On Tue, 01 Mar 2005 19:05:45 -0500, "Gene Kearns" wrote:

On Tue, 01 Mar 2005 13:41:18 -0500, John H
wrote:


Family planning and the killing of babies are not the same thing.
It is an equal sin, to some people:

Contraception is wrong because it’s a deliberate violation of the
design God built into the human race, often referred to as "natural
law." The natural law purpose of sex is procreation. The pleasure that
sexual intercourse provides is an additional blessing from God,
intended to offer the possibility of new life while strengthening the
bond of intimacy, respect, and love between husband and wife. The
loving environment this bond creates is the perfect setting for
nurturing children.

But sexual pleasure within marriage becomes unnatural, and even
harmful to the spouses, when it is used in a way that deliberately
excludes the basic purpose of sex, which is procreation. God’s gift of
the sex act, along with its pleasure and intimacy, must not be abused
by deliberately frustrating its natural end—procreation.

The apostolic tradition’s condemnation of contraception is so great
that it was followed by Protestants until 1930 and was upheld by all
key Protestant Reformers. Martin Luther said, "[T]he exceedingly foul
deed of Onan, the basest of wretches . . . is a most disgraceful sin.
It is far more atrocious than incest and adultery. We call it
unchastity, yes, a sodomitic sin. For Onan goes in to her; that is, he
lies with her and copulates, and when it comes to the point of
insemination, spills the semen, lest the woman conceive. Surely at
such a time the order of nature established by God in procreation
should be followed. Accordingly, it was a most disgraceful crime. . .
Consequently, he deserved to be killed by God. He committed an evil
deed. Therefore, God punished him."

Ignoring the mountain of evidence, some maintain that the Church
considers the use of contraception a matter for each married couple to
decide according to their "individual conscience." Yet, nothing could
be further from the truth. The Church has always maintained the
historic Christian teaching that deliberate acts of contraception are
always gravely sinful, which means that it is mortally sinful if done
with full knowledge and deliberate consent (CCC 1857). This teaching
cannot be changed and has been taught by the Church infallibly.


reference:
http://www.catholic.com/library/Birth_Control.asp

Contraception is not the sole alternative to abortion for family planning.


John H

"All decisions are the result of binary thinking."