Birth control, etc

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I know that artificial birth control is wrong and that the Church encourages NFP. And I agree; I trust the Church the way I would trust a Ph.D – they obviously have authority on the matter and know what they’re talking about.

But can someone explain to me why?
 
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cardenio:
I know that artificial birth control is wrong and that the Church encourages NFP. And I agree; I trust the Church the way I would trust a Ph.D – they obviously have authority on the matter and know what they’re talking about.

But can someone explain to me why?
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Because.

And that is the best answer you’ll get until you explain your question. Why WHAT?
 
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cardenio:
I know that artificial birth control is wrong and that the Church encourages NFP. And I agree; I trust the Church the way I would trust a Ph.D – they obviously have authority on the matter and know what they’re talking about.

But can someone explain to me why?
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If contraception and NFP are no different, why *not *use NFP?
 
yochumjy - why is one wrong and not the other? Sorry bout that.

mike182d - I’m not saying I’m planning on using artificial birth control, because I’m not, but how do I respond to people who say “if they’re the same, why not use the Pill?”
 
Acting hand-in-hand with God in pro-**creation, **creating a new soul, is a sacred event. We should not profane it by rejecting one of the key elements of it. It’d be akin to taking the Eucharist, but then spitting it out. If you really feel that for a just reason you should not have the Eucharist, by all means abstain rather than profane!

see also:
catholic.com/thisrock/1991/9107chap.asp

excerpt:
Catholic teaching regards marriage as a covenant which has as one of its constituent elements an openness to new life and the procreative good. Sexual intercourse involves a renewal of the marriage covenant. Contraceptive intercourse is a violation of that covenant because it acts directly against procreation, one of the basic goods of marriage.

By acting contraceptively, Onan robbed sexual intercourse of its life-giving meaning and acted against the good of his potential offspring’s life. Both his intent and his concrete actions were against life. As a result, Onan received the Old Testament penalty for his crime.

Or type “contraception” into the Catholic.com search engine.
 
We trust in God with our entirety, our minds, our bodies, our souls and our future, most importantly our eternal future, but also our simple earthly future.

God has asked us to be fruitful and multiply. He also gave the world to us to care for. We are called to be good stewards to all we have been given, including our own bodies. These bodies are also the temple of the Holy Spirit. As such, it is not to be desecrated in any way, outside the purposes of the creator.

So, we retain the marital act for marriage. We remain open to the fruit of our marital love. If we have appropriate reasons for spacing out the birth of our children (and with today’s contraceptive mentality being as pervasive as it is, we need to be really careful here), NFP can provide a way to work within God’s natural plan.

Those who work with God, rather than trying to be like him by taking his place in the decision of when to create life, see the benefits in their lives. The divorce rate among couples who practice NFP is reportedly at 5%, a far cry below the national average.

Also, NFP is completely different than the Pill. The pill is an abortafacient - it kills conceived infants by preventing them from implanting on the wall of the uterus. They are then expelled from the mother. The pill is frequently described as stopping ovulation. This is not the full truth. If it were, one might assume you could “postpone” your fertile years by holding the eggs until it were more convenient to attempt to get pregnant.

The woman’s body becomes decreasingly fertile as she ages. Postponing pregnancy significantly increases the likelihood that she will not become a mother. It may be counter cultural to have a family when you are young, but it is consistant with the true plan of God if you are called to marriage and have married your spouse.

I hope this helps answer your question.

God Bless,

CARose
 
I got alot our of Scott Hahn’s teaching on the Sacraments (Swear to God) and in that he shows the equivalence between receiving a sacrament and swearing an oath (taking a vow).

Marriage is a sacrament that is renewed in the “act of marriage” exactly like our communion (as a Church and bride of Jesus) is renewed in the Eucharistic sacrament. In the act, you are re-pledging yourself to your spouse.

In a particularly vivid image, he states that we would not spit out the Eucharist after receiving it, preventing Grace from bringing God’s life to us; nor would we prevent the marital act from the possibility of producing life in the marital union. (I will refrain from being too graphic.) Partial commitment is not good enough.

Get the picture?

Grace is God’s life. Sacraments administer Grace in the Church. Marriage is our participation in the life of Grace AND of new physical life, thereby allowing us to be co-workers with the Lord in the work of Creation too!!!

Puts a whole new spin on the term co-redeemer too, doesn’t it? 😉
 
End and means, end and means… I hate how I keep forgetting about one or the other.

I understand now.

Thank you. Everybody.
 
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cardenio:
I know that artificial birth control is wrong and that the Church encourages NFP. And I agree; I trust the Church the way I would trust a Ph.D – they obviously have authority on the matter and know what they’re talking about.

But can someone explain to me why?
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The person who can explain it the best is the Pope himself. Read the encyclical of Humanae Vitae by his holiness Pope Paul VI. This document explains it completely and has good references in scripture and other church documents. Just check out the references in the footnotes while you read the document. Marriage is a holy sacrament in the church and a Christian vocation.

**:blessyou: **

PS: By the way, Pope Paul VI is sometimes said to be the most liberal Pope.
 
There is also the encyclical of Evangelium Vitae by his holines Pope John Paul II. This one is a lot more reading and has a lot of scriptural and other references.
 
God designed our bodies to function in a certain way. One thing He built into our biology is the fact that a woman can get pregnant only a few days each month. This is a kind of “birth control”; that is, not every act of intercourse results in pregnancy.

NFP works within that system, within God’s design.

Contraception works outside that system, outside God’s design.

Contraception is essentially telling God He erred when He designed our biology–but we know better than He does, and we’re going to fix His mistake. We will re-design ourselves. We’ll even cut open our bodies to make ourselves infertile. We’ll even put chemicals into our bodies and barriers between ourselves to thwart His design.
 
We have used NFP for all the years of our marriage-- 13, today! It has never really been an issue, since most people who use NFP also realize that they are open to children should they come along unexpectedly. It is more a matter of trusting in Divine Providence, that God knows better than we do. We have gotten to the point that we don’t chart or worry at all, that if a pregnancy results, it is God’s will. Not that it is easy, at age almost 41, the last thing on my mind is pregnancy— but I know that whenever I am with my husband it is a possibility-- and it is ok. It is hard to explain to someone who is used to controlling their fertility, I can say that it is something I don’t discuss with the other moms during play group because I know they wouldn’t understand. I remember asking the same question, why? and the priest said simply, “God is Love”. That really is the answer. God is love, and we are in this marriage with Him at the controls, so it shouldn’t be something we spend time worrying about. He will give us as many children as He sees fit, as long as we cooperate with His plan. We say as much in our wedding vows when we marry in the Catholic church.
 
You asked why? Here is my theory.

I found out through research that the Church took 3 years I believe to make a final decision on birth control.

My theory is that they had to “draw a line”

If one looks at the Bible, the Bible teaches us about sex and the responsibilites. Study closely and you will find that Husbands may not have "s,x,ual relations with his wife durring certain periods of the month.

And modern science shows us that certain times of the month a woman is more fertile.

The Church had to draw a line, if they allowed it for one situation then that would open the door for more situations and the Church was forced to take the side of God.

The real argument on the birth control is this, young adults who are practicing pre marital relations should have an opportunity to receive birth control bc we dont want these young people having babies.

Well the Church cannot say well ok since these young adults are sinners we then will support that behavior and allow birth control.

The Church is critized so much bc they do speak the truth.

And the Africa arguement is well bc of AID’s we have to hand out protection, please remember why there is a problem.

The Church has to stay firm and speak the truth.
Even when we do not quite understand it.

NFP does takes responsibily for it to be effective, and I imagine the Church continues to look at that, and perhaps one day they will be able to allow some form to compliment NFP.

I was told once that this subject is a true mystery on how God took one thing and there are two results, Love and production of children.
 
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cardenio:
yochumjy - why is one wrong and not the other? Sorry bout that.

mike182d - I’m not saying I’m planning on using artificial birth control, because I’m not, but how do I respond to people who say “if they’re the same, why not use the Pill?”
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I’m not making the assumption that *you *would be - and I apologize if it sounded like that - but merely trying to help you understand the fundamental difference.

First of all, there is *no *comparison between condoms and NFP. Condoms are 80% effective at best while NFP is 99% effective. If someone is really serious about post-poning child birth, there is no legitimate reason to use condoms over NFP.

Regarding the pill, both are 99% effective but by taking the pill you increase your risk of breast cancer, ovarian cancer, you may become infertile, you will suffer migraines, mood swings, yada, yada, yada. If you want a complete listing of side effects, read the label.

Side effects of NFP? None.

Since there is no practical reason to use any of these methods over NFP, why is it that people are so adamant about using artificial birth control? Abstinence.

In order for NFP to be 99% effective, a couple has to abstain from sex. With contraception, there is no need to abstain and that’s the difference. It has nothing to do with post-poning childbirth because NFP would be the obvious choice. Its about having sex whenever you want as often as you want without any “consequences” and *this *is the great sin of contraception.
 
There is nothing intimate about “being intimate” and contracepting.

CARose
 
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