The Contraception Question

The President's decision to override religious freedom in favor of contraception (and abortion^*) has raised its own little firestorm, but there are many who are thinking, "Wait, why am I getting upset over this? Isn't contraception a Catholic thing?" Tim Challies over at Challies.com has been doing a series on "The Bible and Birth Control" (Part 1 and Part 2) that is quite enlightening. I won't bother to restate his arguments on the topic. He's a good writer and you would do well to examine them for yourself (since it's about The Bible and Birth Control rather than my opinion or his). It is my conviction, however, that we are guilty of not loving God with our whole minds when it comes to topics like these.

Here's what is typical. We do or don't do something because our pastor or our parents or whatever other primary, trusted source tells us to do or not do it. That often won't change. If it does, it will typically change not because we examined it carefully, sought the Lord, read the Scriptures, and found the reasons that we should change. More often it's because "I really want to do what I've been told I shouldn't, or don't want to do what I've been told I should." When that happens, we'll find reasons, excuses, biblical prooftexts, or "wise scholars" who will inform us that "all of Christendom for all time has been wrong an that point" or some such so that we can then indulge our whims rather than engage our brains. And, of course, when a sufficient tide of people have succumbed to their whims on a particular topic (like contraception), our pastors, parents, or whatever other primary, trusted sources start telling us what we want to hear and that becomes "the norm", the "new moral". On the topic of contraception, then, while it was always held as immoral prior to the 20th century regardless of whether you were Roman Catholic or Protestant of some stripe or another, we've managed to push that tide over so that nearly all Protestants and even a whole lot of Roman Catholics are now persuaded otherwise. Why? Because of clear biblical examination and careful thinking? No. Not at all. We're not really thinking about it anymore.

I'm not making an argument here for (or against) contraception. I'm making an argument here for thinking. We are to "be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect" (Rom 12:2). We are to "take every thought captive to obedience to Christ" (2 Cor 10:5). God does not ask for mindless drones who don't think. We are to be among "those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil" (Heb 5:14). Think! Is contraception good or bad? I am not saying. Tim Challies makes some interesting points worth considering. I'm simply asking you to consider. Consider what God says. Consider what is in the Word. Test yourself. These things are the obligation of all followers of Christ.
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^* "Hey, what's this stuff about abortion, anyway? The president isn't saying we'll have to pay for abortions. Don't misrepresent this stuff, man!" When I reference abortion (now -- because who knows where it will go later), I reference the standard contraceptive methods of abortifacients. These methods do not prevent conception, but rather prevent pregnancy, either by making the uterus an unfriendly place for an embryo or by dislodging the embryo. That is abortion.