Rants

Position Paper on Birth Control
Mitchell Persaud – e-mail discussion group.
I am in favor of no birth control in general. I will list what I believe to be the possible exceptions.
God called man to multiply and fill the earth. It is understood that to multiply and fill the earth (the whole scope of the command) is a greater thing than having children. Having and raising godly children is part of multiplying and filling the earth. If you have children and they are not raised rightly and die in their sins or die young because of lack of instruction or food, then you are not filling the earth…physically and spiritually.
How having children has become the greatest or only the focus of the command is anyone’s guess. Postmils have always argued for a spiritual dominion view– God’ news spreading to all men – not a physical multiplication resulting in dominion – though that is not denied as a means used to this end.
Note that the blessing/command of Genesis 9 - to Noah, implies not only Divine sovereignty, but also human responsibility. He must exercise his common sense, based on God’s Word, on how to fulfill the whole scope of the law. This is the same idea of Genesis 1:28 - Then God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth."
If the focus of the command is multi-faceted, then it must be approached that way. Having dominion over the animals, while not on the same level of having children, is part of the command. And witnessing and preaching are parts of having dominion. Working is part of the command in having dominion. But one does not have to witness and preach day and night – prayer does not have to be “without ceasing” physically. To do so is to ignore one’s wife and children…a greater responsibility. So with having children…if a greater responsibility (as dealing with your wife’s spiritual condition or physical condition) requires that you give up fulfilling part of the command to multiply and fill the earth, you should. It is a normal logical conclusion based on biblical presuppositions. The Scripture commands men to work: If a man does not work he should not eat. It does not give man the right to work and not have family worship with his children. And by reason of importance, if a man is unable to have family worship because of his job, he ought to be looking at other work, family worship being of greater importance.
A woman who finds herself sick (some of you know one with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and other complications) may not be able to have children or face incredible pain and danger in childbirth and in raising children. She might not be able to fulfill this part of the kingdom command even though she is married, but she might be able to pray for leaders and write to MP’s and give good help to other women. This is all part of having dominion mandate. If one were able to kill to protect life, why might one not be able to refrain from having children to protect life?
The Roman Catholic teaching that sex is only for procreation deny the Scripture that God’s first reason for giving man a wife was for companionship…It is not good for man to be alone. I Cor. 7:5 - Do not deprive one another except with consent for a time, that you may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again so that Satan does not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.God also give woman to be a helper in his tasks.
More still, the children procreated in marriage are to be used for the purpose of having dominion over the earth…in all things…not just by having other children. If you don’t have the time, energy and other resources to do this, you might be keeping the law in one area but failing miserably in another. A wise preacher reminded me today that we should seek to have our quiver full but the arrows must be straight. Therefore, if the mother and father can’t physically fulfill their responsibility (of course this, like all other laws, are subject to fraud) then they are breaking another one of God’s law…not raising godly seed. They may only be able to have dominion over ten kids. If they are not able to rule fifteen, then they have caused more trouble in Xians having dominion over the earth because others have to be involved in raising their other five. (Life becomes busy for the elders and deacons.) God gives us many different gifts.
The wise preacher also said that the wife is compared to a vine. Psalm 128, I think. Jesus is pictured as the one who prunes the vine (the church) so it will produce more. I hope you can see the analogy. Spending time to prune and care for one’s wife can give time to produce better. If a wife were given time to strengthen her muscles after having C-section in order to have regular birth (and practice birth control in the meanwhile) she would be able to have more children in the long run… Should short-sightedness be the order of the day because of an absolute demand for no birth control? And who best to make this decision, but the husband and wife?

Additional Arguments
Abstinence is a form of birth control. Those who may not use lab produced methods of birth control are still practicing birth control. But who determines how much abstinence is birth control? Is there a measure of how often a man must have sex with his wife? Once per week…Five times? Then to take this command literally one must do a lot of work… Those who feel absolutely no birth control could be practiced at anytime must have the obligation for instance to keep a thermometer in his wife’s mouth each morning to know when she is ovulating. If he does not do so then he is practicing birth control because he is not making every effort in his power to promote having children.
The reason I have chosen to speak on this matter when I am principally against birth control is the kind of blanket statements that are thrown around as: gov’t should ban all birth control, birth control is evil, people who use birth-control don’t trust God.
A man who practices birth control (though probably on very few occasions) might be showing great compassion for his sick wife. (I firmly believe that most people practice birth control for selfish reasons. I am not addressing them.)
I recognize that most people use birth control because they are lazy, covetous, dishonoring parents, indifferent, selfish, not wanting to honor God, etc. And God judges sin. I also recognize that doctors often give false advice. We were asked six times whether we wanted to prevent having children when my wife was having our first born by C-section.
We must guard our tongues (and do we ever need this one), and work on our part of multiplying and filling the earth… And by the way, pray that we can be used by God for #3. We are being forced by God to learn patience.