"Am I in God’s stead?" - Intro on Birth Control - Part I of "The Bondage of the Pill"

“…Martin Luther, considered it a sin "worse than adultery or incest" (Commentary on Genesis 38:10). Calvin and Wesley, as well as Protestant theologians like Spurgeon and Pink, all condemned birth control.” - Phil Bloom Seattle, WA September, 1996 (revised March 1998)

"the purpose of marriage is not pleasure and ease but the procreation and education of children and the support of a family.... People who do not like children are…not worthy to be called men and women, because they despise the blessing of God, the Creator and Author of marriage" – Martin Luther (Christian History, Issue 39, p. 24).

"...we have found not one orthodox theologian to defend Birth Control before the 1900's NOT ONE! On the other hand, we have found that many highly regarded Protestant theologians were enthusiastically opposed to it, all the way back to the very beginning of the Reformation ...those in favor of Birth Control will find no one in the orthodox Protestant camp for the first four centuries to ally themselves with. - Charles Provan “The Bible and Birth Control”

Before I begin, let me lay out a few things:

(1) – this series will primarily deal with the use of birth control within the context of Christian marriage
(2) – I will assume a certain amount of familiarity with the subjects at hand, and thier biblical implications
(3) – being that this issue is one as old as Genesis, the only thing new that I bring to the table is it's discussion in a new place, by new faces, for a new generation.
(4) – I do pray the Lord convicts my readers on this matter. It is an issue of grave importance for this and future generations, and should be more heavily understood and debated than it is.

-- The Bondage of the Pill and the “God Complex”—

Being that Martin Luther is one of the more outspoken critics of birth control and the various forms of abortions, I felt it appropriate to name this series “The Bondage of the Pill”. For those who have read Luther’s “Bondage of the Will”, they may see some of the same arguments come out within the series, since I believe that the birth ‘control’ issue eventually becomes one of the human will vs. the Divine will.

So take your shoes off, roll up your pants, and let’s wade in some living waters, how ‘bout it?

Let’s start with some questions:
Is it wrong to “play” God? (And they all said, “Amen!”)
After all, isn’t that what the uproar about stem cell research is over? Many Christians see it as playing God. Tampering with the creation/destruction of human in its most defenseless form. As is usual with much of Christendom, we have the same Book, we see the same commands, we have the same facts, we agree with what we have been taught, and believe it wholeheartedly; and yet we come away with different point-of-views. We all know it is wrong to play God, but that doesn’t stop some Christians from pushing the envelope, in the name of “science”, or “health”, or “quality of human life”, or in our context “ease of the married life”. I hope most of it is ignorance, however I’m frightened that much of it may be near-sighted modern revisionism.



So what do those old guys know anyway?
Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Wesley, Robert Dabney, Charles Spurgeon, A.W. Pink, Zacharius Ursinus, Heinrich Bullinger, Cotton Mather, Herbert Leupold, Johann Keil, Franz Delitszch, Matthew Henry, Adam Clark and John Machen. Doubtless, names that inspire theological prowess and prestige – and in this case, firm and biblical criticism of birth control.

So, I expect you ‘not to do it’ just because everyone else isn’t, right?

Well, you’re close. Spurgeon once said, “That which is new is not true. It is the old that is true, for truth is as old as God himself.” The criticism for use of birth control is not new by any means, and (I would assert) even goes back to biblical times. What is new, is the evangelical push to ‘accept’ it, within the realms of Christian responsibility. The argument has become today, “I should have the choice on when I have children – and not leave it up to chance (nature, God, or any other word that is along the same drift).”


-- Waiting until the time is right, and our pockets are full --
I’ll continue here with a quote I made on this issue at Fillup.org:

I don’t see this issue as one of stewardship either. How many times have we told God, “Lord, don’t let me make that much money this year — I just don’t think I’m ready for it”, or “I appreciate these spiritual gifts that you have given me, but that is enough for now. I don’t think I could deal with anymore.” The truth is, God knows what we are ‘ready’ for [and when we are ready for it]. Like folks always say, “God won’t give you anything that you can’t handle.”


What this quote deals with is the prevailing view that birth control is permissible if it is being used to allow the family more time to ‘prepare’ for having children, and/or control the quality of life for other children in the home. Much of this preparation amounts to financial preparations. I continue here with an example:

--Couple A has just been married. Both are still in college and have student loans. That being the case, they decide to use birth control until they are financially stable enough to raise a child and, in a sense, tell God that they “don’t want any kids right now – it’s just not the right time.”
--Now, let us say, for the sake of argument, that we have a pastor of a church, a “family of God”, and just for consistency we will call it Couple B. Couple B has been a church for many years, and has had many ‘new additions’ to the family throughout the years (i.e. conversions and baptisms). However; once its pews are filled every Sunday, Couple B decides that it can’t handle any more ‘members’ of its family. If they kept growing, they’d have to build a bigger church, and would have less leisure time to themselves. So in order to ‘control’ its new ‘births’, it decides to quit presenting the gospel. After all, it’s already a big family – why add anymore?

Okay, so Couple B is a stretch. But, does it pull any heartstrings? I hope so. It’s a hideous thought that think that a preacher would decide that his church had ‘enough’ members and, in a sense, closed its doors. They couldn’t do that! Not with the command, “Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.” Matt. 28:19. That’s a preacher’s job, isn’t it? To proclaim the word of God, and “[teach] them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you…” Matt. 28:20.

And what about this Couple A? What is their deal? Well, they have decided to close their own womb. They said, in effect, “Bless us later God. With school, and work – children will have to wait”. Oh my! What would Rachel think? Or Sarah? While these women went out of their way to try to force the Lord to bless them with offspring, Couple A is doing the opposite and (I think the case could be made) standing in God’s stead.
“And Jacob’s anger was kindled against Rachel: and he said, ‘Am I in God’s stead, who hath withheld from thee the fruit of the womb?’” – Genesis 30:2
God's exhortation to Couple A was, "Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth..." Would you say they were obeying that command? What would the bible say about 'closing your own womb'?

In closing:
If the issue is economical stability, perhaps the question should be — Should marriage wait until the couple is economical ready for the blessing of children? That seems to be a faith filled outlook.

If the issue is biblical, perhaps the question should be – Should a Christian assume the right of ‘birth control’ under the guise of stewardship, and take a pro-active role in something that is not expressly delegated to the believer and in fact is clearly spoken out against? Or should we, as President Bush so eloquently put it, “always err on the side of life.”


Verses for meditation:
Genesis 38
Psalm 139

Carry on,
Bro. Hank
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Look for the interview shortly!!!