Originally posted by Pope Nicholas:
The Bible mentions at least one form of contraception specifically
and condemns it. Coitus interruptus, was used by Onan to avoid
fulfilling his duty according to the ancient Jewish law of
fathering children for one’s dead brother.
"Judah said to Onan, Go in to your brothers wife, and perform the
duty of a brother-in-law to her, and raise up offspring for your
brother.’ But[b] Onan knew that the offspring would not be his; so
when he went in to his brothers wife he spilled the semen on the
ground, lest he should give offspring to his brother. And
what he did was displeasing in the sight of the Lord, and he slew
him also" (Gen. 38:8 11;10).
The biblical penalty for not giving your brothers widow children
was public humiliation, not death (Deut. 25:7&10). But Onan
received death as punishment for his crime. This means his crime
was more than simply not fulfilling the duty of a brother-in-law.
He lost his life because he violated natural law. For this reason,
certain forms of contraception have historically been known as
"Onanism".
Every Christian such as Popes, Doctors, Church fathers and even the
Reformers held this view. As a non-catholic, u might be interested
to hear what Martin Luther had to say regarding this verse.
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."
[/b]
Your count of scriptural quote is : 2
How i would have read the scripture.
Genesis 38:2-10 (Amplified Bible)
Amplified Bible (AMP)
2There Judah saw and met a daughter of Shuah, a Canaanite; he took
her as wife and lived with her.
3And she became pregnant and bore a son, and he called him
Er.
4And she conceived again and bore a son and named him Onan.
5Again she conceived and bore a son and named him Shelah. [They
were living] at Chezib when she bore him.
6Now Judah took a wife for Er, his firstborn; her name was
Tamar.
7And Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the Lord,
and the Lord slew him.
8Then Judah told Onan, Marry your brother's widow; live with her
and raise offspring for your brother.
9But Onan knew that the family
would not be his, so when he cohabited with his
brother's widow, he prevented conception, lest he should raise up a child for his
brother.
10And the thing which he did displeased the Lord; therefore He slew
him also.
This is my take on the scripture without representing any
denominations.
He(Onan) doesn't object intercourse with his
brother's wife Tamar,
He knows the child will not be his.
He does not want her to bear a child/he does not
want her to bear a child. SO he prevented conception. And that act
displeases God.
Basically, Onan's disobedience was what costed his life.
But if you're going to use this passage as the anchor verse for
contraception. I have no problem with that. Because there is no way
we could side step the issue and deny that the act was why God
killed Onan.
But was spilling the semens the only reason why Onan was slewed?
No.
Like i've mentioned earlier, interpretations and emphasis
varies.
Like i've mentioned about this Catholic NS mate.
The church says NO to contraception. And the followers/members says
NO as well.
Their actions differs......what gives?
