Added: 02/27/2006 |
Christian Contraception - What is it and Who can use itThough contraception is not generally accepted by the Christian religion, the life goes on providing new modern standards, and today for religious people the Church offers some ways of Christian contraception.
Why are contraceptives condemned by Christian church? Why are they against using the methods that give a woman's "keeping safe" from pregnancy? This question has been debated for a long time. In Christian religion it always outlawed using contraceptives or in any other way to prevent a baby to be born without exception. The only purpose of having sex is considered to be giving a new life and in this respect any attempt to make it not happen is a sin.
If you have sex just for pleasure and make conception be impossible on purpose, it means you violate the church's rules. Jesus Christ loved kids and your actions of that kind are against of His will. That's why Christian contraception seems to be out of question. We wouldn't want to just have sex for fun, now would we? Moreover, some contraception means are of abortion effect because it kills an embryo on the first stages of its life and that's why it's is considered to be just like weapon.
But a couple is responsible for their children's upbringing in the proper conditions. Christian doctrines are against contraception, but they approve continence for a definite period in case both partners agree to do it. Though, this shouldn't take too long for it can lean to a sin as well as everything should be natural. The period of continence is better to be used for praying and fasting and reading the Bible, i.e. spending this time for getting a deeper insight in religion questions.
It's always required to discuss this questing with your pastor, and he can give the proper piece of advice considering all the peculiarities of the couple and the concrete situation. It doesn't mean Christian contraception, but it means just an action taken in accordance with what can be found in the Bible.
Not always a couple is not to have babies because of their will - there may be medical restrictions as well. For example, after the hard previous baby-bearing a wife doesn't feel ready to get pregnant again. Her husband doesn't insist on her next pregnancy to happen right away and supports her wife's will on full. That aspect was the ground for Anglicanism in 1930 to give permission to use contraception in some cases. It was rather a shock for Catholic Church then and made the gap between these two churches yet even bigger. And after it happened, Protestant churches proved the new rules to be of reason and so in this way Protestant contraception came up.
Unlike Protestant Church, Roman Catholic Church always spoke against ANY ways of providing contraception and so does it nowadays both for chemical and barrier methods, so any kind of unnatural contraception, though in 1968 Pope Paul VI approved some points that can be considered Catholic contraception: they are natural methods for birth planning such as the calendar tracking method in cases it's believed to be really necessary.
It can be done as well as abstinence on particular, but it must be emphasized that you can use these methods not all the time and always remember they are just rare exceptions that must be reasoned. The calendar tracing method is completely harmless to both woman and a possible future baby, and that's why it's taken up. As it never gives you a possibility to be hundred per cent sure you can't get pregnant.
Really, Christian contraception can hardly be understood as contraception itself, it doesn't destroy sperm or prevent ovulation from occurring, it doesn't let sex happen without all the conditions favorable for getting pregnant as condoms and various contraceptive pills do. Not to have something doesn't mean to kill something, and this is the main basis of Christian campaign about natural family planning that took its place both in Catholic and Protestant churches within the last century.
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