The Christian Case Against Contraception

Evangelicals often give little thought to the morality of contraception, but when they do, serious studies of the subject are scarce if not non-existent. The Christian Case against Contraception seeks to fill this gap by evaluating the practice, not from personal preference or mere experience, but from the four major theological disciplines of Christianity: Historical, Biblical, Systematic, and Practical Theology and Ethics. The book begins with a contrastive analysis between secular and ecclesiastical culture and thought concerning the subject of contraception and the purpose of the sexual act. The claims of the Church, that contraception is morally unacceptable, is examined further as the book takes the reader on a journey through biblical, systematic, and practical arguments which establish the foundations of the Historic Church's claim. Opposing arguments are evaluated as to their strength and validity. In fact, Hodge stirs the debate with a challenge that he has yet to see Christians set forth a valid biblical argument in support of contraceptive practices. For the reader seeking to place procreative ethics under the lordship of Christ, The Christian Case against Contraception offers a bold and clear way forward.

Evangelicals often give little thought to the morality of contraception, but when they do, serious studies of the subject are scarce if not non-existent. The Christian Case against Contraception seeks to fill this gap by evaluating the practice, not from personal preferences or more experience, but from the four major theological disciplines of Christianity: Historical, Biblical, Systematic, and Practical Theology and Ethics. The book begins with a contrastive analysis between secular and ecclesiastical culture and thought conceming the subject of contraception and the purpose of the sexual act. The claims of the Church, that contraception is morally unacceptable, is examined further as the book takes the reader on a journey through biblical, systematic, and practical agruments which establish the foundations of the Historic Church's claim. Opposing arguments are evaluated as to their strength and validity. In fact, Hodge stirs the debate with a challenge that he has yet to see Christians set forth a valid biblical argument in support of contraceptive practices. For the reader seeking to place procreative ethics under the lordship of Christ, The Christian Case against Contraception offers a bold and clear way forward. "Bryan Hodge approaches a subject that seems too often to be subject to our passions, with sobriety and fidelity. He canvasses the wisdom of the church, stands frim on the authority of the Bible, and in so doing directs us all to greater obedience, greater faith, and in the end, greater joy."---R. C. Sproul Jr. author of Bound for Glory

In this bold critique of modern ideas about sex, marriage, and contraception, Sam & Bethany torode set forth a vision that is fresh for our times, yet rooted in centuries of the christian tradition. Weaving together a sound theology od spousal love with honest information and personal insight, Opem embrace offers a compelling alternative to the unquestioned use of contraception.Open Embrace is far more than a case against contraception - it is a affirmation of fertility, childbearing, and prudent self-control. Couples who practice natural family planning, as advocated in this book, co-operate with God's design for their bodies, making wise decisions about family size, without losing respect for the mystery and meaning of sex

A man's character is revealed by his actions. Author Michael Little suffered a near-fatal brain hemorrhage, which left him unable to speak intelligibly, crippled, blind, and senseless. Michael refused to be defined by his injury, choosing instead to let his struggle and recovery speak for him. Stranger in the Mirror is the story of one man's journey through his dark night of soul to enlightenment. Michael shows us that our lives are full of choices and our limitations are often self-imposed. Facing tragedy with humor, grit and grace, Michael found redemption. In writing this remarkable book, he shows the way for all of us, to reassess and redirect our lives in a more positive meaningful direction. Stranger in the Mirror is a highly literate book that may send some readers scrambling for their dictionary. The author isn't showing off, but he is careful to use the words he means, and mean what he writes. This joyous book is a dazzling tour de force, filled with humor and wisdom. It is sure to inspire courage and bring hope to stroke and brain injured survivors and their families. Michael shows all of us we, too, can have the happy ending we deserve. This powerful book will lift you to new heights where the air is thinner. This is the owner's manual stroke and brain injury survivors need. Brain injury needn't be the end. It can be a beginning. More than half this wonderful book is of a medical nature; what families and survivors should know to help them move forward. The balance focuses on the author's struggles, his blunders, and his insights into a brain damaged world. "The author should be immensely proud. This book is good medicine. You ll laugh out loud!" said author Mark Twain.

The Contraception Deception: Catholic Teaching on Birth Control by author Patrick Coffin is a comprehensive assessment of the Church’s sexual ethic. In this expanded revised edition of Sex Au Naturel: What It is and Why It’s Good for Your Marriage, Coffin demonstrates how the rejection of Humanae Vitae impacts more than just our national birthrates. With relevant insight into the development and reception of Paul VI’s landmark 1968 encyclical, Coffin explains why Humanae Vitae is more timely than ever. In The Contraception Deception, you’ll learn where exactly the Bible teaches against birth control, the differences between contraception and natural family planning (hint: they’re more profound than you think), why other reproductive technologies fall short of God’s vision for marriage and family, and—most importantly—how to rely on the ever-present grace of God rather than your own strength in faithfully following this challenging, life-giving aspect of Christian discipleship.

This book presents the work of the "Sacred Choices Initiative" of the Religious Consultation on Population, Reproductive Health, and Ethics. The purpose of this Packard and Ford Foundation supported initiative is to attempt to change international discourse on family planning and to rescue this debate from superficial sloganeering by drawing on the moral stores of the world's major and indigenous religions. In many of the world's religions there is a restrictive and pro-natalist view on family planning, and this is one legitimate reading of those religious traditions. As the essays in this volume demonstrate, however, this is not the only legitimate or orthodox view. These authors show that the paramaters of orthodoxy are wider and gentler than that, and that the great religious traditions are wiser and more variegated and nuanced than a simple repetition of the most conservative views would suggest. This theme is carried out in essays on each of the world's major religious traditions, written by scholar practitioners of those faiths.

Interview with Allan Carlson In an ironic twist, American evangelical leaders are joining mainstream acceptance of contraception. Godly Seed: American Evangelicals Confront Birth Control, 1873-1973, examines how mid-twentieth-century evangelical leaders eventually followed the mainstream into a quiet embrace of contraception, complemented by a brief acceptance of abortion. It places this change within the context of historic Christian teaching regarding birth control, including its origins in the early church and the shift in arguments made by the Reformers of the sixteenth century. The book explores the demographic effects of this transition and asks: did the delay by American evangelicals leaders in accepting birth control have consequences?At the same time, many American evangelicals are rethinking their acceptance of birth control even as a majority of the nation's Roman Catholics are rejecting their church's teaching on the practice. Raised within a religious movement that has almost uniformly condemned abortion, many young evangelicals have begun to ask whether abortion can be neatly isolated from the issue of contraception. A significant number of evangelical families have, over the last several decades, rejected the use of birth control and returned decisions regarding family size to God. Given the growth of the evangelical movement, this pioneering work will have a large-scale impact.

Contraceptive sex," wrote social science researcher Mary Eberstadt in 2012, "is the fundamental social fact of our time." In this important and pointed book, Charles E. Rice, of the Notre Dame Law School, makes the novel claim that the acceptance of contraception is a prelude to persecution. He makes the striking point that contraception is not essentially about sex. It is a First Commandment issue: Who is God? It was at the Anglican Lambeth Conference of 1930 when for the first time a Christian denomination said that contraception could ever be a moral choice. The advent of the Pill in the 1960s made the practice of contraception practically universal. This involved a massive displacement of the Divine Law as a normative measure of conduct, not only on sex but across the board. Nature abhors a vacuum. The State moved in to occupy the place formerly held by God as the ultimate moral Lawgiver. The State put itself on a collision course with religious groups and especially with the Catholic Church, which continues to insist on that traditional teacher. A case in point is the Obama Regime's Health Care Mandate, coercing employees to provide, contrary to conscience, abortifacients and contraceptives to their employees. The first chapter describes that Mandate, which the Catholic bishops have vowed not to obey. Rice goes on to show that the duty to disobey an unjust law that would compel you to violate the Divine Law does not confer a general right to pick and choose what laws you will obey. The third chapter describes the "main event," which is the bout to determine whether the United States will conform its law and culture to the homosexual (LGBTQ) lifestyle in all its respects. "The main event is well underway and LGBTQ is well ahead on points." Professor Rice follows with a clear analysis of the 2013 Supreme Court decision on same-sex marriage. Part 2 presents some "underlying causes" of the accelerating persecution of the Catholic Church. The four chapter headings in this part outline the picture: The Dictatorship of Relativism; Conscience Redefined; The Constitution: Moral Neutrality; and The Constitution: Still Taken Seriously? The answer to the last question, as you might expect, is: No. Part 3: the controversial heart of the book, presents contraception as "an unacknowledged cause" of persecution. The first chapter argues that contraception is not just a "Catholic issue." The next chapter describes the "consequences" of contraception and the treatment of women as objects. The third chapter spells out in detail the reality that contraception is a First Commandment issue and that its displacement of God as the ultimate moral authority opened the door for the State to assume that role, bringing on a persecution of the Church. The last chapter, "A Teaching Untaught," details the admitted failure of the American Catholic bishops to teach Pope Paul VI's 1968 encyclical, Humanae Vitae. But Rice offers hope that the bishops are now getting their act together Part 4: offers as a "response" to the persecution of the Church three remedies: Speak the Truth with clarity and charity; Trust God; and, most important, Pray. As the last sentence in the book puts it: "John Paul II wrote in a letter to U.S. bishops in 1993: 'America needs much prayer - lest it lose its soul.' This readable and provocative book is abundantly documented with a detailed index of names and subjects.