Struggling with Contraceptives

When I was in high school I was a teen peer educator for 2 years on the issues of safe sex, HIV, AIDS, STDs, date rape, and more through a program called R.E.A.L. (Reaching Educating And Learning) at the Southwest Washington Health District.  It was a great experience and God taught me about loving others through it, even though I was not yet following Christ.

I've never had much of a struggle with the idea of birth control. I've not approved of the "morning after pill" or abortions since becoming a Christian since both seem obviously incompatible with the teachings of scripture. Birth control pills, condoms, vaginal barriers, etc., on the other hand, have never been problematic in my mind. Why? I can't say. The notion of controlling child-birth has never crossed my mind as unfaithful or irresponsible.

Recently, however, I've begun to question my protestant position on this issue. Perhaps it's not ideal or even God-honoring to use these birth control methods (unless of course they are absolutely necessary for one's health I guess). What has made me question this?

The Soul and the Conception

A couple early church leaders have some strong words about this sort of thing. Below are a few quotes from the early church leader Tertullian regarding when human life begins.

"Life begins with conception, for we contend that the soul also begins from conception. Life takes its commencement at the same place and time that the soul does." -Tertullian

Lactantius agrees with Tertullian when he writes, "The soul is not introduced into the body after birth, as some philosophers think. Rather, it is introduced immediately after conception, when the divine necessity has formed the offspring in the womb."

Tertullian further explains this position when he writes, "Now the entire process of sowing, forming, and completing the human embryo in the womb is no doubt regulated by some power, which ministers therein to the will of God - regardless of what may be the method that it is appointed to employ... We, on our part, believe the angels to officiate herein for God. The embryo, therefore, becomes a human being in the womb from the moment that its form is completed." He also made his point in very simple words by stating, "The flesh and the soul have a simultaneous birth, without any calculable difference in time."

In the gospels we read that Mary becomes pregnant with the Messiah. Are we to think that the coming Saviour was not yet who the angel proclaimed to Mary and Joseph the very moment the process of pregnancy began? All this has weight in the following words.

Ending Pregnancy
The father of Western theology (Tertullian) also wrote about pregnancies that end early. He writes, "If we become injured in the womb, this is a loss suffered by what is already a human being." When it comes to the use of methods to intentionally end pregnancy the early church leaders had things to say as well.

"We say that those women who use drugs to bring on abortion commit murder. And we also say they will have to give an account to God for the abortion." -Athenagoras

"Are you to dissolve the conception by aid of drugs? I believe it is no more lawful to hurt a child in process of birth, than to hurt one who is already born." -Tertullian 

"There are some women, who by drinking medical preparations, extinguish the source of the future man in their very bowels. So they commit murder before they bring forth. And these things assuredly come down from the teaching of your gods." -Mark Minucius Felix 

Intentional Sterility 
The above words can all be considered to only address post-conception methods of abortion. But there are other words from the early church that speak of methods which produce sterility and even of the need to welcome children as we seek sexual activity.

"Women who were reputed believers began to resort to drugs for producing sterility. They all girded themselves around, so as to expel what was being conceived. For they did not wish to have a child by either a slave or by any common fellow - out of concern for their family and their excessive wealth. See what a great impiety the lawless one has advanced! He teaches adultery and murder at the same time!" -Hippolytus

"If God still forms man, we will be guilty of audacity if we think of the procreation of children as something offensive. For the Almighty Himself is not ashamed to make use of it, in working with His undefiled hands." -Methodius

It's murderous. It plays God, seeking to control what it taught to be his work in humanity (this also puts the "pull-out" method in jeopardy). It holds potential to make us sexually irresponsible by eliminating natural consequences. These are a few arguments against using these birth control methods that I've come across.

Admittedly, some of these early church leaders also believed that marriage and sexual activity were only to be engaged in for procreation alone. Some of these men even said that pleasure is not something to be persued. For our culture, this sounds crazy. I'll confess that I disagree with a bit of these teachings. But that doesn't make me right. We're all influenced by the time and culture we are in.

I'm not saying I'm persuaded that Christians should abstain from these contraceptives. Not yet anyway. I'm trying to wrestle this out and find understanding. I want to do that fairly by investigating all the legitimate positions possible.

I'm borrowing a book from a friend that discusses this issue in seemingly efficient detail. It's called Birth Control for Christians; Making Wise Choices by Jenell Williams Paris. I'm looking to answer the question: "Why shouldn't I support abstaining from these practices as a Christian?" I'm curious to see what the author has to say about surgical procedures such as vasectomies.

Perhaps this article is merely for my own sake, but I hope that it also spurs on questions and discussion that build up others. Let's reason together and seek discernment. May Christ lead us to living out truth and goodness so that we may reflect him to the world.