Is it a sin to use contraception?

[Cristo Rei]

Hi Cristo,
I think what Waiting on Him is trying to say (correct if I'm wrong @Waiting on him )
The dead man’s brother had to marry his SIL , and count the first son they bore as his dead brother’s child. This kept the brother’s name from vanishing and gave the destitute widow an inheritance.

(Deut. 25:5-10 "5 If brothers are living together and one of them dies without a son, his widow must not marry outside the family. Her husband’s brother shall take her and marry her and fulfill the duty of a brother-in-law to her. 6 The first son she bears shall carry on the name of the dead brother so that his name will not be blotted out from Israel. 7 However, if a man does not want to marry his brother’s wife, she shall go to the elders at the town gate and say, “My husband’s brother refuses to carry on his brother’s name in Israel. He will not fulfill the duty of a brother-in-law to me.” 8 Then the elders of his town shall summon him and talk to him. If he persists in saying, “I do not want to marry her,” 9 his brother’s widow shall go up to him in the presence of the elders, take off one of his sandals, spit in his face and say, “This is what is done to the man who will not build up his brother’s family line.” 10 That man’s line shall be known in Israel as The Family of the Unsandaled."


So as I see this, Onan sinned by not allowing the SIL to become pregnant, and he also dishonored his brother by not keeping his brothers heritage alive.
JMO.

I addressed this in the 4th post of this thread.
The breaking of Levitical laws are not punishable by death...
So that's not why the Lord took the life of Onan

 

[Nancy]

I addressed this in the 4th post of this thread.
The breaking of Levitical laws are not punishable by death...
So that's not why the Lord took the life of Onan

9 But Onan knew that the child would not be his; so whenever he slept with his brother’s wife, he spilled his semen on the ground to keep from providing offspring for his brother. 10 What he did was wicked in the Lord’s sight; so the Lord put him to death also.

 

[Cristo Rei]

9 But Onan knew that the child would not be his; so whenever he slept with his brother’s wife, he spilled his semen on the ground to keep from providing offspring for his brother. 10 What he did was wicked in the Lord’s sight; so the Lord put him to death also.

Like I said, Levitical laws aren't punishable by death

However, if a man does not want to marry his brother’s wife, she shall go to the elders at the town gate and say, “My husband’s brother refuses to carry on his brother’s name in Israel. He will not fulfill the duty of a brother-in-law to me.” Then the elders of his town shall summon him and talk to him. If he persists in saying, “I do not want to marry her,” his brother’s widow shall go up to him in the presence of the elders, take off one of his sandals, spit in his face and say, “This is what is done to the man who will not build up his brother’s family line.” That man’s line shall be known in Israel as The Family of the Unsandaled Deuteronomy 25:7-10

As this passage clearly shows us... Therefore what was Onan's sin that made God kill him???

 

[Sabertooth]

10 What he did was wicked in the Lord’s sight; so the Lord put him to death also.

That was unprecedented.

 

[Nancy]

That was unprecedented.

You mean the Lord putting to death the wicked is unprecedented?

 

[Cristo Rei]

You mean the Lord putting to death the wicked is unprecedented?

No read Deuteronomy 25:7-10 which i posted above

 

[Nancy]

Like I said, Levitical laws aren't punishable by death

However, if a man does not want to marry his brother’s wife, she shall go to the elders at the town gate and say, “My husband’s brother refuses to carry on his brother’s name in Israel. He will not fulfill the duty of a brother-in-law to me.” Then the elders of his town shall summon him and talk to him. If he persists in saying, “I do not want to marry her,” his brother’s widow shall go up to him in the presence of the elders, take off one of his sandals, spit in his face and say, “This is what is done to the man who will not build up his brother’s family line.” That man’s line shall be known in Israel as The Family of the Unsandaled Deuteronomy 25:7-10

As this passage clearly shows us... Therefore what was Onan's sin that made God kill him???

I'm sorry Cristo but, I cannot get past the very clear reason why God took Onan's life...it's right here in black and white. 9 But Onan knew that the child would not be his; so whenever he slept with his brother’s wife, he spilled his semen on the ground to keep from providing offspring for his brother. 10 What he did was wicked in the Lord’s sight; so the Lord put him to death also.

I have said nothing about the Levitical laws.

 

[Sabertooth]

I have said nothing about the Levitical laws.

Deuteronomy 25:5-10 says that Onan should have only gotten a bad name, not have died. That he [and subsequent brother] died meant something more was going on (in this case).

 

[Cristo Rei]

I'm sorry Cristo but, I cannot get past the very clear reason why God took Onan's life...it's right here in black and white. 9 But Onan knew that the child would not be his; so whenever he slept with his brother’s wife, he spilled his semen on the ground to keep from providing offspring for his brother. 10 What he did was wicked in the Lord’s sight; so the Lord put him to death also.

I have said nothing about the Levitical laws.

Aren't u saying that the Lord put Onan to death for not fulfilling his obligation to his brother? That is a Levitical law weather u accept it or not

so whenever he slept with his brother’s wife, he spilled his semen on the ground to keep from providing offspring for his brother

So we know that not providing offspring for his brother isn't punishable by death...
Therefore he must of killed him for spilling his seed

 

[Cristo Rei]

Scripture can be twisted many ways to suit ones narrative but this is very clear...
Onan was either killed for spilling his seed or for not providing offspring for his dead brothers wife
Seeing that the later isn't punishable by death it leaves us with one obvious answer
Contraception is wicked in the Lords sight

This can be the problem in interpreting scripture.
Our subjective experiences and beliefs can easily lead us away from the truth even when its in plain sight

 

[Pearl]

It should be a matter for the individual conscience but better to use contraception in the first place than to abort an unwanted baby.

 

[Nancy]

Scripture can be twisted many ways to suit ones narrative but this is very clear...
Onan was either killed for spilling his seed or for not providing offspring for his dead brothers wife
Seeing that the later isn't punishable by death it leaves us with one obvious answer
Contraception is wicked in the Lords sight

This can be the problem in interpreting scripture.
Our subjective experiences and beliefs can easily lead us away from the truth even when its in plain sight

Agreed, scripture can most certainly be twisted out of all shape!

"...he spilled his semen on the ground to keep from providing offspring for his brother. Motive.

7 "But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the Lord’s sight; so the Lord put him to death."
Just as The Lord put to death Er, the same way he put to death Onan, it was the Lords will to do that and I do not think it had a thing to do with the Lavitical Law. Is not the Lavitical Law punishment carried out by Pharisees and the Jewish people through stoning and such?

I do not claim to know all about this, just what the Lord has shown me in a few short hours...so, I could well be way off base.
God Bless

 

[Sabertooth]

Seeing that the later isn't punishable by death it leaves us with one obvious answer
Contraception is wicked in the Lords sight

Or... (see) Is it a sin to use contraception? #106

 

[Cristo Rei]

Thank you @Nancy and @Sabertooth I appreciate how up front and honest u guys are

I don't claim to be 100% sure and i don't think anyone can be.
Totally discounting an option without a really good basis is just not me. Id rather just say, God, I don't know

We have an act (spilling the seed) and the motive (keep from providing offspring to his dead brothers wife)
Now I will do what @Sabertooth just did and provide arguments against myself... Compliments of Deb, post #8

But the Levitical law (and its punishments) was not yet in existence. There are other considerations:

1) This was more important than just a mere family thing. It was Onan's duty to father the next generation of God's people. A whole tribe of descendants was depending on him!
2) He could have been honest and refused to do his duty - but instead he made a pretence of doing it.
3) What about Tamar? She was evidently willing to have sex with her brother-in-law in order to become a mother, but Onan was in effect using her for his sexual gratification without giving her the 'reward'.

That was her post and it was great food for though.
First she tells us that the Levitical laws wouldn't have been in existence at that time. She could be right about this, i don't know.
She could also be wrong as i don't know when Moses wrote his books or when the Levitical laws were inacted

Then she makes the argument that @Sabertooth just did I think. Willfully obstructing the lineage of Jesus.
Its a valid argument. Again it could be right or wrong

She then makes the argument that Onan lied by saying he would do it. Excellent point again, can't be certain

And finally she reminds us that Omar was using Tamar for his own sexual gratification, no responsibility, no strings attached, casual sex.
Also can't be certain but again, i have to concede its a valid point.

I also had another read of the context and was reminded of his older brother, Er
The previous paragraph we see God take Er's life but we aren't told why... There might be something in that

 

[Illuminator]

U may be overestimating my knowledge of scripture I think.
I began this thread to learn what other Christians thought about contraception.
What is your opinion on contraception?

It's not a popular topic on this board because most Christians are guilty of overusing it. There was no widespread use of contraception when the Bible was written; that is why there is not much about it in the Bible. But there is some, and there are moral principles that must be considered. Contraception and abortion are twin evils of the same root and it takes serious study and prayer to find out why the Church is so strongly opposed to both. Bottom line: they generally undermine the sacred bond of the family, and contribute to the destruction of society. Further moral decay from these twin evils has led to euthanasia, or doctor assisted suicide because human life is not considered sacred in a growing number of countries.

Attacks on marriage, properly understood, are commonplace. So are efforts to protect the sanctity of life de novo. Campaigns against genetic engineering are similarly condemned. Benedict sees this as the work of the “spiritual power of the Anti-Christ.”​

POPE EMERITUS BENEDICT XVI SOUNDS OFF

 

[Illuminator]

Gen 1:28, 9:1,7; 35:11 – from the beginning, the Lord commands us to be fruitful (“fertile”) and multiply. A husband and wife fulfill God’s plan for marriage in the bringing forth of new life, for God is life itself.

Gen. 28:3 – Isaac’s prayer over Jacob shows that fertility and procreation are considered blessings from God.

Gen. 38:9 – also, the author’s usage of the graphic word “seed,” which is very uncharacteristic for Hebrew writing, further highlights the reason for Onan’s death.

Exodus 23:25-26; Deut. 7:13-14 – God promises blessings which include no miscarriages or barrenness. Children are blessings from God, and married couples must always be open to God’s plan for new life with every act of marital intimacy.

Lev.18:22-23;20:13 – wasting seed with non-generative sexual acts warrants death. Many Protestant churches, which have all strayed from the Catholic Church, reject this fundamental truth (few Protestants and Catholics realize that contraception was condemned by all of Christianity – and other religions – until the Anglican church permitted it in certain cases at the Lambeth conference in 1930. This opened the floodgates of error).

1 Chron. 25:5 – God exalts His people by blessing them with many children. When married couples contracept, they are declaring “not your will God, but my will be done.”

Psalm 127:3-5 – children are a gift of favor from God and blessed is a full quiver. Married couples must always be open to God’s precious gift of life. Contraception, which shows a disregard for human life, has lead to the great evils of abortion, euthanasia, and infanticide.

Hosea 9:11; Jer. 18:21 – God punishes Israel by preventing pregnancy. Contraception is a curse, and married couples who use contraception are putting themselves under the same curse.

Mal. 2:14 – marriage is not a contract (which is a mere exchange of property or services). It is a covenant, which means a supernatural exchange of persons. Just as God is three in one, so are a husband and wife, who become one flesh and bring forth new life, three in one. Marital love is a reflection of the Blessed Trinity.

Mal. 2:15 – What does God desire? Godly offspring. What is contraception? A deliberate act against God’s will. With contraception, a couple declares, “God may want an eternal being created with our union, but we say no.” Contraception is a grave act of selfishness.

Matt. 19:5-6 – Jesus said a husband and wife shall become one. They are no longer two, but one, just as God is three persons, yet one. The expression of authentic marital love reintegrates our bodies and souls to God, and restores us to our original virginal state (perfect integration of body and soul) before God.

Matt. 19:6; Eph. 5:31 – contraception prevents God’s ability to “join” together. Just as Christ’s love for the Church is selfless and sacrificial, and a husband and wife reflect this union, so a husband and wife’s love for each other must also be selfless and sacrificial. This means being open to new life.

Acts 5:1-11 – Ananias and Sapphira were slain because they withheld part of a gift. Fertility is a gift from God and cannot be withheld.

Rom.1:26-27 – sexual acts without the possibility of procreation is sinful. Self-giving love is life-giving love, or the love is a lie. The unitive and procreative elements of marital love can never be divided, or the marital love is also divided, and God is left out of the marriage.

1 Cor. 6:19-20 – the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit; thus, we must glorify God in our bodies by being open to His will.

1 Cor. 7:5 – this verse supports the practice of natural family planning (“NFP”). Married couples should not refuse each other except perhaps by agreement for a season, naturally.

Gal. 6:7-8 – God is not mocked for what a man sows. If to the flesh, corruption. If to the Spirit, eternal life.

Eph. 5:25 – Paul instructs husbands to love their wives as Christ loved the Church, by giving his entire body to her and holding nothing back. With contraception, husbands tell their wives, I love you except your fertility, and you can have me except for my fertility. This love is a lie because it is self-centered, and not self-giving and life-giving.

Eph. 5:29-31; Phil. 3:2 – mutilating the flesh (e.g., surgery to prevent conception) is gravely sinful. Many Protestant churches reject this most basic moral truth.

1 Tim. 2:15 – childbearing is considered a “work” through which women may be saved by God’s grace.

Deut. 22:13-21 – these verses also show that God condemns pre-marital intercourse. The living expression of God’s creative love is reserved for a sacramental marriage between one man and one woman.

Rev. 9:21; 21:8; 22:15; Gal. 5:20 – these verses mention the word “sorcery.” The Greek word is “pharmakeia” which includes abortifacient potions such as birth control pills. These pharmakeia are mortally sinful. Moreover, chemical contraception does not necessarily prevent conception, but may actually kill the child in the womb after conception has occurred (by preventing the baby from attaching to the uterine wall). Contraception is a lie that has deceived millions, but the Church is holding her arms open wide to welcome back her children who have strayed from the truth.
CONTRACEPTION - Scripture Catholic

further reading:
Birth Control

 

[Prayer Warrior]

No! Abortion is not murder of babies. Abortion is merely discarding miscellaneous unformed fetal tissue, which having never been a living being, of course cannot be murdered.

For those who want to know the truth about the fetus, I have firsthand information to relay. When I was 8-weeks’ pregnant, my doctor ordered a routine ultrasound. After hearing this abortionist lie about a fetus being a blob of tissue most of my life, I was very surprised to see my baby’s fingers on the screen. This was NO blob in my womb!

Many women don’t know that they are pregnant until they are 8 weeks along. By the time they seek an abortion, their baby has fingers!

So many women and babies have been harmed by this lie!!!

 

[Stan B]

This is a perfect example of your total inability to discern allegorical Scriptural language from literal Scriptural language.
Job wasn't made of "clay". He came from his mother's womb like everybody else after Adam and Eve.

You're not Scripturally-bankrupt because you can READ Scripture. A 2nd-grader can READ Scripture.
You're Scripturally-bankrupt because you don't understand Scripture - and you pervert its meaning in the depths of your ignorance.

I am satisfied that God has been telling the truth, and your religion regards Him as a liar.

We are made of clay. I don't intend to waste time debating that with you. Go look it up on the internet. The body consists of something like 63 elements, ALL of which are found in the soil. And everything we eat, comes from the soil, so basically we survive upon eating dirt! And when we die, we return to dirt!

 

[Cristo Rei]

For those who want to know the truth about the fetus, I have firsthand information to relay. When I was 8-weeks’ pregnant, my doctor ordered a routine ultrasound. After hearing this abortionist lie about a fetus being a blob of tissue most of my life, I was very surprised to see my baby’s fingers on the screen. This was NO blob in my womb!

Many women don’t know that they are pregnant until they are 8 weeks along. By the time they seek an abortion, their baby has fingers!

So many women and babies have been harmed by this lie!!!

Awww tiny little fingers. The wonder of God mate... We cannot intervene, no way. A moral argument is this...
An immoral act is intentional and does harm
At 8 weeks an unborn child can feel pain. In order to abort it you must inflict pain onto it. Pain=harm=immoral

Ye there is a kind of mental condition which is like PTSD specific to abortion remorse. Many women experience this
Apparently if a woman sees the image of her child in her womb on the screen it nearly always has this effect of keeping it
But this doco i watched was saying that they don't show the image, im not sure where it was

There is a beautiful sculpture illustrating abortion remorse. I'll let it speak for itself

 

[Prayer Warrior]

Awww tiny little fingers. The wonder of God mate... We cannot intervene, no way. A moral argument is this...
An immoral act is intentional and does harm
At 8 weeks an unborn child can feel pain. In order to abort it you must inflict pain onto it. Pain=harm=immoral

Ye there is a kind of mental condition which is like PTSD specific to abortion remorse. Many women experience this
Apparently if a woman sees the image of her child in her womb on the screen it nearly always has this effect of keeping it
But this doco i watched was saying that they don't show the image, im not sure where it was

There is a beautiful sculpture illustrating abortion remorse. I'll let it speak for itself

When I saw my baby on the screen, I burst into tears. It’s a very touching experience and one that I will always treasure.

My heart goes out to women who live with such pain and regret about abortion. But God forgives and heals.