Contraceptives and the Bible

[Justin1982]

This thread is a by-product of another thread that got a bit off topic from the original poster so I decided to continue in another thread.

The topic was overpopulation and how it is “foretold” in the Bible in that women in the end of times should not have children or have less children. They had discussed Luke 21:20-23 to describe this period.

No not that one, but this one.

Luke 21:20 ¶ "But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near.
21 "Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those who are in the midst of her depart, and let not those who are in the country enter her.
22 "For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled.
23 "**But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! **For there will be great distress in the land and wrath upon this people.

You are correct Jesus didn’t say ‘blessed are the barren’ but He didn’t condemn it either. He reported what will happen.

Any comments and statements are welcome, also note that the discussion moved deeper into overpopulation as well.

 

[anns82]

Moved from previous thread:

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dokimas View Post
Maybe you’re correct. However, it sounds a bit like Revelation. Is it possible, as seems sometimes happens in the Word of God, a prophecy covers more than one event?

I had at least one on CAF tell me that having children was a way of increasing the CC. There’s plenty of people in our world that need Jesus.

Do you find any verse where Jesus encourages families to keep having children? He sure loved children, but is there any real indication His theology on the subject was the same as the CC’s theology?

Daniel’s 70th week of Daniel 9 doesn’t seem to be fulfilled yet.

Yes and no. I think you’re right in that some prophecies may have parallels in generations (interesting how history repeats itself), but that does not change the fact that Jesus was saying “woe to those with children” not “do not have children.” Just because we live in difficult times (as has everyone throughout history) does not mean we should not bring more children (sources of love) into the world.

I would recommend looking at Mt 19:3-8, where Jesus was questioned by the Pharisees about divorce and marriage. In his response he showed that marriage was established “In the beginning,” meaning in Genesis. If we are to look at Genesis for our understanding of God’s intention for marriage, then we are to understand that the command to “be fruitful and multiply” was not just for Adam and Eve, but is a command for all of humanity.

If we believe that Jesus is the fulfillment of the Jewish law, the fullness of God’s Truth, then Jesus wants us to fulfill God’s will for life and marriage, not just go by man’s definition of marriage. The Catholic approach to each life is that it is a source of unconditional love. Not only is it a source of love for the parents, but the child will also grow to be the source of love for his/her spouse, which could lead to more children, and expand this love even further. If God is Love, and we are made in His image, then we are to look at each life as also an image of Love. Not just another mouth to feed.

 

[Justin1982]

Let me also be clear that I do not use contraceptive nor do I condone the use of them, I merely wanted to start a new thread to continue this discussion because I felt the last one would get shut down if it continued there.

 

[anns82]

It is interesting; I come across so many people who simply say “I believe the Church is wrong on contraception,” yet they do not know anything about Humane Vitae or the Theology of the Body. How can someone say they don’t agree with the church when they have no idea why the church has it’s stance?

It is the same thing as those who say base their belief/disbelief in global warming simply based on the forecast this week. No matter the conclusion, anyone who thinks their opinion should be valued without having any understanding of the actual argument for or against is not dealing the reality of the issue, just his/her own limited perception and assuming it inherently correct. I was listening to a debate between two Catholic Theologians, the opposing one had not actually read the Theology of the Body, yet he assumed he knew the Church’s stance simply because he had a degree in theology.

So my question in regards to the issue of contraception, where in Humane Vitae or the Theology of the Body do you actually disagree? Or is the Holy Spirit limited to the pages of Gospel writings?

 

[GEddie]

This thread is a by-product of another thread that got a bit off topic from the original poster so I decided to continue in another thread.

The topic was overpopulation and how it is “foretold” in the Bible in that women in the end of times should not have children or have less children. They had discussed Luke 21:20-23 to describe this period.

Any comments and statements are welcome, also note that the discussion moved deeper into overpopulation as well.

“Those days” are clearly AD69-70, in Jerusalem. Not the western world, and not now.

At that time, people would need to flee from Jerusalem to save their necks; and the country surrounding Jerusalem, having been laid waste by three years of fighting (beginning in AD66) would be painfully hard to sustain life in. Pregnant women would suffer and infants would die as citizens attempted to reach places of refuge.

Our LORD did not say “Woe to those who have children then,” which would make sense if HE were referring to anything population related. He was warning about a specific time, which has since been fulfilled.

ICXC NIKA