Catholic Church Versus Artificial Family Planning

[ready4ONE 5,400]

To the OP I would say I am strongly pro-choice. Single persons should always use a condom, and not just for birth control. The pill, and there are many, is very safe, and the best choice in my opinion for married couples, long term birth control. There are added benefits to many types of the pill beyond just birth control. Don't believe the hype that the pill is 'dangerous.'

[almaty 19]

And if it is because the Bible says "go and multiply", then not having sex would also be a sin.

you young sister..are indeed right thinking

[Steve Y Jessica 1]

Don't be silly, Wrap your willy!!!

[anya-D 8]

First and foremost,

im not a catholic, im a bornagain christian.. but given the said dillema of having people used of contraceptives is a sin.. i dont view it as such.. The real sin is having children borne out of plan or even outside the capacity of the parents.. if you claimed to be religios for that matter, practice abstinence.. but please, children needs, support, enough food and shelter.. if we cant give these needs we shouldnt be making them in the first place...

i have nothing against pill or condoms and the like, but pill has some side effects, might as well have the calendar method or withrawal.. its not a hundred percent sure alright.. but we have to make a choice..for the future of our family.. (given pill or condom) i choose a condom.. atleast i wouldnt have to gulp some pill that i wouldnt know the effect on my body..

The above are just my opinion and i know a lot of people can be with my side or the other.. im just voicing out what i do believe in..:

Please be noted as well, that even that i do beleive with the use of contraceptives, i strongly stand against abortion.

In case you are interested, the copper IUD is a very very good method of birth control - no hormone - check it out.

[DairyFarmer 1]

I have often found the teachings of the Catholic church a mystery. Where is the biblical reference?

There are 10 commandments and the two great commandments in the bible outside of this people should consider how these apply to any situation.

Contraception (In my opinion) does not contravene any of these.

They commonly use Gen 38:6-10 for the (mis)reference.

• 06 And Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, whose name was Tamar.
• 07 And Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the LORD; and the LORD slew him.
• 08 And Judah said unto Onan, Go in unto thy brother's wife, and marry her, and raise up seed to thy brother.
• 09 And Onan knew that the seed should not be his; and it came to pass, when he went in unto his brother's wife, that he spilled it on the ground, lest that he should give seed to his brother.
• 10 And the thing which he did displeased the LORD: wherefore he slew him also.

(the correct reference would be that it was wrong because Onan was trying to get out of a bargain into which his dad had placed him)

That was situational. I think it is like statistics twist it the right way to give the answer you want.

[no name 1]

Wow.

Is anyone in here besides the OP even a Catholic? Or is it more fun to just blame & speculate?

[DairyFarmer 1]

Wow.

Is anyone in here besides the OP even a Catholic? Or is it more fun to just blame & speculate?

Baptised Roman Catholic, Comfirmation as an Anglican, went to a Lutheran Highschool, a Wesleyan College and belong to a Nondenominational, charismatic church.

But then I didn't think I would need to list my pedigree to have an opinion, which is neither part of blame or speculation but years of study, growth and life within the church.

Edited July 15, 2008 by DairyFarmer

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

The criticism of the CC's approach to the 3rd world as it pertains to birth control and sex education is well known. Whether or not a person is Catholic themselves doesn't really change that.

[alienlovechild 75]

the catholic church views have led to allot of poverty in 3rd world countries

The same could be said for Islam.

maybe, but they not against birth control..and consider the use a sin///

Yeah, Islam just prohibits ANY relations between the sexes outside marriage.

In the Islamic religion, rules regarding pre-marital relations are quite simple: no relations of any sort are allowed between the sexes. While both the Jewish and Catholic religions allow a courtship to take place between a woman and a man (although abstinence is recommended during this time), the Islamic religion does not.

Birth control is ok under Islam but there are a few strings attached.

Birth control use may be allowed for various women. Instances when Islam permits the use of contraception include:

Allowing a woman to rest between pregnancies

Preventing the transmission of infectious disease, such as an STD

A women's health requires the use of birth control

A husband cannot financially support more children

http://www.epigee.org/guide/islamic.html

[Mononoke28 135]

I'm also Catholic but unfortunately the church is based on very old beliefs that don't apply to this day and age. Birth control being one of them. It is irresponsible to have unprotected sex and hope that the rhythm method will have you covered.

Diana

[Dr. Obvious 49]

Don't believe the hype that the pill is 'dangerous.'

I don't think the poster believes that it is dangerous, but sometimes messing with your hormones with birth control can have some unpredicitibly bad results. Mine were so bad that I completely swore it off. Very obviously, YMMV.

[jundp 191]

Ok, die-hard Catholic here.

Until the 30s all Protestant religions (as well as Catholicism) banned birth control. The Anglican Church was the first to lift the ban at the Lambeth (?) Conference and other denominations followed later. The reason that Christian churches banned birth control was because the purpose of sex was to procreate. "Go forth and multiply" means...go forth and procreate. Not, "go forth and have sex without procreation." It goes against the natural law to use birth control (according to the church).

That being said, I personally don't think birth control is a sin, even though I am quite the Catholic girl. I know many many other Catholics who feel the same way. Especially when it comes to preventing not only birth in situations where this would be harmful to a person/family, but also when it comes to preventing sexually transmitted diseases, such as AIDS. Many people within the Catholic church have been criticized for pushing the need for birth control in Africa in regards to the AIDS pandemic, including several bishops.

I do, however, believe abortion is a sin.

[Caladan 19]

the catholic church views have led to allot of poverty in 3rd world countries

I don't think that's accurate, to be honest. There's a hard transition in any society between the point where having lots of kids leads to more wealth (someone to work the farm and care for you in your old age), and having fewer kids leads to more wealth (because one can devote more resources towards feeding and educating that kid.) And resistance to birth control happens in places that aren't majority Catholic; lots of places don't have good histories with outsiders telling them to suppress their population or foreign doctors coming in and saying 'trust us, honest...'

Catholic theology on this point is actually pretty interesting and complicated. It's part of a holistic attitude towards life, sex, and its value and a bunch of other things. It's also kind of complicated.

That said, almost every American Catholic I know (and that includes a few priests) takes a very pragmatic view towards birth control. My mother had her tubies tied after her fourth kid because it was likely a fifth pregnancy would have been fatal to her and the child; I know she and my dad ran it by a priest, and I know the priest didn't even blink.

To the OP, this is something you have to figure out on your own. But I can say that if you end up using some sort of contraception, you're in plenty of company.

[chri'stina 190]

I am not against birth control pills overall but for me, I haven't taken them. I don't want to take the hormones(unless I really had to, some ppl do need to to regulate their hormones for reasons other than not wanting to get pregnant) and I am a little afraid of it terminating a fertilized or implanted egg. So I just don't go that route. But I am not against all forms of controlling getting pregnant, hence why I didn't get pregnant before I wanted to be. I am also very against abortion. I looked at the natl family planning website recently, and in regards to abortion was shocked at how far along they still would let someone abort. A time in pregnancy when I knew I was having a boy and saw him moving all around in the ultrasounds and saw all his body parts formed and he was very alive and aware, squirming away from the ultrasound thing pressed on my belly and kicking me all the time. You can still abort at that stage. Unbelievable and horrible.

[chri'stina 190]

I also wanted to add that God said multiply to Adam and Eve, to populate the earth. I do not think that command is meant for every person. It can interpreted all different ways, I know. I just don't take it to mean that every couple has to have a lot of kids(unless they want to).