11.06.06
Contraception
Up until 1930, all Christian churches rejected contraception. That changed with the Anglican church (hmm, the usual suspect it seems) allowed its use, and the rest followed. Since then, the Catholic Chuch has become the only church to still stand firm in its stance against contraception.So, what’s the big deal?It’s intersting to see that many young Protestant couples are now rejecting contraception, and rethinking its use and the meaning of sexuality.Being Frank had a post the other day, provocatively called The idiot’s guide to dumb sex. The poster’s point was that we human beings would do anything to get pleasure out of sex, even though it obviously goes against our best interests (acquring trans-generational side-effects, including “seriously increased risk of breast cancer, heart disease, stroke, ovarian and other cancers, early onset dementia, and a multitude of other serious conditions”).Not to mention that contraception is harmful to marriage. It’s not hard to see how this might be, when you think about what contraception does; it allows on-demand sex. What this does is to reduce the spouse into an object to be used, rather than a person to be loved. Love gives, receives and reciprocates – and this is what love making should be, not “me”-centred taking. No wonder NFP couples stay together: “Two statistics tell the whole story: the divorce rate among couples who use NFP is under three percent, while the divorce rate among couples who use contraceptives is well over 50 percent.”Unfortunately, anything in this area – even among Catholics – is met with fierce opposition because it touches on what our friend Universal calls the “Pantology” (theology of the pants!). Alas, if only we could think with our pants on.
