July 2010 Archives

Our aim here is to gain a better understanding of the Roman Catholic position on birth control and the reasoning behind it. From the Catechism of the Catholic Church (1997):

Fecundity is a gift, an end of marriage, for conjugal love naturally tends to be fruitful. A child does not come from outside as something added on to the mutual love of the spouses, but springs from the very heart of that mutual giving, as its fruit and fulfilment. So the Church, which is on the side of life teaches that it is necessary that each and every marriage act remain ordered per se to the procreation of human life. This particular doctrine, expounded on numerous occasions by the Magisterium, is based on the inseparable connection, established by God, which man on his own initiative may not break, between the unitive significance and the procreative significance which are both inherent to the marriage act.

So we are given here the two foundational assertions:

1. Children are not an optional attachment to a marriage (an add-on, you might say) but rather are a natural result and philosophical aim of marital love.
2. God, in designing marriage, established a strong connection between the unitive significance of marriage (a man and a woman coming together as a couple) and the procreative significance of marriage (the capability to produce offspring). In other words, just as it is immoral for us to break that bond between a man and a woman established in marriage, so it is also immoral for us to separate the act of marriage from the possibility of producing new life.

Interestingly enough, before going on to condemn birth control an interesting proviso is made:

Married couples should regard it as their proper mission to transmit human life and to educate their children. . .A particular aspect of this responsibility concerns the regulation of procreation. For just reasons, spouses may wish to space the births of their children. It is their duty to make certain that their desire is not motivated by selfishness but is in conformity with the generosity appropriate to responsible parenthood.

So, in fact, this view is not opposed to the idea of regulating procreation. That is, provided that 1) the method of regulation is only that which is naturally built in to us (for example, to leverage periods of natural infertility) and 2) the goal is not to avoid having children, but rather to have children in a responsible manner.

But is not birth control a method of regulation? Why then the prohibition?

Periodic continence, that is, the methods of birth regulation based on self-observation and the use of infertile periods, is in conformity with the objective criteria of morality. These methods respect the bodies of the spouses, encourage tenderness between them, and favor the education of an authentic freedom. In contrast, every action which, whether in anticipation of the conjugal act, or in its accomplishment, or in the development of its natural consequences, proposes, whether as an end or as a means, to render procreation impossible is intrinsically evil:

Thus the innate language that expresses the total reciprocal self-giving of husband and wife is overlaid, through contraception, by an objectively contradictory language, namely, that of not giving oneself totally to the other. This leads not only to a positive refusal to be open to life but also to a falsification of the inner truth of conjugal love, which is called upon to give itself in personal totality. The difference, both anthropological and moral, between contraception and recourse to the rhythm of the cycle involves in the final analysis two irreconcilable concepts of the human person and of human sexuality.

The difference, then, between natural methods of regulation and actually contraception is that the natural methods are not meant to eliminate entirely the possibility of procreation. One might say, the couple that employs contraceptive tools are enjoying the sexual benefits of the marriage, but they are unwilling to cooperate with God and give him the opportunity to create life from that union.

Furthermore, such a couple fails to accept the premise, described earlier, that children are the natural and ultimate fruit of the love exchanged between husband and wife. And so, in a certain sense, they are falling short of the fullest expression of their love for each other.

Now, I believe this view deserves additional biblical and logical scrutiny, both in its foundational premises, and in the conclusions it draws from them. But I hope that I have represented it accurately. This is the highest view of marriage and procreation that I have encountered, and also the most beautiful.

Psalm 37 (NKJV)

Do not fret because of evildoers,
      Nor be envious of the workers of iniquity.
For they shall soon be cut down like the grass,
      And wither as the green herb.

There are many evil people at work today, who are successfully gaining prestige, power, and money by promoting immoral agendas and sacrificing the good of others. Barack Obama, for example, enjoys the cheers of millions of (un-)American followers, despite the fact that he is continuously lying to us, that he is working to destroy American freedom and prosperity, and that he has supported ungodly organizations like Planned Parenthood.

Nevertheless, the point of this psalm is that the pious should not fret because of these people, or envy them for what they have, because their judgement will come in due time.

Notice, the psalm does not say that we should not be upset with them and with what they are trying to accomplish. Nor does it say that we should never speak up against evil, or fight for what is right. Rather, the clear teaching from the language of the psalm as a whole, is that we should not be upset or angry at the fact these evildoers seem to enjoy more prosperity and popularity than we do. ("We" being those of us who obey God and trust him.)

The reason is that our trust in God and our service to him will be rewarded:

Trust in the LORD, and do good;
      Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.
Delight yourself also in the LORD,
      And He shall give you the desires of your heart.
 
Commit your way to the LORD,
      Trust also in Him,
      And He shall bring it to pass.
He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light,
      And your justice as the noonday.

It is difficult to say, for example, whether conservative movements or future leadership will be able to tear the country out of the grip of liberalism and socialism. And it might feel, in darker moments, as though the voice of truth will be drowned out by the shouts of the ignorant and the screams of the activists. Nevertheless, the Biblical assurance is that God himself fights for the cause of right, and specifically here the cause of those who trust and obey him. 
        
Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him;
      Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way,
      Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.
Cease from anger, and forsake wrath;
      Do not fret--it only causes harm.

I do not believe the instruction here "cease from anger" is teaching that we should not be angry or upset with the evil works of evil people. Rather, the psalmist is admonishing us to avoid being angered by the contrast between the apparent success of the wicked and our lack thereof. (Compare similar Psalm 73.)
        
For evildoers shall be cut off;
      But those who wait on the LORD,
      They shall inherit the earth.
For yet a little while and the wicked shall be no more;
      Indeed, you will look carefully for his place,
      But it shall be no more.

Time passed quickly in the eyes of eternity. Soon enough, the wicked will meet his end, and his prosperity, popularity, and evil intentions will vanish away.

But the meek shall inherit the earth,
      And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.
         
The wicked plots against the just,
      And gnashes at him with his teeth.
The Lord laughs at him,
      For He sees that his day is coming.
The wicked have drawn the sword
      And have bent their bow,
To cast down the poor and needy,
     To slay those who are of upright conduct.
Their sword shall enter their own heart,
     And their bows shall be broken.
         
A little that a righteous man has
     Is better than the riches of many wicked.
For the arms of the wicked shall be broken,
     But the LORD upholds the righteous.
         
The LORD knows the days of the upright,
     And their inheritance shall be forever.
They shall not be ashamed in the evil time,
     And in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.
But the wicked shall perish;
     And the enemies of the LORD,
Like the splendor of the meadows, shall vanish.
     Into smoke they shall vanish away.
         
If we truly trust God and live in obedience to his Divine Word, we should not be afraid of the future, because God will have victory over his enemies. And we should not be envious of those who work in opposition to God, because what we have now, and what we will come to enjoy, is better than all that the wicked will ever possess.