...for the foetus, though enclosed in the womb of its mother, is already a human being, and it is almost a monstrous crime to rob it of the life which it has not yet begun to enjoy. If it seems more horrible to kill a man in his own house than in a field, because a man’s house is his place of most secure refuge, it ought surely to be deemed more atrocious to destroy a foetus in the womb before it has come to light. (John Calvin)
(Tim) Readers familiar with Baylyblog are aware my brother and I believe most use of contraception is contrary to the will of God Who commanded us to be fruitful and multiply (Genesis 1:22, 28; 8:17; 9:1, 7; 35:11; Jeremiah 23:3) and to propogate for Him a godly seed (Malachi 2:15). This is the reaon the Westminster Confession (XXIV, 2) explicitly states fruitfulness is one of the three purposes God created marriage. Still today, this reason is recited in the wedding liturgy used by Biblical pastors presiding over wedding ceremonies. Listen for it.
We don't believe every married couple has a Biblical duty to have as many children as physically possible, yet it should be our joy to give ourselves to what God has commanded and to receive His blessings with glad hearts. We live in an evil day, though, when even among the People of God, couples are expected to justify their Biblical faithfulness in this area and if they give themselves to Biblical fruitfulness, they feel the weight of other Christians disapproving of their hard work and asking them to justify it.
Beyond faithlessness in childbearing, Christians today are also faithless in the methods of contraception they use. Which is to say that as convenience is the basic concern behind couples choosing not to have lots of children, so convenience is the basic concern behind which method of contraception they use.
Let me say this clearly...
: as faithless as much use of contraception within the Church today is, it is much worse to exchange contraception for birth control and abort our little ones because of our careless use of pills and other abortifacients. It's one thing to take action to keep a child from being conceived (that is, to use contra ception); it's quite another thing to take action to keep a child already conceived from being born (that is, to use birth control and to murder that child).
If you're trying to keep from having more children, do you know whether you're using contraception or birth control? Do you know whether you're keeping a child from being conceived or keeping a conceived child from being born?
You must know this. Many, many souls claiming the Name of Christ have murdered their unborn children unknowingly by using a pill or other medical device that prevents a conceived child from making it to birth rather than preventing a child from being conceived.
How can you tell the difference? Sad to say, you can't trust the medical authorities. Back about fifty years ago, physicians changed the definition of "conception" to fool you and all their other patients into thinking you were preventing a child from being conceived when really you were (and are) preventing your little baby from surviving after he or she has already been conceived.
So what to do? Read. Study. Here and here are a couple places to start.
And as you read, keep two things in mind.
First, when a woman's egg is fertilized, at that moment a new man bearing the Image of God has come into existence and it is our obligation to protect him. We don't take unncessary risks with his life because, as John Calvin says above, the womb should be a place of "most secure refuge."
Second, when in doubt, err on the side of life. There's a limit to what we can and should do to protect life, but for you to avoid the use of birth control pills and devices that prevent your unborn child from taking up residence on the wall of your uterus and safely finishing out his term there is no high hurdle or unreasonable act of charity on your part toward your little child. All it requires is that you not use the Pill and other birth control devices that sometimes work by preventing him from availing himself of the safety of his mother's womb.
