Preventing Pregnancy Displeases Thee Lord

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I know this guy who has 8 children. He is a religious man. He had all 8 children from the same woman, and not any floozies. He married before having children. He believes it is the will of God for him to continue having children. I believe he may be against condoms, birth control, diaphragms, and any other type of system that prevents one from conceiving. Could this verse be the reason:

"And Judah said unto Onan, Go in unto thy brother's wife, and marry her, and raise up seed to thy brother.
And Onan knew that the seed should not be his; and it came to pass, when he went in unto his brother's wife, that he spilled it on the ground, lest that he should give seed to his brother. And the thing which he did displeased the Lord: wherefore he slew him also."

I know we believe abortion is bad, but could any prevention of pregnancy displease the Lord?
 
I know this guy who has 8 children. He is a religious man. He had all 8 children from the same woman, and not any floozies. He married before having children. He believes it is the will of God for him to continue having children. I believe he may be against condoms, birth control, diaphragms, and any other type of system that prevents one from conceiving. Could this verse be the reason:

"And Judah said unto Onan, Go in unto thy brother's wife, and marry her, and raise up seed to thy brother.
And Onan knew that the seed should not be his; and it came to pass, when he went in unto his brother's wife, that he spilled it on the ground, lest that he should give seed to his brother. And the thing which he did displeased the Lord: wherefore he slew him also."

I know we believe abortion is bad, but could any prevention of pregnancy displease the Lord?

In my opinion birth control is acceptable to the Lord. Onan sinned not because he used a birth control method, but because he refused to provide his brother's widow with a son. This son would have been the heir of Onan's father. So, Onan did what he did out of greed. Also, instead of simply saying, "I don't want to give a son to my brother's widow", he proceeded to marry her exclusively out of lust, which was also a sin. The particulars of the law that Onan broke (and which is not related to birth control at all) are written in Deuteronomy 25:5-10.
 
I was first married in the late '60s. A church-goer, birth control was never brought up there. Birth control was just handed to us by our world, and it never crossed our minds that it was not a simple opportunity to have a little control in our lives and our futures. Since I was terrorized at the thought of possibly abusing my own child, my husband and I decided not to have any children at all. Thank G-d, He overrode our ideas and sent us two, after whom I had a tubal ligation.

Later, I realized that perhaps I should not have had the operation, but I admit that things would have been far more difficult had we had more, since he died so young. I sometimes think, however, what fun it would have been to have more children like the ones He let us have.

But I have not given this much thought, because what has been done was done, so final, for us. And now, it would be even more than a Sarahic miracle!
 
I know this guy who has 8 children. He is a religious man. He had all 8 children from the same woman, and not any floozies. He married before having children. He believes it is the will of God for him to continue having children. I believe he may be against condoms, birth control, diaphragms, and any other type of system that prevents one from conceiving. Could this verse be the reason:

"And Judah said unto Onan, Go in unto thy brother's wife, and marry her, and raise up seed to thy brother.
And Onan knew that the seed should not be his; and it came to pass, when he went in unto his brother's wife, that he spilled it on the ground, lest that he should give seed to his brother. And the thing which he did displeased the Lord: wherefore he slew him also."

I know we believe abortion is bad, but could any prevention of pregnancy displease the Lord?
Sergio put it nicely.. And I truly agree to that..

I think this is the only Bible verse which people use against birth control.. And most of that would come from people following legalist doctrine..
 
The subject of birth control is a controversial one because so many Christians are divided on it, and some demand it as right because they oppose abortion and think it is the absolute best way to counter it.

I agree that abortion is absolutely wrong on every level. The idea of directly taking someone out of existence as the goal is wrong. Birth control, while I'd say isn't murder, is still an interruption of God's plan.

Sex is a gift from God to those who have made marriage their vocation. And the idea of marriage always must be a partnership of three; the husband, the wife, and most importantly, God. When things like contraception are used, it is an act of defiance to God by closing life as an option.

My wife and I practice Natural Family Planning which has no contraception usage and remains open to life but may also include a periodic point of abstinence. Not only is it smarter and healthier, but is also creates a bond between the couple for multiple reasons, partly because communication is very necessary when practicing NFP. And even with the communication, it develops a funny yet healthy sense of humor between the spouses.
 
The subject of birth control is a controversial one because so many Christians are divided on it, and some demand it as right because they oppose abortion and think it is the absolute best way to counter it.

I agree that abortion is absolutely wrong on every level. The idea of directly taking someone out of existence as the goal is wrong. Birth control, while I'd say isn't murder, is still an interruption of God's plan.

Sex is a gift from God to those who have made marriage their vocation. And the idea of marriage always must be a partnership of three; the husband, the wife, and most importantly, God. When things like contraception are used, it is an act of defiance to God by closing life as an option.

My wife and I practice Natural Family Planning which has no contraception usage and remains open to life but may also include a periodic point of abstinence depending on whether the couple wants . Not only is it smarter and healthier, but is also creates a bond between the couple for multiple reasons, partly because communication is very necessary when practicing NFP. And even with the communication, it develops a funny yet healthy sense of humor between the spouses.
Thanks for the response. Glad to see someone on the other side of the argument.
 
The subject of birth control is a controversial one because so many Christians are divided on it, and some demand it as right because they oppose abortion and think it is the absolute best way to counter it.

I agree that abortion is absolutely wrong on every level. The idea of directly taking someone out of existence as the goal is wrong. Birth control, while I'd say isn't murder, is still an interruption of God's plan.

Sex is a gift from God to those who have made marriage their vocation. And the idea of marriage always must be a partnership of three; the husband, the wife, and most importantly, God. When things like contraception are used, it is an act of defiance to God by closing life as an option.

My wife and I practice Natural Family Planning which has no contraception usage and remains open to life but may also include a periodic point of abstinence. Not only is it smarter and healthier, but is also creates a bond between the couple for multiple reasons, partly because communication is very necessary when practicing NFP. And even with the communication, it develops a funny yet healthy sense of humor between the spouses.
I totally see your point.. And I don't believe this is something that one should argue about.. The stand you have taken is great.. And totally respectable.. at the same time, I don't believe we should look at this from a legalistic perspective.. Someone using birth control is not dishonoring God or disobeying God.. if someone is strong that they can avoid birth control, well and good.. I would leave it to the faith level of the person.. And personally, I am like a pendulum on this! I swing in both directions :)
 
The subject of birth control is a controversial one because so many Christians are divided on it, and some demand it as right because they oppose abortion and think it is the absolute best way to counter it.

I agree that abortion is absolutely wrong on every level. The idea of directly taking someone out of existence as the goal is wrong. Birth control, while I'd say isn't murder, is still an interruption of God's plan.

Sex is a gift from God to those who have made marriage their vocation. And the idea of marriage always must be a partnership of three; the husband, the wife, and most importantly, God. When things like contraception are used, it is an act of defiance to God by closing life as an option.

My wife and I practice Natural Family Planning which has no contraception usage and remains open to life but may also include a periodic point of abstinence. Not only is it smarter and healthier, but is also creates a bond between the couple for multiple reasons, partly because communication is very necessary when practicing NFP. And even with the communication, it develops a funny yet healthy sense of humor between the spouses.
Not to get too graphic, but where would that put oral sex or any other type of sex that wouldn't allow pregnancy to be a possibility?
 
I totally see your point.. And I don't believe this is something that one should argue about.. The stand you have taken is great.. And totally respectable.. at the same time, I don't believe we should look at this from a legalistic perspective.. Someone using birth control is not dishonoring God or disobeying God.. if someone is strong that they can avoid birth control, well and good.. I would leave it to the faith level of the person.. And personally, I am like a pendulum on this! I swing in both directions :)

I appreciate the encouragement. That said, I also respectfully disagree with the other half of what you said.
One must be honest about what contraception is and what it has done to the family, life, the sanctity of marriage, and the acceptance of God into the marriage.

It's easy for Christians to be against abortion because we tend to acknowledge what abortion is. The problem is contraception has also been the gateway for abortion to be regarded as OK for society, and even some Christians are moderate on the subject. Many Christians are more than moderate on contraception and have even began saying how good it is. It's a dangerous the more you think about it.

Much of the pro-life movement is lead by those within the Christian faith. I think it's very important to recognize what contraception is and what it has done if they want to fight for life. A lie such as the idea that abortion is OK cannot be fought and one with half-truths.
 
I appreciate the encouragement. That said, I also respectfully disagree with the other half of what you said.
One must be honest about what contraception is and what it has done to the family, life, the sanctity of marriage, and the acceptance of God into the marriage.

It's easy for Christians to be against abortion because we tend to acknowledge what abortion is. The problem is contraception has also been the gateway for abortion to be regarded as OK for society, and even some Christians are moderate on the subject. Many Christians are more than moderate on contraception and have even began saying how good it is. It's a dangerous the more you think about it.

Much of the pro-life movement is lead by those within the Christian faith. I think it's very important to recognize what contraception is and what it has done if they want to fight for life. A lie such as the idea that abortion is OK cannot be fought and one with half-truths.
I would also respectfully disagree!! :D

If birth control is wrong, it is wrong to the same level as natural contraception.. In both the cases, the intent is to use sex for something other than child bearing.. You rightly pointed out something.. We honor God in the physical union by keeping the relationship holy.. That is, it should be only between husband and wife.. That is all that matters in honoring God.. When it is between husband and wife only, I don't see anything wrong in sex being something that is not going to result in bearing child.. In this case, what difference would it make between natural contraception and some other means of birth control?
 
I would also respectfully disagree!! :D

If birth control is wrong, it is wrong to the same level as natural contraception.. In both the cases, the intent is to use sex for something other than child bearing.. You rightly pointed out something.. We honor God in the physical union by keeping the relationship holy.. That is, it should be only between husband and wife.. That is all that matters in honoring God.. When it is between husband and wife only, I don't see anything wrong in sex being something that is not going to result in bearing child.. In this case, what difference would it make between natural contraception and some other means of birth control?

You bring up a great point.
The reason why there is a difference is that the dignity that ought to be there does get lost when using contraception. It does create a divide between spouses that wasn't intended, and it's intention is to rule out any option what God plans. Naturally God could still make it so life is created, but the act itself is meant to leave possibility out of the equation, which is an act of defiance.
 
You bring up a great point.
The reason why there is a difference is that the dignity that ought to be there does get lost when using contraception. It does create a divide between spouses that wasn't intended, and it's intention is to rule out any option what God plans. Naturally God could still make it so life is created, but the act itself is meant to leave possibility out of the equation, which is an act of defiance.
I think this is where we will continue to disagree.. And I don't have a problem with that :)

I was on your side some time ago.. But then when I started thinking about it, I was not able to objectively define the difference between natural contraception and natural contraception.. If someone sees a difference, I try not to argue!
 
I would also respectfully disagree!! :D

If birth control is wrong, it is wrong to the same level as natural contraception.. In both the cases, the intent is to use sex for something other than child bearing.. You rightly pointed out something.. We honor God in the physical union by keeping the relationship holy.. That is, it should be only between husband and wife.. That is all that matters in honoring God.. When it is between husband and wife only, I don't see anything wrong in sex being something that is not going to result in bearing child.. In this case, what difference would it make between natural contraception and some other means of birth control?

Hello Ravindran, I was just hoping to add to an aspect you shared about the physical union being so important. I believe when Paul talked about marriage one of the major aspects he discussed was the physical relationship between a married man and woman being crucial to thei relationship i.e the body is not your own and to not abstain from relations for too long. I think God was clearly giving us his instruction on a major and important aspect of the marriage union....
 
I think this is where we will continue to disagree.. And I don't have a problem with that :)

I was on your side some time ago.. But then when I started thinking about it, I was not able to objectively define the difference between natural contraception and natural contraception.. If someone sees a difference, I try not to argue!

In your defense, evaluating contraception's immorality can appear much more complex than something as obvious as abortion. But I do think as Christians, because we do value life and marriage, we have a responsibility to look very closely at how we treat sex, and that would include contraception.
 
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