Dr. Albert Mohler asked the question: what should Christian couples think about birth control? The impetus for his question was driven by the fortieth anniversary of Humanae Vitae, the Roman Catholic encyclical that reiterated Rome's prohibition against any sort of artificial birth control. It was long a strictly Roman issue, but now spearheaded by groups like the QuiverFull movement evangelical Christians are starting to ask this question. Especially for young Christian couples, the question of when or even if to have children is at the forefront of many couples minds. Should Christian married couples put off unduly or even refuse entirely to have children. And that is what it is, a refusal. It is not a choice, all things being equal, to have children. It is the default. A man and a woman get married and in the natural course of things have children. The only choice for most couple is to NOT have children by artificial means. So is that permissible Scripturally?
The Scripture is pretty clear. Children are intended as an end result of the marital relationship and are consistently referred to as a blessing, one that is specifically granted by God. Tell someone God is going to bless them with money or cars, and man they are all for it! Tell them God is going to bless them abundantly with children, and you may get a less enthusiastic reaction. The very first things God tells His crowning achievement is found in Genesis 1: 28:
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth." (Genesis 1:27-28)
Where is that explicit command abrogated? It is part of marriage and marriage is ordained by God to propagate the human race, to have dominion over the earth and rule it. I think Dr. Mohler sums it up properly, not every marital act is required to be open to procreation, but every Christan marriage should be. Timing and circumstance may impact when Christians start a family, and believe me I know how expensive a big family can be! It is a conversation we need to have in the church and in families, with a view of children that recognizes them as blessings, and not inconveniences to our lifestyle or entries on our financial statements. Dr. Mohler's broadcast is a great place to start thinking about it the issue.
Just because we can prevent child birth does not mean we should prevent it.
3 comments:
Is there a command for all Christians to procreate? In 1 Corinthians, Paul commends the decision to remain unmarried. It is right that these individuals do not multiply. Is it also right for the Christian couple who decide not to have children? Paul writes "but if they cannot exercise self-control, let them marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion." He is addressing sexual purity not procreation. Or if they are to multiply, are they to do so as long as biology allows them? Paul writes "Let the husband render to his wife the affection due her, and likewise also the wife to her husband." He recognizes the sanctity of the marriage bed and the threat of sexual temptation.
I agree completely that many have lost sight of the wonderful blessing God bestows on us with children. Today is my daughter's second birthday and cannot express in words the blessing she is for my wife and me. I will not argue the blessing God has given us with children. However, I am not sure there is a biblical call for all to procreate or prohibition of preventing conception by artificial means. I should also state further I believe all forms of abortion is murder. This includes the act of taking the "morning-after" pill and any other means of ending the baby's life later in pregnancy. But that is discussion for anoher day.
This comment is already longer than I intended, so I'll end here. My beliefs are still being sharpened, so I look forward to hearing more from you on this topic.
Hi Craig,
I guess the flip side would be to ask if there is a command to Christians to abrogate the commandment to be fruitful and multiply?
Procreation is typically a necessary result of sexual relations in marriage, at least for the first 1900+ years of the church. The command to marry would of necessity have assumed and expected children to be one of the results. I would reiterate what Dr. Mohler says that while not every sexual act must be open to children, every Christian marriage should be. Health reasons aside, what reason would a Christian couple have to NOT want to be blessed by children?
Hi Ken
My rambling comment above aside, we are in 100% agreement. I don't believe a "Christian couple" would not want to be blessed with children. Many individuals sitting in the pews wish to sow the flesh and yet consider themselves Christians. Cars, country clubs, houses, and vacations. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Have these couples that choose to pursue a Mercedes over a family been born again. Have they even heard the Gospel preached in their church. That is where the prolem is in this age of feel-good Christianity--preach to them the good news. There is no reason to expect the unregenerate to make decisions as if they are born again. I don't want to say ALL who choose not to have children are not Christian. But it is a call for self examination.
My comment was intended be directed more to the importance of "knowing" your wife for more than procreation and to the Catholic Church's prohibition on birth control. Is it a sin to control by artificial means the timing or even the number of children? As a recovering Catholic, I am apprehensive on their teachings and laws based on tradition, not on scripture.
I appreciate your blog. I'll try to make future comments more concise.
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