Expert: Mrs. Priscilla Lyons - 6/22/2004

Question
Dear Mrs. Lyons.
My wife wants to know your opinion on the contraception, for example interrupted coitus, hormonal pills or condoms in marriage, because we as former Catholics were taught by Church that these methods of birth control are very sinful as in the verses of Genesis 38 where Onan, son of Judah was killed by Lord because of offspringing his sperm on the ground. What would the Baptists tell of the contraception with the respect to Bible? Thank you very much.

            Buzrla from Czech Republic

Answer
Dear Mr. Buzrla,
   This is a very good question.  Baptists as a group don't address this, relying on principles of freedom of conscience such as those addressed in Romans 14 and I Corinthians 8.
   Genesis 38 can be understood to disapprove of Onan's not wanting his brother's property to have heirs, so Onan's own heirs would have more property, in other words, a disapproval of selfishness and lack of respect for God's plan of a great nation promised to Abraham (Gen 12:2).  But other passages in the Bible give a positive tone to having children so that contraception might well be considered to be disagreeing with God's view.  Christians who have a lot of children and are able to instill in them a Christian viewpoint are a blessing to everyone.  True Christians are obviously outnumbered, so we probably hurt our cause with contraception.
   The Genesis 1:28 directive to "Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the earth..." hasn't really been negated that I know of, except that there are a lot more people now.
   If I were to try to justify having only two children, I'd say that it would have been very difficult for my one-track mind to teach the value and importance of God and the individual worth of each of a dozen children when I would be so busy cooking and cleaning for so many.  And the time and ability to provide food, shelter, and Christian training for lots of children might be lacking for a father.  But I'm sure God would give the ability needed for whatever children were given, so no, I don't know of much Biblical support for contraception.
   On the other hand, there are many things available to us now that weren't available in the past.  I think God wants us to be good stewards of what He has provided now.  For instance, since we have access to healthy water, I don't think a Christian should drink wine or any other alcohol since it's a waste of money and can be a stumbling block for those who might drink and kill someone in a car wreck or fit of anger.  But the Bible seems to allow for different personalities to express His glory in different ways (I Corinthians 12).
   The key is to obey the Holy Spirit as He speaks to you through your daily reading of His Word.  Recognition that God's way is better than our own way and willingness to turn from sin to follow God is how we received God's gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.  But, unlike Catholicism, true Christianity emphasizes that we can't earn salvation.  We can rest assured of our salvation in Jesus Christ, even though we may not be sure of God's position on contraception for every Christian.
   Just to show us that God saves in spite of some of our lack of understanding, salvation (Jesus Christ) came to us with God using a genealogy full of human failures.  The Phares mentioned in Matthew 1:2 was the son of Judah conceived by his daughter-in-law acting as a prostitute because Judah refused to give her his youngest son (Genesis 38).
   I haven't been much help, but I have appreciated the opportunity to discuss this issue.  I pray that your marriage will bring God glory (Ephesians 5:32-33), and that He will give you His peace on this matter.
   Sincerely,
   Mrs. Lyons