to be an interesting conclusion, but when I talked to a number of people about this challenge, their comments were quite similar to her belief.  One gentleman said, "women use celibacy as a way to push the relationship along, especially if they have been dating a man for more than a year and he hasn't voluntarily taken it to the next level".  Another gentleman offered, "he didn't tell her he was cheating because the other woman didn't really mean anything to him.  He was getting what he needed on the side, but that didn't change the way he felt about his woman."  Very interesting comments.  What are your thoughts?