Here is the “short answer” on what the Bible says about artificial birth control:
Gen 38:9-10 – Onan knew, however, that the descendants would not be counted as his; so whenever he had relations with his brother’s widow, he
wasted his seed on the ground, to avoid contributing offspring for his brother. What he did greatly offended the Lord; and the Lord took his life too.
For centuries, “Onanism” was the generic term for all artificial birth control methods, including withdrawal. Even the early Protestant reformers vigorously condemned it. Some modern scholars, however, will argue that Onan was killed for his selfishness in refusing to conceive children for his dead brother’s name, not for his contraceptive act. However, the penalty for defying Levirate law was not death, but public humiliation. See Deut 25:5-10 below. Also, Tamar’s father-in-law Judah and other brother-in-law Shelah were also guilty of refusing to conceive children for their son/brother Er, but they were not killed, only Onan was. Therefore, it must have been what Onan DID – withdrawal during intercourse – that merited death, not his mere intention to avoid children for his brother.
Deut 25:5-10 – When brothers live together and one of them dies and has no son, the wife of the deceased shall not be married outside the family to a strange man. Her husband’s brother shall go in to her and take her to himself as wife and perform the duty of a husband’s brother to her. It shall be that the firstborn whom she bears shall assume the name of his dead brother, so that his name will not be blotted out from Israel. But if the man does not desire to take his brother’s wife, then his brother’s wife shall go up to the gate to the elders and say, ‘My husband’s brother refuses to establish a name for his brother in Israel; he is not willing to perform the duty of a husband’s brother to me.’ Then the elders of his city shall summon him and speak to him. And if he persists and says, ‘I do not desire to take her,’ then his brother’s wife shall come to him in the sight of the elders, and pull his sandal off his foot and spit in his face; and she shall declare, ‘Thus it is done to the man who does not build up his brother’s house.’ In Israel his name shall be called, ‘The house of him whose sandal is removed.’
In the New Testament, the Greek term “pharmakeia,” the root from which we get “pharmacy” and “pharmaceuticals,” literally means “herbal potions mixed for secret purposes, with prayers to the spirits for greater effectiveness.” Thus, it is frequently translated as “witchcraft” or “sorcery.” Many scholars believe “pharmakeia” refers to contraceptive and abortifacient herbs, especially since it is always condemned within a list of sexual sins:
Gal 5:19-20 – Now the works of the flesh are obvious: immorality, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry,
sorcery, hatreds, rivalry, jealousy, outbursts of fury, acts of selfishness, dissensions, factions, occasions of envy, drinking bouts, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Rev 9:21 – Nor did they repent of their murders, their
magic potions, their unchastity, or their robberies.
Rev 21:8 – But as for cowards, the unfaithful, the depraved, the unchaste,
sorcerers, idol-worshipers, and deceivers of every sort, their lot is in the burning pool of fire and sulfur, which is the second death.
Rev 22:15 – Outside [the heavenly city] are the dogs, the
sorcerers, the unchaste, the idol-worshipers, and all those who love and practice deceit.
Gathering the “long answer” – scriptures on authentic love, covenantal unity of marriage, children as blessings from God, infertility as a curse, God’s call to generosity, abstinence, Tradition, teaching authority of the Church, and Christian discipleship – will take a little longer, so give me another day or two.
Your original thread title referred to
permanent birth control methods, so I assume your friend is considering sterilization? Here is some info about tubal ligations and vasectomy you may want to share with her.
ccli.org/nfp/contraception/tubal.php
ccli.org/nfp/contraception/vasectomy.php
Best wishes,
Christine
