Ongoing Debate With A Protestant "Whosoever Christian" On The Issue Of Birth Control

     This is part of my ongoing debate with a protestant "whosoever Christian" (as in "whosoever shall believe on the name of the Lord Jesus shall be saved") on the issue of birth control and its wholesale acceptance by protestants and many Catholics. It boils the debate down to its essentials, i.e.,

     "Chuck, You continue to call my side illogical, because Christian people have rejected that old prohibition against birth control...and this proves the common sense of Christian people and the absurdity of the old prohibition against birth control...[but]...If you cede to me that all of Christianity at one time agreed on the immorality of birth control, which is SO easy to prove, then the heart of the debate becomes a difference of opinion on whether the modern rejection of this traditional prohibition is truly common sense or in reality common apostasy."

     --Dr. Kopp

     Chuck,

     You said you researched the issue re: Christian teaching on birth control and agreed that for the most part what I was saying is true, that there was an historical common teaching, not just catholic, against birth control til modern times. You continue to call my side illogical, because people have rejected that old prohibition against birth control at least 100-150 years ago (I'm guessing), and this proves the common sense of Christian people and the absurdity of the old prohibition against birth control. But I question your "logic." You call it common sense for Christians, especially since 1930 and the Lambeth conference, to reject the old Christian prohibition against contraception.

     You say the Catholic Church is wrong to cling to it, and does so for purely ulterior or nefarious motives, not perseverance in traditional Christian morality, but in essence in order to "over run the world" with Catholics. So to summarize, Christians have rejected one of the old constant moral teachings, in this case against birth control, and you say that's good and common sense. On the heels of that rejection has come the sexual revolution (made possible by the widespread availability of effective birth control, freeing sex from its otherwise "natural" consequences), and many mainstream protestant churches now also have rejected the old time Christian prohibitions against premarital sex, extramarital sex, abortion, homosexuality, homosexual marriages, euthanasia, etc. When, in your opinion, does this so-called Christian common sense, which started with the rejection of the old traditional prohibition against birth control and naturally progressed to the other old traditional sexual prohibitions, become just plain excusing sin in general?

     Back to my final thoughts... Here is a little quote by G.K. Chesterton about "tradition" which I have always liked:

     "Tradition means giving votes to the most obscure of all classes, our ancestors. It is the democracy of the dead. Tradition refuses to submit to the small and arrogant oligarchy of those who merely happen to be walking about. All democrats object to men being disqualified by the accident of birth; tradition objects to their being disqualified by the accident of death."

     In other words, those old prohibitions still have merit, even if all of protestantism has rejected them, as well as 90% of those who call themselves Catholic.

     Just because modern Christians have fallen into wholesale apostasy, that does not make that apostasy correct or "common sense." If you cede to me that all of Christianity at one time agreed on the immorality of birth control, which is SO easy to prove, then the heart of the debate becomes a difference of opinion on whether the modern rejection of this traditional prohibition is truly common sense or in reality common apostasy.

     That in a nutshell is the logic of my point. The rest of the debate is, pure and simple, differences of opinion whether it is common sense or common apostasy. That is the logic I tried, and failed, to convey in all those other emails.

     Finally, one of my favorite lines, author unknown: "Few do evil thinking they are doing evil; many do evil thinking they are doing good."

     That is, in essence, my opinion of the reality of the modern "Christian" rejection of the traditional Judeo-Christian prohibition against contraception. I readily admit my "logic and thinking" are not as well honed as yours. No, I've never had a course in philosophy, one of the major weaknesses of my BS degree at a well respected "liberal arts" college. And all the stuff I threw at you had no logical connection. I just followed down through your points on your critique of my article and threw opposing "logic" at each one. But you think your arguments are logical because you think your arguments are logical. And they happen to coincide with the modern "logic" that holds sway in our age. And you say I'm poor at presenting a logical argument. That I will readily admit. However, that does not make your view logical and mine illogical, just because you are better at the art of debate.

     Again, the final question is, if all of Christianity at one time agreed on the immorality of birth control, which is SO easy to prove, then the heart of the debate becomes a difference of opinion on whether the modern rejection of this traditional prohibition is truly common sense or in reality common apostasy. Sorry it took so long to boil it all down to this. Thanks for your patience.