Thursday, 02 February 2012
-
Marriage, Sex and Contraceptives
I don't know if you've heard, but president Obama has landed himself in an issue with the Catholic Church. If you'd like to read more here is an article, and here is how silly it is. I read an article with Archbishop (soon to be cardinal) Dolan's response, but I can't find it now. In short summary, Obama's healthcare is pushing to force all schools, hospitals, and charities (including Church-affiliated ones) to provide free birth control in their insurance plans for their employees, within the year. The morning-after pill and sterilization will also be included. The Church however is against birth control, the morning-after pill and sterilization. Is Obama saying it is more important that women get their free birth control than for there to be religious freedom in our country? Suddenly a first amendment which is the very foundation of the United States is now no longer valid?
If you want to complain about that, go right ahead, however, I thought this would be a great opportunity to give a small insight into why the Catholic Church is against birth control to begin with. Don't take me wrong, I'm no expert, but I haven't read anyone post a blog about contraceptives on here before, so I figured I might as well give it a shot. If you want more articulate explanations, read Theology of the Body, it's mind-blowing amazing.
I'll try to keep it short, but to start off, we have to look at what the Church sees marriage and sex as. First, God is the creator of marriage. In Genesis, God created them, man and woman, "and they become one flesh." More than that, the Catholic Church considers marriage to be a sacrament in that God gives special graces through marriage (like the wine at the wedding in Cana), and that it is an instrument used to express the divine mystery between Christ and His Church. (See Ephesians 5:21-32) Towards the middle/end it is written, "Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word... 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to this wife, and the two shall become one flesh.' This is a great mystery, and I mean in reference to Christ and the Church."
Marriage and "becoming one flesh" aka sex, is meant to express the love Christ has for His Church. A love so great, Christ gave himself up for us. Particularly, when describing Christ's love, four main qualities are used: (This is all from Theology of the Body)
- Christ gives His body FREELY "No one takes my life from me, I lay it down of my own accord." (John 13:1)
- He gives His body TOTALLY - without reservation, condition, or selfish calculation "He loved them to the last." (John 13:1)
- He gives Himself up FAITHFULLY "I am with you always." (Matthew 28:20)
- and Christ gives Himself up FRUITFULLY "I came that they may have life." (John 10:10)This is why at a traditional Catholic marriage, the priest or deacon asks "Have you come here FREELY, and WITHOUT RESERVATION, to give yourselves to each other in marriage? Do you promise to be FAITHFUL until death? Do you promise to RECEIVE CHILDREN lovingly from God?" And the bride and groom each answer yes. Now just as marriage is meant to express Christ's love for His church, sex is meant to as well. Just as Jesus loved us with His whole self, it wasn't fully expressed until He gave His body up completely for us by dying on the cross. So too, should a husband and wife give their bodies up for each other in every physical act of intercourse. Every act of intercourse should reflect Christ's sacrifice and be free, total, faithful and open to new life.
Contraceptives on the other hand are defined as the choice to engage in an act of intercourse, but then do something else to render it sterile. For the Catholic Church to allow birth control, or sterilization, is to take away the fruitful quality of Christ's love, and cut the Holy Spirit out of the picture. It says "I give you my everything, EXCEPT my fertility." Did Jesus hold any part of himself back while on the cross? No, He gave His all, and so should married couples give their all. With contraceptives, intercourse no longer becomes an instrument for God to create life, nor is it a reflection of Christ's love for His Church. It degrades the self giving act into one that is self seeking. Imagine if we took the faithful quality of Christ's love out, it's the same thing. Women, our fertility is a gift from God. Our ability to give ourselves completely is a gift of God. Contraceptives and sterilization is denying those gifts, and that is the main reason why the Catholic Church is against them, and against this bill Obama is trying to force.
I wasn't planning on talking about acceptable ways to maintain the meaning of intercourse while avoiding conception, it would require a whole separate blog, but in summary: God didn't make women able to conceive everyday of the month, and the Bible isn't against periods of abstinence. "For the wife does not rule over her own body, but the husband does; likewise the husband does not rule over his own body, but the wife does. Do not refuse one another except perhaps by agreement for a season, that you may devote yourselves to prayer; but then come together again..." (1 Corinthians 7:4-5)
Does this help explain why the Catholic church is against contraceptives? Do you agree or disagree with this?
RecommendRelated Posts
Post a Comment
- Back to revelife's Revelife Site!
- Note: your comment will appear in revelife's local time zone: GMT -05:00 (Eastern Standard - US, Canada)
About the Author
-
- From: BehindTheSeens@xanga
- About Me: I'm currently a Senior college student in Nursing who hopes to go into Oncology. I'm very passionate about my faith, and strive for that to be seen in my daily life. Thought provoking conversations, all types of art, foreign cultures, and relatable music grab my attention. And although I try to keep things simple and straightforward, it never really turns out that way... I'm learning to just let things work themselves out. This is where I keep articles I enjoy, where I vent and get thoughts across for nobody in particularly. Just a Behindtheseens look in my head.
Stats: This Week All Time Posts: 0 1 Views: 0 3267 Comments: 0 113 View all posts by BehindTheSeens@xanga
Comments (114)
I believe in birth control, but this is a religious freedom issue. Catholic organizations should NOT be forced to offer contraceptive coverage.
I'm a catholic but I strongly believe thet women bodies are a personal issue and every woman should be able to control and determine what to do with her body. If a woman doesn't want to get pregnant she should be able to avoid it in a healthy safe way. And yeah you can all stone me to death now for believing a woman owns her own body, cuz I know you all are great enlightened judges... like I care :P
I strongly disagree, but not for religious reasons (though a non-religious and even anti-religious person I am, I still challenge anyone to show me where it expressly says in the Bible using contraceptives is a sin).
As a childfree individual (as opposed to childless; childless meaning unable to have children, childfree meaning choosing to not have children), I can say with certainty that there are a myriad of legitimate reasons as to why even married couples would choose not to have children. Children are expensive, time consuming, and stressful. Couples without children have more money, more time for each other, and more time for interests and hobbies. In fact, according to studies, childfree couples are happier than anyone else, including those with children in the home and empty nesters!
Children are not for everyone, and nobody should feel obligated to have children, including married couples. Children very clearly are not a key ingredient to a happy marriage. Contraception makes it possible to avoid pregnancy and still engage in sex, which HAS been shown to be a key ingredient in a happy marriage.
I guess with that, I'll just take my vasectomy and my childfree life to hell with me. While parents are busy struggling financially, scolding and staying home with their children, I'll be in the black, flying in my own private airplane which I had more than enough money to buy, racing an Aston Martin, and be on the lanes bowling in two leagues every week. THAT sounds much better than raising kids!
As far as religious freedom, shove it. Christians get special treatment in America. Maybe it's time they got a taste of their own medicine. It's one of the reasons I left America, after all.
Catholics are and have always been, the most radical Christians. But's that's just because Jesus established the Catholic Church. Matthew 16:18. LINK
@xXxlovelylollipop@xanga - And some people believe murder is okay. So what you may personally believe is not authoritative.
"Thou shalt not murder" includes the unborn. That is the authoritative Word of God.People who consider themselves Christians fear God and accept his Word.
@StatelessPilot - I'm a Christian, and I don't believe the Bible forbids it either.
@xXxlovelylollipop@xanga - Wow...preemptively defensive! Why don't you believe what your church teaches?
@xXxlovelylollipop@xanga - Though your beliefs are contrary to the Catholic Church's, I respect them. However, as far as the Obama Health Care, if a woman wants to get birth-control, the Catholic Church isn't preventing her from getting any, they are just refusing to provide any. She can go elsewhere and get it, or work for someone not affiliated with the Church so their insurance will cover it.
Plus I don't know if I'd say birth-control is a "healthy safe way" to avoid pregnancy. It has plenty of side effects, and it's pumping so much estrogen in the environment, it's feminizing nature.
I agree with you. Once a couple is married, they should do it all the time. God did want us to multiply. And I don't know if this is written in the bible, they said that a woman is already set to have a certain number of babies. So if she kills herself, she's also killing the potential people/person she would have.
Idk about 19 kids and counting. Maybe since abortion is legal, those people who are willing to have more get more.
but even though the church says that all couples "have to do it" neither should be force to do it.
here is something to think about. there are people in the U.S. who call themselves Christians and believe blacks and other minorities should not have equal rights under the law. blacks did not have equal rights under the law before the civil rights amendment was passed.. most Christians and people of other religions are in disagreement with this racist group of Christians and even say the racist group is not really Christian yet the racist group believes they are Christians. the racist group could (and some do) argue their religious freedom was trampled on by desegregation. there are arguments on both sides in these types of issues. at what point does one say the health and well-being of a large group of people is more important than the religious beliefs of another? then there is the fact that in a secretive letter brought to the attention of authorities about 2 years ago the Vatican warned Irish Bishops to report incidents of pedophilia committed by Irish priests at their own risk, threatening anyone in the church who did so with retribution from the church. after such an action taken by the Vatican it's difficult for me to consider the Vatican a religious authority.
@Pickwick12@xanga - If you don't follow what I said about martial sex meaning to reflect the love Christ has for the Church, ok. Specifically, Bible doesn't talk about birth control in the form of estrogen pills (obviously, it wasn't invented back then), but it does talk about the old fashion method of "pulling out early."
In Genesis 38:9-10. "But Onan knew that the offspring would not be his; so when he went in to his brother's wife he spilled the semen on the ground, lest he should give offspring to his brother. And what he did was displeasing in the sight of the Lord, and he slew him also."
The Lord wasn't displeased at his selfishness (which I'm sure is pretty displeasing), the Lord was displeased at what Onan did (spilling semen on the ground to avoid having offspring). Contraceptives does the same thing, renders a sexual act, sterile.
My insurance will pay for me to get my tubes tied?! I didn't know that was covered as well. TY for telling me.
HOLY YAY.
@BehindTheSeens@xanga - I know the story and do not view it's meaning the same way. I respect your viewpoint and am not attempting to change it.
@BehindTheSeens@xanga - There is a far bigger issue at play, causing God's frustration with Onan, than Onan using this particular form of birth control.God doesn't seem upset at the method used but at the overarching action (or perhaps inaction) of Onan. I'm not sure we can safely use that passage in our attempts to condemn "pulling out." I think we have a better chance of using it as a condemnation for neglecting widows and not being our brother's keeper.
@TheGreatBout@xanga - This. I believe the displeasure is at Onan's actions in his own family situation, I.e., not following the law in relation to his brother and his wife, not a statement on sexual practices.
But I'm wondering how intentionally abstaining for the purpose of birth control is in any way less "with-holding fertility" than another preventive measure... (I'm not talking about the pill or methods that can cause early abortion). You say that the Bible is not against periods of abstinence, and provide Scripture, yet you cannot provide a Scripture that is against preventing conception. I have actually never heard the Corinthians scripture used as an advocate for birth control, as it seems to imply a rare and occasional abstinence, and not a regular one.
Also, what about women who have no clue when they are ovulating (ie women who are breastfeeding, irregular cycles, etc. ) These women would hardly be having sex at all if they wanted to be sure of preventing conception, and you can be sure that any breastfeeding woman with a 2 month old baby is not going to wish to engage in anything that gets her pregnant right away again- which hardly seems like a satisfactory scenario for a thriving marriage relationship unless very short-term.
I have no problem respecting people who wish to not prevent conception in any way possible (the Duggars, for instance) if they support their own family without outside assistance. However, to say that abstinence is an acceptable form of birth control and a preventive measure is not seems a bit contrary, since the intent and motive is identical, and the end result is identical as well.
Just some thoughts I had- you are free to disagree...
@mikenpeg@xanga - Exactly so. If we truly believe that birth control is wrong, then why would we consider abstaining for the sake of birth control to be legitimate?
@BehindTheSeens@xanga - Actually if you study ancient history and cultures long prior to the time the Bible was written (Egyptian comes to mind, recalling my college history course) you will find there were birth control methods,even abortion methods. (Herbs, plants, etc.)
Here are a couple links:
http://www.uic.edu/classes/osci/osci590/13_2%20Birth%20Control%20in%20Antiquity.htm
listverse.com/2010/11/14/10-ancient-methods-of-birth-control/http://
www.essortment.com/birth-control-history-63130.html
Now abstaining from sex before you're married--- THAT the Catholic Church and I can agree on. :)
@xXxlovelylollipop@xanga - totally Agree!
Oh, I just now noticed this:
God didn't make women able to conceive everyday of the month, and the Bible isn't against periods of abstinence.
That is a load of major league bullshit! The facts: you can get pregnant AT ANY TIME, INCLUDING DURING YOUR PERIOD! Yes, you have a higher chance of getting pregnant at certain times than during others, but you can get pregnant at any time. That excuse is a huge load and is also why "natural family planning" has an extremely high failure rate (it's actually much higher than the RCC and other pro-NFP sources claim). So don't even go there.
@StatelessPilot - So if Natural Family Planning has a higher chance of failing, then why is the rate of divorce in families that use it so much lower than those that use contraceptives?
@arp0314 - Because many of them stay together because those same religions are the ones that teach that divorce is wrong and stay married because of what their religion says. Also, when it does fail, many couples "stay together for the kids." There are other external factors that come into play.
However, as I stated earlier, childfree couples are statistically the happiest, and it's no wonder why! Children are an unnecessary expense and a pain in the ass! Who'd want children is beyond me.
I'm Christian and not opposed to SOME birth control. A lot of people don't know this, but the pill is actually an abortifacient. While taking the pill, sometimes an egg can still get fertilized, but the pill makes it so your uterus is not habitable to form life by thinning the lining, thus aborting the fertilized egg. If you're a Christian, most (not all unfortunately) believe that life starts at conception making the pill abortive. Interestingly enough, my doctor even believes this and told me it was the main reason I miscarried my second child in November. Here are some links that explain it better: http://www.abort73.com/abortion_facts/which_birth_control_methods_cause_abortion/ , http://www.pregnantpause.org/abort/untold.htm
Like I said, I don't think birth control is a bad thing. My husband and I are using FAM to prevent a pregnancy as we already have a 6 month old and I'm in college. I don't think it's fair for the government to expect the Catholic church to go against their beliefs and offer a service they're against. There are other places/ways to go about getting the pill if it's needed.