UNDERSTANDING PROCREATION AND CONTRACEPTION WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF CHRISTIAN MARRIAGE

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1 Couples at Church of the Resurrection, both those who are married and those preparing for marriage, frequently bring questions to clergy and pastoral staff about the Church s position on various moral issues related to procreation and contraception. The clergy of Church of the Resurrection have carefully and prayerfully considered these issues and arrived at a theological understanding that provides a basis for responding to such questions in a manner that is faithful to the understanding of Christians through the ages, fully consistent with the freedom of the Gospel, and adapted to the unique circumstances of our own day. This paper describes that understanding. An individual Christian s moral choices ultimately must be determined by the individual s conscience. All the same, Christians have a serious obligation before God to develop a well-formed conscience. They do so by placing themselves under the absolute authority of the Word of God and by prayerfully considering the guidance of the Church. It is our earnest desire that this paper will help Christians who are striving to develop a well-formed conscience to do just that, and so enter into the fullness of God s plan for their life. UNDERSTANDING PROCREATION AND CONTRACEPTION WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF CHRISTIAN MARRIAGE For most of human history, marriage and procreation have been all but inseparable. In the past century, however, developments in reproductive technology have made it possible for married couples to exercise near total control over their fertility. This possibility raises ethical questions for married Christians. What is God s plan for marriage, and how does procreation fit into that plan? Should Christian couples take advantage of these recent developments in reproductive technology? If so, are there any limitations on how they do so? Origin of Marriage It is now common to view marriage as a social construct something that we as a society created and, therefore, something that we as a society can change. Indeed, many now argue that the distinction between male and female itself should be viewed in much the same way. In contrast, Scripture presents the institution of marriage and our sexual identity in a profoundly different light. Scripture teaches being male and female is not a mere accident of nature, but rather a fundamental component of who we are as human beings created in the image and likeness of God: So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. (Genesis 1:27) Scripture explains that this difference between male and female was intended by God for the purpose of marriage: 1

2 Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. (Genesis 2:24) During his public ministry, Jesus clearly taught that the essential character of marriage was established at creation and cannot be changed: He said to them, Because of your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. (Matthew 19:8) Thus, the opening lines of the marriage liturgy of the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) remind us that Almighty God established the bond and covenant of marriage in creation Purposes of Marriage Why did God establish marriage? One reason, drawn directly from the difference between male and female, is procreation: So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, Be fruitful and multiply (Genesis 1:27-28) Marriage is an invitation for a man and a woman to become partners with God in the creation of new life. Pious Jews are careful to note that the command to be fruitful and multiply is the very first of the 613 commandments of the Torah. A second reason for marriage, according to Scripture, is to create a unique bond between the spouses: Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. (Genesis 2:24) This bond of exclusive love and mutual support provides the foundation for the family, the cornerstone and model of authentic community. The ACNA marriage liturgy summarizes these twin purposes of marriage as follows: The union of husband and wife in heart, body, and mind was ordained by God; for the procreation of children and their nurture in the knowledge and love of the Lord; for mutual joy, and for the help and comfort given one another in prosperity and adversity. 2

3 The fruits of marriage abound beyond the spouses and their children. In the Book of Genesis, God places Adam in the garden to work it and take care of it, with a helper suitable for him. So too, a man and woman joined together in marriage receive a common call from God to make their own shared contribution to the world. Thus, the ACNA s marriage liturgy invites those witnessing a marriage to pray that God will give the newly married couple such fulfillment in their marriage that they may reach out in love and concern for others. The spiritual significance of marriage and procreation in no way diminishes the profound dignity of the single state, as evidenced by the life of our Lord Jesus Christ himself and of the Apostle Paul, or of married couples unable to have children. To both might well be applied the words of the prophet Isaiah: I will give in my house and within my walls a monument and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off. (Isaiah 56:5) 1 Sacramental Aspect of Marriage Anglicans use the term sacrament to describe an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace (ACNA Catechism 102). That is, a sacrament offers us a visible image of what God is doing invisibly. 2 The traditional outward and visible sign of marriage is the exchange of solemn vows by a man and a woman in the presence of witnesses. The inward and spiritual grace of marriage is the fact that God himself creates a bond between those who marry that is both permanent and of such closeness that the spouses are no longer two, but one : And Pharisees came up to him [Jesus] and tested him by asking, Is it lawful to divorce one's wife for any cause? He answered, Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate. (Matthew 19:3-6) 1 Fully Alive Celibacy: The Call to Kingdom Marriage, Bishop Stewart Ruch III, available at churchrez.org/fullyalive; Preaching on Celibacy: An Interview with Stewart Ruch III, PreachingToday.com 2 While Baptism and Eucharist are unique in that they are commanded by Christ as necessary for salvation ( Sacraments of the Gospel ), Anglicans also recognize that five other rites and institutions, sometimes called the Sacraments of the Church (including marriage), also provide a means of grace (ACNA Catechism 116; 117). 3

4 So deep and lasting is this bond of marriage that the Apostle Paul teaches that God intended marriage, in part, as the visible image or sacrament of Christ s love for his Church: This mystery [marriage] is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. (Ephesians 5:32) Fruitfulness and Responsibility Not every marriage will be blessed by children. However, consistent with the purposes of marriage, a truly Christian marriage must be open to that gift. 3 That is not to say, however, that Christian couples must remain indifferent to the number and timing of the births of their children. Serious, unselfish considerations, such as health concerns and challenges to the proper catechesis of children, may lead a Christian couple to prayerfully undertake a plan to limit the number of their children and to regulate the timing of their births. 4 Many couples that feel a need to limit the number of their children or space their birth choose Natural Family Planning (NFP), which takes advantage of our knowledge of the cycle of human fertility to control the number of births and their timing, while preserving the symbolic openness to life inherent in the natural union of male and female. 5 Other couples choose alternative methods of contraception. The ACNA marriage liturgy notes that an additional purpose of marriage is to maintain purity. Jesus solemnly warns his disciples of the dangers of lust in his Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:27-30). The sin of lust encompasses any sexual attitude or behavior that focuses on selfgratification rather than on self-giving. Understood in this sense, lust poses a danger, not just to individuals who are not married to each other, but also to partners within a marriage. The very rhythms of the wife s body that allow for seasons of fertility and non-fertility create an opportunity for conversation and self-denial between the spouses that can help to ward off this danger. Other forms of contraception, while not inherently sinful, can lead to sin. Accordingly, the clergy of Church of the Resurrection encourages married couples to strongly consider NFP. 3 A couple is not open to children only if the partners voluntarily preclude the possibility, which would not be the case in situations where a couple is medically incapable of conception (e.g., postmenopausal marriages). 4 The Anglican Communion gave formal voice to this moral vision of marital fruitfulness at two of its Lambeth Conferences. Lambeth 1920 expressed grave reservations about contraception: The Conference, while declining to lay down rules which will meet the needs of every abnormal case, regards with grave concern the spread in modern society of theories and practices hostile to the family. We utter an emphatic warning against the use of unnatural means for the avoidance of conception (Resolution 68). So too, the bishops at Lambeth 1930, even while allowing for the possibility of contraception, emphatically reaffirmed their commitment to the principle of marital fruitfulness: the Conference records its strong condemnation of the use of any methods of conception control from motives of selfishness, luxury, or mere convenience (Resolution 15). 5 It should be noted that NFP can also be used by couples who are experiencing difficulties in conceiving to increase the likelihood of conception, which distinguishes NFP from other methods of contraception. 4

5 In recent years, certain issues have come to the fore that were not envisioned or specifically addressed in the past. Some modern contraceptive methods, for example, are designed to destroy a fertilized egg, or prevent its implantation. Similarly, vasectomies, tubal ligations, and other forms of sterilization have increasingly come to be used as an alternative form of birth control. For issues such as these, the clergy of Church of the Resurrection offers guidance to its members based on traditional Christian moral theology. Human life begins at conception (fertilization); therefore, we believe that any method of contraception that either destroys a fertilized egg, or prevents its implantation, is morally unacceptable in all circumstances, because it violates God s commandment against the taking of innocent human life. Most methods of birth control seek to avoid or prevent conception without permanently eliminating a man or a woman s reproductive capacity. Conversely, sterilization is expressly designed to eliminate a man or a woman s reproductive capacity altogether. The ability to share with God in the creation of new life is a sacred and priceless gift that is not to be rejected or discarded lightly. Therefore, the clergy of Church of the Resurrection strongly discourage the use of sterilization as a form of birth control. This teaching in no way is offered as a judgment or condemnation of past choices, but rather as a word of counsel and encouragement for future decisions. Whatever choices we may have made in the past, God s message to us is always one of love and hope: The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23) Even deliberate sin, such as procuring an abortion in full knowledge that it is wrong, is no match for the grace of God in Jesus Christ: Summary Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. (Isaiah 1:18) Scripture teaches that our sexual identity and marriage are not mere human conventions, but part of God s eternal plan for us. God established marriage both for the creation of new life and for the creation of a permanent bond of mutual love and support between spouses, thereby setting the foundation and model for authentic community. 5

6 Not every marriage will be blessed by children, but every marriage should be open to the gift of new life. Nonetheless, for serious and unselfish reasons, a Christian couple may legitimately seek to limit the number of their children and space the timing of their births. If so, it is essential that the means of contraception selected be consistent with the fundamental truth that human life begins at conception. Abortion, or the use of abortifacient drugs that either destroy a fertilized egg or prevent its implantation are never morally acceptable. Likewise, sterilization is strongly discouraged as a form of birth control, because it destroys fertility rather than regulating it. The question is not one of past decisions, but of future choices. Therefore: Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths. (Isaiah 2:3) Bishop Stewart Ruch III Rector, Church of the Resurrection Bishop, Diocese of the Upper Midwest The Rev. Canon Dr. Stephen J. Gauthier Canon Theologian, Upper Midwest Diocese Deacon Val McIntrye Pastoral Care Pastor, Church of the Resurrection Father Brett Crull Adult Formation Pastor, Church of the Resurrection Scripture selections are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV Permanent Text Edition (2016). Copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. 6