Organization: City University of New York/ University Computer Center
Date: Thursday, 13 Aug 1992 06:50:30 EDT
From: Marty Helgesen <MNHCC@CUNYVM.BITNET>
Newsgroups: alt.fan.rush-limbaugh
Subject: Re: Birth control & R. Catholic dogma
 <1992Aug3.033331.19573@news.unomah
 <1992Aug3.114910.4580@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu>



Recently Kurt Krueger wrote: "There is no proscription of birth con-
trol in the Christian faith.  All the Protestant, married Christians
I've known (and they're conservative) have used it.  The only pro-
scription is in the Catholic dogma, and this may change someday.  The
guiding concept behind the Catholics' belief is that sex is primarily
intended for procreation.  I am a Protestant, and a fairly conserva-
tive one at that, and I see nothing wrong with the concept of birth
control whatsoever."

That is not correct.  It is true that today most Protestants see
nothing wrong with contraception, but that is relatively new.  From
the beginnings of Protestantism in the 16th century until about 1930
most Protestant Christians agreed with Catholic Christians that
contraception is against the will of God.  The famous Connecticut law
that the Supreme Court struck down, inventing a constitutional right
to privacy to do so, was passed in the 19th century under Protestant
influence at a time when Catholics in Connecticut had little politi-
cal strength.  Many Protestants today have changed their belief on
this matter, but not all.  I have a book _The Bible and Birth Con-
trol_ by Charles D. Provan (Monongahela, PA: Zimmer Printing, 1989)
arguing against contraception from a Protestant perspective. It
includes a chapter of quotations against birth control by 67 Protes-
tant theologians including Martin Luther, John Calvin, and John
Wesley.  Note also the authors of some of the books mentioned below.

Contrary to what Mr. Kreuger and a followup poster said, the Catholic
teaching that artificial birth control is against the will of God is
not subject to change.  Also the statement that the reason for con-
demning contraception is that Catholics believe that sex is primarily
intended for procreation is incorrect.

This subject does not interest me particularly, but it comes up
frequently and there is a lot of misinformation about it, so I have
done a little reading on it.

Sexual intercourse has three legitimate purposes, procreation, the
expression of mutual love of a husband and wife, and  satisfying the
natural sexual appetites of a husband and wife.  (The third is fre-
quently taken for granted and not mentioned.)  They should not be
separated by interfering with the act.  That is why contraception is
wrong.  The book _The Art of Natural Family Planning_ by  John and
Sheila Kippley borrows the following discussion from _The Meaning of
Contraception_ by Mary Joyce: "In communication there is a basic
unity between what is in the mind and the expression of it....When a
person speaks or writes what he judges to be true, then he has re-
spected the unity of his human nature, the order of creation.  On the
other hand lying violates this essential unity. 'Lying is an internal
separation of a communication from its power to express and generate
judgements truthfully.'

"Coital intercourse is another and very special form of communica-
tion. Just as one of the powers of intellectual communication is the
ability to create a new idea in the listener, so also one of the
powers inherent in the human action of coitus is the power to create
a new person in the womb of the mother. Contraception violates this
unity of the action of its powers. Thus contraception is 'an internal
separation of an interpersonal action of coital union from the fully
human generative power that is internally structured in this action
by the unity of the person's being.'"

Someone mentioned the rhythm method.  That is an obsolete method.
There are new techniques of Natural Family Planning (NFP) that are as
effective as The Pill, without any of The Pill's numerous, serious
side effects.

In contraception the husband and wife use, or misuse, their sexual
capabilities in such a way as to prevent conception. In NFP they
refrain from using their sexual capabilities during the relatively
few days a month the wife is fertile. Couples are not obligated to
have intercourse every day of their lives, and there is nothing wrong
with taking fertility into account when deciding when to have inter-
course.   A couple using NFP does not interfere with the completeness
of any act of intercourse.

As I said before, I am not interested in this subject, so I have
never studied it in detail, and I am not going to start now.  The
Kippleys give a long, annotated bibliography, from which I shall list
a few books people can consult if they are interested.  Many of them
are out of print, but should be available in libraries.

Capon, Robert Farrar _Bed and Board: Plain Talk About Marriage_  (New
York: Simon and Schuster, 1965) "An Episcopal priest talks openly
about marriage. Explains religious difficulty of accepting contracep-
tion."  This general book on marriage was very favorably reviewed.
The author wrote not only as clergyman but as a husband and the
father of six children.

Christianson, Larry and Nordis _The Christian Couple_ (Minneapolis:
Bethany Fellowship, 1977). In chapter 8 this Protestant pastor and
his wife explain how they stopped using contraception and started
using NFP.  "Their extensive work in marriage counseling has led them
to believe that contraception is a blight on marriage."

Derrick, Christopher _Honest Love and Human Life_ (New York: Coward-
McGann, 1969). "A supporter of Humanae Vitae explains why he thinks
that contraception is dishonest.  Derrick examines the population
explosion and tells why he regards man's essential choice as one
between widespread discipline and control and widespread disaster."
(Humanae Vitae is Pope Paul VI's 1968 encyclical reaffirming the
Catholic Church's condemnation of contraception as against the will
of God.)

Ernst, Siegfried. _Man: the Greatest of Miracles_ (Collegeville, MN:
Liturgical Press, 1976). "A Lutheran physician and theologian ex-
plains his convictions that Humanae Vitae is right."

Joyce, Mary _Love Responds to Life_ (Kenosha, WI, Prow Books, 1971)
"An explanation of Humanae Vitae that proceeds on a philosophical
level.  A discussion of the nature of love, the unity of the person,
and sexual freedom."

Joyce, Mary _The Meaning of Contraception_ (Staten Island, NY, Alba
House, 1970).  "A reinterpretation and analysis of the natural law
and its relationship to contraception.  It examines coitus from both
metaphysical and physical points of view and looks at conception
control from a view of the nature of the total human being."

Joyce, Mary and Joyce, Robert _New Dynamics in Sexual Love_ (College-
ville, MN: St. John's University Press, 1970) "A married couple show
how the meaning of human love and sexuality are truly inexhaustible.
They discuss the marriage of the future and present a philosophy of
sexual love."

Von Hildebrand, Dietrich _The Encyclical Humanae Vitae: a Sign of
Contradiction_ (Chicago: Franciscan Herald Press, 1969.)  An essay on
birth control and conscience.  An explanation of the nature of mar-
riage and a reply to objections to Humanae Vitae by the philosopher
who has defended the unitive purposes of marriage since 1930."

Von Hildebrand, Dietrich _Man and Woman_ (Chicago: Henry Regnery,
1966).  "An exposition of the meaning and goodness of marital sexual-
ity.  Chapter 5 treats of birth control and distinguishes contracep-
tion from natural family planning."

Marty Helgesen
Bitnet: mnhcc@cunyvm  Internet: mnhcc@cunyvm.cuny.edu

"Just say know to Gnosticism."