Sex & Contraception & Abortion

G'day

I've got a few questions about contempoary christian's views on Sex & Contraception & Abortion vs what is said in the bible. I've got a copy of TNIV in a PDF and did some searching for the terms "sex", "sexual" "sleep with", "contraception", and "abortion" to find what the bible says on this matter.

As for sex I found a whole lot of rather obvious laws like not screwing animals, washing after sex in Leviticus 18, but nothing about waiting until marriage before you do it. Leviticus 18 I thought was really getting painfully clear on exactly who you can do and when, but no mention of marriage. My understanding of the OT laws however is that they aren't really applicable for some reason I cant recall So its possible all the laws in Leviticus are just for historical reference, like the one in lev 19 that says you can't wearing clothing of two different materials .

So continuing on I found the punishments for committing the sexual sins described in lev 20. One that really struck me is rather was lev20:18
[bible]
18“ ‘If a man has sexual relations with a woman
during her monthly period, he has exposed the
source of her flow, and she has also uncovered it.
Both of them are to be cut off from their people.[/bible]

Now before the quote it had the LORD says; so thats God talking right ? Excommunication is rather harsh for something that isn't really seem all that bad. It also demands that people who curse their parents be put to death. By the law I outta be dead ! Getting side tracked, anyway, back onto sex.

Continuing through the bible theres a reference to sexual immorality in numbers 24, but no explanation of what it means. I'm assuming sexual immorality is anything that goes against the laws the LORD gave to Moses back in Lev. Moving through Ezeiel 18 makes a reference to sinners dieing if they sleep with their neibours wife or a women on the rag. But again no mention of marriage.

Onto the new testiment. Through out the NT there are references of sexual immorality. One direct reference is Corinthians 5 when it talks about Sexual Immorality. It goes on about how our bodies are our temples of the holy spirt and we 'unite' with them during sex. It is however not talking about sex within a relationship, but outside or marriage, nor is it even talking about a one night stand. it's only talking about sex with prostitutes. Therefore I can't see how that section of the bible outlaws sex before marriage. In the same chapter it does however say its "good" for them to control themselves and if they can't they should marry. But its not God speaking, but clearly the Author giving the suggestion - not a command. Moving along...Theres quite a few references to "sexual immorality" being very very bad, but nothing that explains or details whay they mean by sexual immorality.

So with no biblical reference (that i could find anyway ) decribing sexual immorality as sex outside of marriage, where then did the Christian idea that sex outside of marriage is an awful thing to do ?

Additionally I couldnt find any reference to contraception going against the will of God. I understand that the pill/rod/condoms werent around back then, but if taking measures to prevent pregancy was against Gods will, wouldn't God of said something along the lines of thou shall not waste your seed ? After all apart from abortive herbs, the only contraceptive they had back then was the "pull & pray" method. Which brings me to my final question on abortion. Nowhere in the bible could i find anything on abortion. Now healers back in bibical days relied on herbs to heal patients and knowledge of abortifacients was part of this herb law. So abortions were happening back in biblical times and yet no one in the bible has said its bad. Why then do todays Christians believe abortion is against Gods will ?

Sexual immorality is called fornication, try looking up that word..there are alot more than just 1 Cor. Ch. 5 that speaks of sexual immorality, and it is not speaking of prostitutes, but he scorning the Church at Corinth because there were rumors of sexual immorality, and inparticular, a man had his father's wife.

1 Cor. 5: 1-3
"It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that does not occur even among pagans: A man has his father's wife. And you are proud! Shouldn't you rather have been filled with grief and have put out of your fellowship the man who did this? Even though I am not physically present, I am with you in spirit. And I have already passed judgment on the one who did this, just as if I were present."

1 Cor. 6:18
"Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body."

Galations 5:19
"The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery;"

etc, etc. Anyway point is the Scriptures clearly tell us that sexual immorality/fornication/pre marital sex is wrong.


Only married people are permitted to have sex. The main reason is for love and procreation. Contraceptives, stop the natural from occuring, hence you are choosing when to have kids, not God. Now you can choose to not have kids by not haveing sex, but if you have sex, which is for procreation we should leave it up to God to decide.

Abortion=murder, Commandment 6: Though shall not murder.

To me, as a Christian and a Biologist and a woman who can not have childern without risking her own life, I will tell you my personal point of few.

first sex; Normal, healthy and too bad there is a virus called HIV that takes the fun out of it. If two conscenting adults have sex, no matter what their gender, their martial statues and so on, I am okay with it. Even if three conscenting adults have sex. As long as no one gets hurt, or forced......I am okay with it, whatever time of the month.... although personally....eeewwww yuk and so on. Lets face it, we are sexual beings and it is something that is as much a part of us as eating and breathing.

Contraception: It should be promoted and condoms should be hand out at every school......I mean, guess how much people lives it saves, no unwanted pregnancies, no killing virusses. Let's face it, teens experiment and what is more interesting then something that is forbidden. The more open you are towards teens, the more they consider the pros and cons.

Abortion: I am for abortion. I have worked in a prediagnostics lab and I have seen the bad news many parents get about their unborn. We have to look at each 'matter' (excuse me these choice of words, I know it is about living beings) seperately. We can not even imagine how parents / the woman feels while making a choice for or against abortion. If you don't want an abortion, I applaude it, if you do want an abortion, I applaude it, cause I can not even imagine what it means to you personally (mentally and physically). Calling it murder is the most horrific thing anyone can do and it shows lack of respect towards a human being. Women have faught for a long time to have the right to do what they want....Women and men have fought to legalize abortion to avoid the horrors of dark back alleys and the death of teens because a butcher did the abortion and not a doctor, someone who knows what he or she is doing. Using it as a contraceptive is not something I would promote. If you teach the teens everything about sex, sexuality and the results of their act and give them good sex education...it will surely lower the abortion on that level. But like I said, look at each case individual....


Don't flame me, I respect everybodies opinion. If I got pregnant, I would have an abortion, cause I will risk dying, so I use contraception to avoid that situation. And I am monogamous.....I had sex before I married with hubs....with hubs...LOL. We lived together for a year or so

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Yeah that's great. But he asked for Biblical sources not someones opinions. Either you are Christian and follow the Bible, or your not. If you say you are Christian but go against the Bible, then you are just a word. If women don't want to have to choose between not to or to have an abortion, then they should not have sex, if this person really is Christian. Abortion is the ending of a human life and that is murder.

Also if you promote condoms, then your basically saying it is ok to have sex. Why not promote abstinance?

But I am speaking as an Orthodox Christian who follows the Bible, not goes against.

And what is this risk dying stuff? I am a nurse and have worked in a womens center, and never heard of someone scared of dying in childbirth. It happens, but so do car accidenst, but I'm sure you still drive.

Hey guys, I realise im going to get a wide variety of answers, but please don't fight It'll only get my thread trashed

The Bible's view about sexuality and relationships include much more than just the verses that address it specifically. The problem isn't pre-marital sex as such, but extra-marital sex (outside the protected union of marriage). The conditions for morality follow a reasoning of purity and holiness, and all the prohibitions on what is "immoral" follow from these principles - keeping certain things separate from each other. That's also why marriage is considered so serious, it was instituted as a place of complete security, unconditional love and trust, and is therefore automatically opposed to insecurity, abuse, and infidelity.

Consider for a moment that just sleeping with every person you "love" may end up being an immoral lifestyle. That's because it's not based on love that lasts, the love God wants us to practice. Paul uses the example of a prostitute as an extreme example, but the principle applies to any relationship. Sex is a matter of fidelity, and fidelity is only protected within marriage. Marriage is a promise - something that doesn't just depend on how we feel, but on what we intend to do no matter how we might feel. If "love", of which sex is an expression, depends on our changing passions and desires, and not on something more mutual, more stable, it will only break down what God wants us to build. Keeping marriage pure (Heb. 13:4) starts longs before you actually get married, because married life contrasts your whole unmarried life.

That brings us to contraception. Once again, I believe it's just a continuation of the bigger principle. If you are practicing abstinence, you won't need contraception. If you're not, contraception isn't the real issue. Then it's like a nicotene patch for someone who doesn't intend to stop smoking. If you need to "play it safe", you're probably not playing safe.

Otherwise, I prefer not to be very dogmatic about contraception. Like Analog observed, the Bible never mention such a practice. I simply see it as part of a responsible relationship, something each married couple must decide over themselves. I don't believe that contraception takes away God's prerogative of being the one who decides whether we have children (nothing personal, repentant!) With that reasoning, we shouldn't take any medication or go to hospital because it takes away God's prerogative of deciding whether an illness kills us or not; or we shouldn't work for food because God will provide. God gave us the ability to take responsibility for our lives and even for the lives of others, and He has always expected us to exercize that responsibility. In fact, that's what morality is about, if you ask me.

Abortion is more difficult to comment on, and such a contentious subject that I'll only say briefly what I think. I don't think it's unqualified murder. The reality of sin has led many women to the option of abortion, just as it has led many marriages to face divorce. It's just too easy to say it's never the proper decision. It's tempting to say that, but just too easy - and I would almost say, too arrogant.

The real danger is that the choice between life and death can become trivialized. Or that sex, and marriage, become trivialized. The origin of such a trivialization is usually that God himself had become trivialized in our minds. If we don't take Him seriously, we won't take his will seriously, and we won't take our responsibilities seriously - why would we? One choice can easily seem as good as another - whether to have sex or not, whether to have an abortion or not, all seem so much ado about nothing, unless we realize that God is protecting something we may not be fully grasping. He is protecting our relationship with Him; He is protecting His image. This is significant: we were created in His image, but when we diverge from that - when we stop being "holy as He is holy" (1 Pet. 1:15-16) - we distort our image of Him, and it becomes a vicious circle. People start blaming God for things that are really their own doing, and the rift just becomes wider and wider. Sin and morality is about more than just what is good for us here and now, it's about what is good for us eternally: it doesn't affect just our relationship with people, but also our relationship with God. And if you ask me, that's what it comes down to. God created us for fulfilling lives, not for destroying or destroyed lives.

Analog I didn't mean to sound like I was fighting, I just wanted this to stay in the scope of what you asked, and that was Biblical references. Didn't mean to insult anyone.

Nightfire,

Let me explain what I mean about how taking contraceptives, stops the will of God, and also the difference between health benefiial medicines, and contraception.

When God created man, Adam and Eve, they were pure and in a state of complete exisistance with God. They did not sin. God gave them the give of sex and blessed it and told them, "And you, be ye fruitful, and multiply; bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply therein." (Gen. 9:7) So he gave them the gift of sex for the purpose of procreation, multiplying and increase the number of people on the earth.
Now Adam and Eve, like I said earlier, did not know sin. They knew that God gave them this gift of sex, but they did it only for the reason God commanded. They did not do it for any personal satisfaction, or pleasure.
Now we come to the fall. Adam and Eve disobeyed God, and fell from there state of grace they had and also lost there complete existance with God. Their disobedience not only brought death, but it also brought sin. Not only the act of sin, but the thought and knowledge of it. One of the sins brought on th man was lust. So after the fall, man still had sex for the purpose God blessed us with, but also for reasons of lust. They used it for personal satisfaction. This, like I said before, was not the reason for sex.
Now what does this have to do with contraceptives? Well as a result of the fall and sin coming to earth, we lost our grace, and perfect existance. Just because we are incapable of not sinning, it does not mean we should. Just because we fell, God did not change His reasoning and purpose for blessing us with sex. So with that said, on earth we will never reach the pre-fall perfect existance and communion with God. But it does not mean we should not try. On earth we should try our hardest not to sin, which means not having sex for the purpose of passion, personal pleasure and gratification.

So what I'm trying to say is, when you use contraceptives (and for the sake of arguement let's say your married) you are not only taking away God's will and decision on who should have children and who should not, but you are also going against His reason for giving us sex in the first place. And you are making a personal passion, and self gratifying act, which is a form of idolatry*,instead of the blessed act God gave us.

Now even in marriage we lust for our spouse, but this is ok, as long as you don't inhbit child bearing in any way. Basically if it happens it happens, if not then not. St. Paul said,"Now to the unmarried and the widows I say: It is good for them to stay unmarried, as I am. But if they cannot control themselves, they should marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion." (1 Corinthians 7:8,9). Basically what he is saying is that, he would rather people remain celebant and unmarried like him,but he knows that this is not for everyone and would rather people married, so that they may have their marital sexual realtions, than not to marry, and lust for sex, and maybe even commit sexual immorality.

*Colossians 3:5
Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.

Nightfire,
Based on this, I hope where you see the difference between medically beneficial medicines, that God gave us, and unnatural contraception.

Everything else you said, I applaude you for, I just wanted you to understand where I was coming from.

Or you could say by having sex using contraceptives, you can have sex more often.
That means you are increasing your love for that person as by having sex in a loving relationship you become even closer. Sex can be a way of showing deep feelings for your partner. There isn't anything wrong with loving, is there?

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Please give some time to think about these statements!!!!

"How can you expect to be respected if you do not think for yourself? Have a need to want reasons for believing in something, rather than just believing and accepting."

"Every Creation, must have a Creator. Everything that exists physically is a Creation."

"If the universe is said to be expanding, what is the universe expanding into?"

"Why is that the bible is the only 'proof' of God existing? Why would He not make himself known to His Creation? What reason would He have not to? What is the reliability of the bible as a source of evidence to God's existence?"

Thats kind of a harsh response but I agree with it. I just would have put a bit more love into your response.

Bella,

So if you die, you die. You then will be with your heavenly father. The Bible is not politically correct. Opinons are just that, they are opinons. Some things we may not like in the Bible but we need to TRY and follow them to the best of our ability. Of coarse we will mess up because we are human and we sin. But we need to try and follow everything that the Bible says. Not just pick and choose what we want to.

Abortion=murder

God can get us through anything, even unwanted childbirths or birthdefects.

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Look to the Lord and his strength, seek his face always.

1st Chronicles 16:11

The Man asked for what the bible says about sex not anyones personal opinion (though I though we all agree with the bible, seems not). It is clear that sex before getting married is a sin. Sex is a kind of gift or prize that is meant for those who found their other half and are married.
From what I know every way of having sex which does not grant a chance to have a child is a sin. So contraception, oral sex and so on would be a sin in this case (even if your married).
Abortion. Same as above. If you don't give new life a chance it's a sin...

How can You encourage sex, contraception and abortion?
I don't think condoms are the way to fight unwanted pregnancy, besides if I were the unwanted baby I'd still want to recieve the greatest gift of all: life.
However bad it may be, life is always worth it...

Just my 5 cents