Personal Birth Control Study

Is Birth Control Biblical?

I set out to find the answer, and below is the study I came up with. This is posted here as something to remember, but should not be taken as my final thoughts on the subject.

Is there any Biblical justification for practicing birth control?

Is there anything in the Bible that would condemn birth control?

I don't want to get into a discussion about the types of birth control. The question I want to answer is: What does the Bible say about birth control? The issue in my mind is more: Should we be doing this at all? It is not: Which methods are alright for us to use? (So if you're quite happy with your current birth control beliefs, you may not want to read anymore. An 'Ignorance is Bliss' sort of thing.)

Not knowing where to start, I thought I would cover the 'classic' passage. At least it is the one that you always hear about in regards to birth control. The story of Onan: Genesis 38:1-10.

38:1-5 At that time Judah left his brothers and stayed with an Adullamite man named Hirah. There Judah saw the daughter of a Canaanite man named Shua. Judah acquired her as a wife and had marital relations with her. She became pregnant and had a son. Judah named him Er. She became pregnant again and had another son, whom she named Onan. Then she had yet another son, whom she named Shelah. She gave birth to him in Kezib.

38:6 Judah acquired a wife for Er his firstborn; her name was Tamar. 38:7 But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was evil in the Lord’s sight, so the Lord killed him. 38:8 Then Judah said to Onan, “Have sexual relations with your brother’s wife and fulfill the duty of a brother-in-law to her so that you may raise up a descendant for your brother.” 38:9 But Onan knew that the child would not be considered his. So whenever he had sexual relations with his brother’s wife, he withdrew prematurely so as not to give his brother a descendant. 38:10 What he did was evil in the Lord’s sight, so the Lord killed him too.

My first that after a read through of this passage is: This is not the same situation as happens today at all. So can you really even draw a comparison? This passage lets us know that it is wrong to prevent your sister in law from conceiving. What does that mean for a monogamous husband and wife relationship today? Anything?

It's not even as simple as 'Onan was killed because he prevented children.' He was killed because he prevented and did not want his brother to have children.

However, while this passage does not condemn birth control outright, it seems to paint it in a negative light. One very important point: God knows exactly what we are doing in the realm of birth control and sex. He sees it, so we should not play ignorant and think we're hiding.

Some cross references for this passage:

Deut 25:5-6: If brothers live together and one of them dies without having a son, the dead man’s wife must not remarry someone outside the family. Instead, her late husband’s brother must go to her, marry her, and perform the duty of a brother-in-law. Then the first son she bears will continue the name of the dead brother, thus preventing his name from being blotted out of Israel.

Even though this law was recorded after Onan's incident, based on Judah's insistence it must have been understood by the patriarchs at that time. Onan was breaking a specific duty that God gave to the brothers of the deceased. Was the Lord more displeased with his selfishness than his birth control? They are so intertwined it may be impossible to determine.

Ruth 1:11, 4:10: We see this principle in Deuteronomy properly carried out by Boaz.

In looking at some online material surrounding Onan I found this article: http://www.bible.org/page.php?page_id=116

It spells out the OT custom of raising up seed for a deceased family member.

A quote from the article: "Personally, I think that we do the text an injustice if we conclude that any and every form of birth control is sin on the basis of this passage alone. Birth control in any form would have been evil for Onan, but that is not the same as saying it is wrong in any form for us, for we have not been commanded to raise up seed as he was. Birth control (or any act, for that matter) is evil if it is motivated by self-seeking and if it is clearly an act of disobedience. “Whatever is not of faith is sin” (Romans 14:23) must be one standard by which we measure our every action. Many, I fear, do prevent the conception of children for purely selfish reasons. Some practice birth control out of a lack of faith, doubting that God will provide materially or emotionally. Since “children are a gift of the Lord” (Psalm 127:3), I believe that one should carefully consider his real reasons for birth control, but I cannot step beyond this to say that it is always wrong. There may be reasons of health, for example, which would dictate that measures should be taken to prevent conception. Abortion, of course, is an entirely separate issue."

Information on the author: http://www.bible.org/author.php?author_id=9

I'm really keying in on the above author's phrase: "I believe that one should carefully consider his real reasons for birth control." Also, I need to ask myself if my reasons for practicing birth control would have any Biblical basis? (or at least not be unbiblical.)

As I think about this topic my mind continues to be drawn back to the premarital counseling books my wife and I went through. I seem to remember them justifying birth control somehow, but I don't remember any specific Biblical references.

'Intended for Pleasure' Chapter 11: "Planning and Achieving Parenthood."

Dr Ed Wheat makes this point: "When both partners are knowledgeable and maturing Christians, they should have as many children as they feel they can properly train for a productive Christian life." That really rings true for me, if you have so many kids that you can't properly raise them, that is a problem. Unfortunately Dr Wheat uses no Scripture to give the 'okay' to birth control. His book seems to already have the presumption that birth control is okay for a Christian, his subject matter in this chapter is the methods of birth control.

After thinking about Dr. Wheat's statement for the past week, I kept on returning to Paul's instructions about overseers, elders, and deacons. They are as follows:

I Timothy 3:4-5 He must manage his own household well and keep his children in control without losing his dignity. But if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for the church of God?

I Timothy 3:12 Deacons must be husbands of one wife and good managers of their children and their own households.

Titus 1:6 An elder must be blameless, the husband of one wife, with faithful children who cannot be charged with dissipation or rebellion .

How do I balance all of my responsibilities and 'keep my children in control'? How can I best be a 'good manager of my children', (along with managing work and church)? How can I prevent my children from being 'charged with dissipation or rebellion'?

The answer to all of these questions is to properly train and raise the children that I have. Can I draw this conclusion: It will be more difficult to properly manage and control 20 children than 5 children, therefore I should use birth control to better fulfill my responsibilities to my family.

Or what about: I will be unable to properly train my children to be faithful if there are more than 10 of them.

I realize that 20 and 10 are a lot of children, but it's very possible for a fertile couple to have that many kids. I know these verses aren't speaking of birth control, but can I draw that conclusion.

Here are some questions I would like to ask some of the 'Biblical Giants' in my life:

1) What is your personal view concerning the use of birth control? (method not important)

2) Can you justify that view with Scripture? If so, please explain.