Strangely aware of the sexual modernism which has invaded
the church and fulminating against the sinister threats to modern society,
Christian spokespersons
of our day claim the high moral ground. They exhort us constantly to resist
today’s “Evil Empire” which is commanded largely by homosexuals, Islam, atheists and
secularists.
Deeply alarmed at the relentless assault
upon biblical “values” and decrying heresies such as “revisionist ‘pro-gay’
scriptural arguments” they call Christians to stand fast in the unalterable two
thousand year old “Faith of our Fathers.”
They are not remiss in discussing
moral relativism and reminding one another of the uncompromising position of
Martin Luther:
If I profess with the loudest voice and clearest exposition every
portion of the truth of God except precisely that little point which the world
and the devil are at that moment attacking, I am not confessing Christ, however
boldly I may be professing Christ.
Yet they seem entirely oblivious to their near universal
departure from that body of truth
on the point of contraception—which is, “precisely that little point which the
world and the devil are at that moment attacking.”
Like the religious leaders of Jesus’ day, they have eyes to
see but they see not. Jesus warned them that, although they claimed Moses and
the prophets as their father, they had in fact rejected the fathers of their Jewish
faith. In similar manner, the vast majority of today’s Christian leaders are
quick to quote the Bible and Martin Luther yet unwilling to give even passing
thought, let alone discussion, to the possibility of their own disobedience and
blindness.
The article below offers more of the same. And as I’ve said
before, this subject does not have to be viewed as a showdown between Catholics
and Protestants. The question is simply: In regard to human sexuality, what has
two thousand years of constant Christian teaching declared?
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Why is the Catholic Church
opposed to birth control? Where in the Bible is birth control condemned as
being contrary to the Will of God?
The Catholic Church is not
opposed to birth control when it is accomplished by natural means, by self
control. She is opposed only to birth control by artificial means, by the
employment of pills, condoms, IUD's, foams, jellies, sterilization,
non-completion of the act of sexual union--or any other means used to prevent
conception from resulting from this act--because such means profane the marital
embrace and dishonor the marriage contract.
God slew Onan for practicing
contraception (Gen. 38:9-10); the word "onanism" derives from Onan's
deed. In fact, up until the Church of England's Lambeth Conference of 1930,
which accepted contraception and thus broke with the Christian tradition,
contraception had been considered by all Christian churches, both Catholic and
Protestant, to be gravely sinful. The Catholic Church does not feel free to
change the law of God, as do Protestants.
In the New Testament, there is
only one instance where sin is punished by God with immediate death, this was
the fate of Ananias and Sapphira, a husband and wife who went through the
motions of giving a gift to God but fraudulently kept back part of it. The
Bible says they lied to the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:1-11). In contraception, two
people go through the motions of an act of self-giving, but obstruct the
natural fruition of their act, i.e., the conception of children, which is the
ultimate purpose for which God created sexuality.
Sexual union is a gift from God
to the married, but by practicing contraception, married couples are accepting
the pleasure God built into the act and yet denying Him its purpose, new
people. They are in effect mocking God. But "Be not deceived, God is not
mocked." (Gal. 6:7). Christ cursed the fig tree which, despite a fine
external appearance, bore no fruit. (Matt. 21:19; Mark 11:14). Marriage is
God's plan for populating Heaven, yet contracepting couples refuse Him the
specific fruit of their marriage, which is children, when they engage in the
act which should produce children yet frustrate the natural, God-intended
result.
Further, the sin of
"sorceries'' or "witchcrafts'' ("pharmakeia'' in the Greek--Gal.
5:20; Apoc. 9:21; 21:8)--which the Bible condemns along with fornication,
murder, idolatry, and other serious sins--very possibly includes secret potions
mixed to prevent pregnancy or cause abortion. Such potions were known and used
even in the first century.
Common sense and conscience both
dictate that artificial birth control is not only a violation of the Natural
Law but is a perfidious insult to the dignity of man himself. For it implies
free reign to physical impulses; it implies total disregard for the fate of the
human seed; it implies utter contempt for the honorable birth of fellow humans,
those fellow humans who are born as the result of a contraceptive having failed
and whose very existence is therefore considered to be an unfortunate
``accident,'' rather than a gift of God; it implies the most extreme
selfishness, for no advocate or practitioner of artificial birth control would
have wanted it for his or her own parents.
Further, contraception undermines
the respect of husband and wife for each other and thereby loosens the marriage
bond. Worst of all, many "contraceptives,'' such as the IUD and most if
not all birth control pills, work by actually causing an abortion early in the
pregnancy; thus, this so-called "contraception'' is in reality
abortion--the killing of a human being--rather than the preventing of
conception.
In every age there is some
favorite sin which is accepted by "respectable" worldly Christians;
in our times the "acceptable'' sin is contraception--a sin which fits in
perfectly with the view that the purpose of human life is to attain earthly
happiness. The true Christian couple, on the other hand, will realize that God
desires them to have children so that these children can come to know Him and
love Him and be happy with Him eternally in Heaven.
Marriage is God's plan for
populating Heaven. How wise it is to let God plan one's family, since He loves
children much more than do their earthly parents and His plans for them go far
beyond any plans of these parents. Innumerable stories are told of God's
Providence to Christian parents who trusted in Him and obeyed His law. For
those who have a true and serious need to space or limit the number of their
children, the new methods of natural family
planning based on periodic abstinence have proven to be extremely reliable
(unlike the earlier "rhythm'' methods) .
Finally, the Christian will
realize that the self-denial involved in bearing and raising Christian children
is a school of Christlikeness. Our Lord said: "If any man will come after
me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.'' (Matt.
16:24). But He also said: "My yoke is sweet and my burden light.'' (Matt.
11:30). God promises sufficient grace to those who seek to obey Him. And the
resulting peace of soul which the obedient married couple enjoys is beyond all
price.
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