Biblical verses on contraception

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A friend of mine and I were talking at lunch, and I was saying that contraception/abortion, etc is sinful and he asked where in the Bible it says that you can’t use contraception. Also, I know that his wife is on the pill, so I also know that is a problem, as well.

I really didn’t know what verses would be applicable. Plus, I know that a lot of issues come from tradition.(I don’t know if this falls under that type of teaching or not) How do I properly explain tradition vs. having him stick to the Bible alone, if indeed we cannot find passages which clearly show that contraception is wrong.

He is not really a practicing member of any church, but I think he still considers himself a Christian. His mom left the Catholic Church after a divorce and so he was not raised Catholic and I think he is somewhat anti-Catholic because of it. Let me know what I can share with him.

Also, please pray for him and for me to be able to explain this to him well.
 
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mh4j:
he asked where in the Bible it says that you can’t use contraception.
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Go then and multiply, fill the earth. That is God’s plan, not go out have fun, use sex as a sport. Going against God’s plan is sin by definition. Second and more importantly, the Church teaches that it is a sin; it doesn’t “need” to be in Scripture, although it is.
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mh4j:
Also, I know that his wife is on the pill, so I also know that is a problem, as well.
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Well that would give him reason to deny the truth wouldn’t it? Don’t expect an easy time since he will have to be admitting he is sinning.
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mh4j:
I really didn’t know what verses would be applicable. Plus, I know that a lot of issues come from tradition.(I don’t know if this falls under that type of teaching or not)
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Read the CCC on the use of contraceptives.
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mh4j:
How do I properly explain tradition vs. having him stick to the Bible alone,
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Many references on the catholic answers web site.
 
Well you can go at it a few ways. You could ask him if they would really stop using it if you could tell him where it is. If he says yes, then you could ask him why he refuses so many of the other bible teachings…like eucharist, keeping the sabbath day holy (you could think of tons of things that the bible teaches that he doesn’t do). Also let him know that the bible is not meant to contain everything. It doesn’t tell us that we can’t eat our children, but we don’t do it.

Look in Genesis I think it is chapter 3, with Onan. He used the pullout method during sex, and God struck him dead because he purposly spilt his seed on the ground. The usual punishment for this was public humiliation, but God wanted everyone to know that this was bad so he killed him.
 
I can’t site the actual passage–but in one of Paul’s letters, he lists a bunch of sins–one is usually translated as “whichcraft” . The Greek word is something like pharmacopaia–same root as pharmasudical (sorry anout spelling. . .) or drugs. Using drugs (in the for of herbs) to prevent or end a pregnancy was common even then. Paul definately taught against this. All christian churches taught agains contraception until 1930 when the Anglicans opened the floodgates by saying that it’s ok within marriage under certain cercumstances. Both the Couple to Couple League (ccli.org) and One More Soul would be good places to go for more info on this. The teaching against contraception IS christian, and New Testament based.

Allison

Just found 2 helpful sites--catholic.com/library/birth_control.asp
ccli.org/contraception/onan.shtml
 
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mh4j:
A friend of mine and I were talking at lunch, and I was saying that contraception/abortion, etc is sinful and he asked where in the Bible it says that you can’t use contraception. Also, I know that his wife is on the pill, so I also know that is a problem, as well.

I really didn’t know what verses would be applicable. Plus, I know that a lot of issues come from tradition.(I don’t know if this falls under that type of teaching or not) How do I properly explain tradition vs. having him stick to the Bible alone, if indeed we cannot find passages which clearly show that contraception is wrong.

He is not really a practicing member of any church, but I think he still considers himself a Christian. His mom left the Catholic Church after a divorce and so he was not raised Catholic and I think he is somewhat anti-Catholic because of it. Let me know what I can share with him.

Also, please pray for him and for me to be able to explain this to him well.
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Ok here’s a way to come at this to start with…ask him if he is against abortion.

Then ask him if he understands how the pill works and if he is aware that the pill can actually causes abortion if the woman becomes pregnant while taking the pill?

Go to the couple to couple league website …they have alot of info there too that will help you: ccli.org/

Then you can go from there onto the other aspects.

SV
 
Check out Christopher West’s book Good News About Sex and Marriage. It’s an easy read, and it will provide you with an in-depth explanation for everything you will ever need to explain to non-Catholics about sex.
 
in Gal 5:20, Rev 9:21, 18:23, 21:8, and 22:15. “Pharmakia” is translated into our English Bible as either “witchcraft” or “sorceries”. We also get our English word “pharmacy” from the Greek word “pharmakia”.

this is from life.org which is a freaky site but they have a collection of where “pharmakia” is mentioned in scripture.
Galatians 5:20-21 says, that those who practice “idolatery, sorcery, hatred…envy, murders…will not inherit the kingdom of God”(NKJ). Revelation 21:7-8 says, “murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone”(NKJ). Revelation 22:15 tells us, “Outside are the sorcerers and the sexually immoral, and murderers and idolaters and whoever loves and practices a lie”(NKJ). In Acts 19:18 we see that when the people repented of their sinfullness, and upon receiving Jesus Christ as their Saviour and Lord, they publicly burned their sorcery books
 
Give your friend a tape from One More Soul by Janet E. Smith, Ph.D. entitled "Contraception, Why Not?" (She is a professor at the University of Dallas.)
Or listen to the tape yourself to get answers to your friend’s questions, which you’ll then be prepared to pass on.

The tape gives a thorough explanation of the many physical, psychological, and moral reasons “why not.”

Video - $20
Audio - $5

Audio tape free to seminarians.

omsoul.com/item139.html

JMJ Jay
 
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Katholikos:
Give your friend a tape from One More Soul by Janet E. Smith, Ph.D. entitled "Contraception, Why Not?" (She is a professor at the University of Dallas.)
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If you want to read the tape transcript instead of listening to it, you can also do that at omsoul.com:

Contraception: Why Not transcript and study guide

BTW, Janet Smith is now Chair of Life Issues at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit. She left Univ of Dallas.

Prof. Janet E. Smith

Your friend may insist on looking to the Bible for authority, and thus reject any teachings based upon Catholic Tradition. But the nice thing about the arguments against contraception is that many of them are based on natural law, which means they are still valid even with an atheist.
 
Many good responses so far. But another way to think of it (at least in legalese) is that it is considered “penumbral” under the commandment that one shouldn’t kill. (I find this argument works best for those “Christians” who find themselves finding a penumbral right to privacy which allows for the abortion of unborn babies.

Pax,
Fred
 
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