Be Fruitful and Multiply... right?

This image is not my work and does not belong to me. Genesis 1:28 (NKJV)

28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

Genesis 1:28 is God’s directive through The Word to the first people telling them and blessing them to populate the earth, which they did. So now that's done, and of course humanity is still given that same blessing to "Be fruitful and multiply..." so that this population can be maintained (or perhaps increased).

But now we live in a complicated time when birth control is in most women's daily routine and, consequently, in our drinking water.

Contraceptive for the purpose of limiting chances of pregnancy while sustaining a sexual lifestyle outside of marriage is not what we are discussing here. For those outside of marriage, abstinence is the only form of birth control permissible, and not even for that purpose, but for keeping The Temple (the human body) pure, as we learn in 1 Corinthians 6:19: “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?”.

In 1968, the Roman Catholic church via Pope Paul VI wrote in his Humanae Vitae that he considers regulating the number of children within a marriage by any means a condemnable act. All he did allow is abstinence for the purpose of family planning within a marriage, called "periodic abstinence", an extension of what is written to married couples in 1 Corinthians 7:5-6: "Do not deprive one another except with consent for a time, that you may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again so that Satan does not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. But I say this as a concession, not as a commandment." I say that Pope Paul VI expanded on these verses with his family planning via abstinence allowance because this Biblical excerpt from the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Corinthians suggests a period of abstinence for the purpose of regaining spiritual focus and a return to a balanced marital life. His suggestion had nothing to do with controlling the number or timing of a couple’s offspring.

Today's Roman Catholic Pope’s statement is quite a leap from that 1968 allowance and from anything in The Bible, as there is no indication of any form of contraception for the purpose of birth control being acceptable in the Bible either; conversely, in response to an RC church in the Philippines that does not want contraceptives to be made publicly accessible there, RC Pope Francis recently stamped his opinion on contraceptive by replying that RC Christians do not have to breed "like rabbits".

Outside of Christianity, Even Gandhi preached that contraception is a dangerous sin against humanity, though Hinduism allows it. Islam forbids permanent birth control, contraceptive that does harm to the body, and adds a clause that both parties – of a marital union – must agree to its use. Otherwise contraceptive of any form is prohibited. The response on this topic within the Jewish faith varies according to sect. Of course, members within any faith will disagree and continue their will anyway, but this should not alter doctrine. The Church itself does not impose on any individual’s free will, that is, the will to make decisions and choices. It teaches God’s Word, and the rest, including blessings and consequences, falls on the individual or couple. I am aware that today there are numerous defenses for restricting fertilization, but none of them are new. The only novel thing is the accessibility of the tools to prevent – or even terminate – pregnancy. All that said, this is a highly personal topic and each couple has unique circumstances. I am not attempting to assess or determine who has the right to prevent pregnancy (due to illness, or any other reason beyond my judgment), and who does not. There is One Judge, and when we try to convince each other, we are really trying to convince Him. Meanwhile, we have no ability or purpose to judge each other. We are, however, called to speak in His praise and to remind each other of His good Word. The rest is up to each one of us individually, our prayers, our God, and our partner. Comment, question or open up a debate below, or on our Discussion Forum.

Bible Reference:

1 Corinthians 6:15-20; 7:1-9

15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot? Certainly not! 16 Or do you not know that he who is joined to a harlot is one body with her? For “the two,” He says, “shall become one flesh.”[b] 17 But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him.

18 Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. 19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have

from God, and you are not your own? 20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body[c] and in your spirit, which are God’s.

7: Now concerning the things of which you wrote to me:

It is good for a man not to touch a woman. 2 Nevertheless, because of sexual immorality, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband. 3 Let the husband render to his wife the affection due her, and likewise also the wife to her husband. 4 The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. And likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. 5 Do not deprive one another except with consent for a time, that you may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again so that Satan does not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. 6 But I say this as a concession, not as a commandment. 7 For I wish that all men were even as I myself. But each one has his own gift from God, one in this manner and another in that.

8 But I say to the unmarried and to the widows: It is good for them if they remain even as I am; 9 but if they cannot exercise self-control, let them marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion.

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