Birth Control

[dinonum]

Yeah, I'm going there. Hopefully this is an acceptable place for it here.

How should Christian's feel about birth control?

 

[drich0150]

i know the catholics are not big fans, but as far as most of the rest of Christianity is concerned.. What happens in the bed room of a married couple is between husband, and wife.

 

[dinonum]

Including abortion?

 

[drich0150]

Abortion is not birth control. Birth control is to prevent conception. Abortion is killing an existing baby. Abortion happens after conception.

 

[dinonum]

Isn't preventing conception going against God's word to be fruitful and multiply? Putting the chance of pregnancy in our own hand's rather than God's?

I'm very interested in getting the Catholic perspective on this too!

 

[drich0150]

Isn't preventing conception going against God's word to be fruitful and multiply? Putting the chance of pregnancy in our own hand's rather than God's?

How so? "Being fruitful and multiply" was not accompanied with a number of children one must produce. Nor was the command be fruitful and multiply every time you come together. Further more that command was given to specifically to Adam and Eve in Genesis 1:28. As it was written "we" have full filled that verse.

Be fruitful and multiply is a verse that sanctifies those who can have children. It does not condemn those who do not, or can not.

 

[dinonum]

Cannot is one thing, what about choosing not to by obstructing natural reproduction?

 

[drich0150]

Cannot is one thing, what about choosing not to by obstructing natural reproduction?

That is precisely why i said that the "Command" to be fruit full and multiply was not a command made to condemn those who were not doing so, it was permission for those who did.

If it were meant to be taken as a negative for those who were not having babies then there would be at least one mentioning somewhere else in scripture where contraception would be shown as a sin. What we do have in scripture is all manner of blessings for those who choose to have children. This reinforces the Idea that the "command" found in Gen 1 was God's blessing on this activity rather than a quota for all married couples to have children every time they came together. Or that every woman would be held accountable for every unfertilized egg she passed while being married.

 

[dinonum]

Taking out of the equation that verse, what of couples who are purposefully preventing pregnancy with unnatural contraceptives? Birth control pills?

 

[drich0150]

You have to consider that birth control/use of contraceptives, was available in the time of Jesus, and some biblical scholars believe it to have existed long before. There were several methods used, they even employed "sheep skin." Even with this knowledge Jesus, Paul nor any of the other writers of the new testament said anything against these practices.

 

[dinonum]

Any sources you can cite?

BTW, I'm neutral on the subject I just think it's an interesting topic =]

 

[drich0150]

The first one starts out by establishing the nature of Children in the Martial relationship and how it relates to scripture, but read it all the way through. (It gives both sides)

What does the Bible say about birth control / contraceptives? Should Christians use birth control?

This one is a general history
History of Female Contraception - Medhunters

I can probably find some more, most of what i am quoting is from memory.

 

[drich0150]

I like to work in 3's:
Is birth-control sinful?

 

[ebia]

Taking out of the equation that verse, what of couples who are purposefully preventing pregnancy with unnatural contraceptives? Birth control pills?

I for one don't see any distinction between so called natural family planning and using contraceptive devices. The goal and result is the same. Nowhere in scripture does it tie absolutely sex and procreation: Genesis 1 talks about blessing and procreation, but not sex. Genesis 2 talks about sex but not about procreation. We get to Genesis 4 before the two are mentioned together, and then it is simply as a statement of what happened "Now the man slept with his woman, Eve, she became pregnant,..."

 

[LJSGM]

God designed us to control how many children we have... we just don't have sex/get married.

I think it's ok to prevent pregnancy AND have a spouse if both agree on that subject.

 

[Avniel]

Also many people feel that sex is for procreation however I was reading the songs Solomon and that seemed very recreational!!

 

[angrylittlefisherman]

Also many people feel that sex is for procreation however I was reading the songs Solomon and that seemed very recreational!!

If it were not enjoyable being fruitful and multiplying would probably not occur. I think that the intimacy and pleasure of intercourse probably has some direct correspondence with the unity of marriage. A marriage is made whole by consummation, it is the physical demonstration of becoming one flesh, this is one reason why fornication (and adultery) is so destructive to the soul. One must be careful to never make intercourse about recreation. I am not suggesting that that one cannot or should not enjoy or take some recreation from the act but to make about recreation is selfish.
As for birth control I do not like most forms of medical birth control, the pill etc as they all contain abortifacients, essentially the "birth control" pills and other pharmaceutical options will allow conception to occur but can still induce an abortion. So we do not use them.

 

[cowboysfan1970]

Also many people feel that sex is for procreation however I was reading the songs Solomon and that seemed very recreational!!

People that feel that way will view the Song of Solomon as purely allegorical and putting a sexual meaning on it is perverse and worldly. The procreation only crowd more often that not bases their beliefs on personal feeling or convictions and won't or can't site Biblical passages to back it up. The ones that do site passages often either have a poor understanding of them or are twisting them to fit their beliefs, instead of the scriptures forming their beliefs.

 

[JCFantasy23]

Cannot is one thing, what about choosing not to by obstructing natural reproduction?

If we were all meant to have children, I'd think we'd all be good parents. Or all of our bodies could handle it. We're all created differently, and in different stages of our life it's not the best idea to have children. Sometimes even dangerous for the child or parent.

 

[chingchang]

Any sources you can cite?

BTW, I'm neutral on the subject I just think it's an interesting topic =]

One would have to prove that birth control IS as sin rather than proving it is not a sin since the scriptures make no mention of it. My belief is that God is omnipotent and if it is His will for someone to be born into this world...then no man-made birth control can stop it. BTW...last time I checked the world's population was over 6.6 BILLION:

Google - public data

...I'd say the Earth has been filled. Just sayin'...

Hugs,
CC