Comedian Bill Cosby, one of the most successful and influential African-American entertainers, was a speaker at the Essence Festival this past weekend. “The Cosby Show,” one of the longest running, most refreshing family sitcoms in television history, continues to entertain millions of people.

Cosby has been a loud voice when addressing problems in the black communities, mainly, teenage pregnancy, violence and vulgar rap music. Many black leaders have in the past criticized him for being too tough when talking about these problems.

I’ve always been a fan of Mr. Cosby. His family show projected a functional American family with high morals, compassion and much love. It appeared to be what a Christian family should be like.

After hearing the news media’s account of his speech to the large crowd at the Convention Center Saturday, I was disappointed.

As usual, Cosby’s message to parents drew high applause as he talked about a man whose 14-year-old daughter had just gone through a pregnancy scare.

Cosby’s advice to the audience was to sit down and talk with teenagers who you know are sexually active. Tell them the truth. Young teenagers are out there having sex without a condom, and the girls are engaging without the pill or a diaphragm. (I didn’t use his actual words because they were as crude as those used by some of the rappers that he condemns.)

I agree that teenage pregnancies are a serious social problem, but nothing was said about the spiritual damage created when we suggest protected sex instead of abstinence. Have we given up on God’s solution to teenage pregnancies?

Suggesting safe sex is giving our children permission to fornicate, which is against God’s Christian code of conduct.

Pre-martial sex is a sin. I’ve heard it said, many years ago, that sin will take you further than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay and cost you more than you want to pay.

God’s command to teenagers is abstinence. It’s 100 percent guaranteed!

If you have any questions or comments, please write to Get High on Life, P.O. Drawer U, Reserve, LA 70084, call (985) 652-8477, or e-mail: hkeller@comcast.net.