Protestants and Contraception

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pauleolivia

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My understanding is that all Protestants agreed on the evil of contraception (artificial birth control) until the early 20th century (1931 at Lambeth) They even voted laws in the US against it.
Today, some protestant friends ask me for the biblical basis for it.
My question is: how did they used to justify their opposition to it in the past?
 
pauleolivia said:
My understanding is that all Protestants agreed on the evil of contraception (artificial birth control) until the early 20th century (1931 at Lambeth) They even voted laws in the US against it.
Today, some protestant friends ask me for the biblical basis for it.
My question is: how did they used to justify their opposition to it in the past?
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For the most part on the same basis that the Catholic Church does. That is, it is opposed to the order of creation and against the command of God to be fruitful and multiply.
 
pauleolivia said:
My understanding is that all Protestants agreed on the evil of contraception (artificial birth control) until the early 20th century (1931 at Lambeth) They even voted laws in the US against it.
Today, some protestant friends ask me for the biblical basis for it.
My question is: how did they used to justify their opposition to it in the past?
Click to expand...
They didn’t need to. It was a 1900 year old tradition which everybody recognized as Truth.
 
pauleolivia said:
My understanding is that all Protestants agreed on the evil of contraception (artificial birth control) until the early 20th century (1931 at Lambeth) They even voted laws in the US against it.
Today, some protestant friends ask me for the biblical basis for it.
My question is: how did they used to justify their opposition to it in the past?
Click to expand...
I’d suggest you invest in the book The Bible and Birth Control by Charles Provan (a non Catholic).
 
The Anglican church did oppose contraception until that Lambeth Conference, after which it was prepared to accept in some circumstances (but in rather limited ones) it could be used in good conscience without being a sin. Today the viewpoints seem to differ, and while there is no Protestant church that condemns contraception in the same absolutist way as the CC does, it is not universally approved of.

I think though the Protestant approach is more sensible, leaving the matter generally up to the conscience of the married couple, rather than trying to judge every act of contraception in any situation as a grave sin.
 
Greg27 said:
The Anglican church did oppose contraception until that Lambeth Conference, after which it was prepared to accept in some circumstances (but in rather limited ones) it could be used in good conscience without being a sin. Today the viewpoints seem to differ, and while there is no Protestant church that condemns contraception in the same absolutist way as the CC does, it is not universally approved of.

I think though the Protestant approach is more sensible, leaving the matter generally up to the conscience of the married couple, rather than trying to judge every act of contraception in any situation as a grave sin.
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You mean that you think the Catholic Church is wrong. When do you think ABC would be acceptable?
 
Spirithound said:
You mean that you think the Catholic Church is wrong. When do you think ABC would be acceptable?
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His profile says he is an agnostic. That lead him, at best, to make incorrect statements about what the Catholic Church, and possibly the Anglican Church teaches. I will add that other than his editorial comments, the facts he stated seem generally correct.
 
“You mean that you think the Catholic Church is wrong.”

Yes, I do. I agree with the Anglican attitude towards the issue because in my view it better respects individual conscience; but this is my own view.
 
Greg27 said:
“You mean that you think the Catholic Church is wrong.”

Yes, I do. I agree with the Anglican attitude towards the issue because in my view it better respects individual conscience; but this is my own view.
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But why is individual conscience so important? Don’t some people have terribly formed consciences?
When should contraception be allowed?
 
Spirithound said:
But why is individual conscience so important?
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Individual conscience cannot supersede anything. How do we know this? Well, this guy did not think he did anything wrong when he killed three people just so he could kidnap two children to be his sex slaves.

cnn.com/2008/CRIME/08/27/duncan.death.ap/index.html
Don’t some people have terribly formed consciences?
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Well, I think you and I agree. Some people have seriously deformed consciences.

When a person says the Church is wrong on an issues of morality, that demonstrates that their conscience is not properly formed.
When should contraception be allowed?
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Well, the Church says contraception can never be used to prevent pregnancy. (However, when there is a medical need, certain medical treatments that may have the **unintended **side-effect of having a contraceptive effect may be used if the intent is to treat a medical condition and not to contracept.)
 
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