Old Testament: Surprisingly Contraceptive-Friendly

[Ralar]

The Old Testament, despite some believers’ insistence to the contrary, does not take a hard line against contraception or abortion. The Bible and the 24 other books that make up the Jewish canon make both direct references and thinly veiled allusions to women using contraception.

http://www.salon.com/2014/01/05/biblica ... testament/

[PennySycamore]

That's very interesting! Thanks for posting it, Ralar!

[So Many Lies]

I especially agree with than stuff about Onan. I saw aPP sermon about contraception etc where he espoused this very thing. I've personally always thought God was mad because Oman disobeyed, not because he spilled seed on the ground. Any other interpretation seems like a major stretch to me.

[singsingsing]

I especially agree with than stuff about Onan. I saw aPP sermon about contraception etc where he espoused this very thing. I've personally always thought God was mad because Oman disobeyed, not because he spilled seed on the ground. Any other interpretation seems like a major stretch to me.

Exactly, people misunderstand the Onan thing so much, and I'm sure a lot of it is willful misunderstanding to use it as Biblical 'proof' to back up their point, since there's nothing else in the Bible that remotely comes close to banning contraception. There are verses which talk about having children and children being a blessing, but those are positive verses, not commandments against birth control.

But I have to say, I think the article itself is reeeeallly reaching. It's one thing to say that the Old Testament isn't anti birth control or abortion (which is true), but it's another thing to claim that Song of Songs and the Book of Esther are celebrations of contraception and abortion. One of the main points of Esther is actually that she is a woman who obeys her male headship and is rewarded for it. It's not a story about the wonders of birth control. I think the author of the article was grasping at straws to prove her point, just like those she's arguing against.

[So Many Lies]

Yes I guess it wasn't a big contraception fest either. It's just not that much of a thing at all. Hence, God let people make their own quivers. A coupleof arrows is fine.

[Arete]

I always read the Onan story as God being angry that Onan refused to do his DUTY and impregnate his brother's widow. In other words, God was punishing in a particular situation, not saying that avoiding conception was always wrong.

[scc12]

Right on.

All I can say is,I hate politics on ANY level,and NO one is going to make a political statement out of my family,much less twisting the bible to do so.Implying or saying b/c is liberal is just absurd.I did what was right for my and MY family.God made us all differently because that's what makes the world go 'round,and I don't subscribe to any brand or political stance when it comes to personal choices regarding my family.

[scc12]

Yes I guess it wasn't a big contraception fest either. It's just not that much of a thing at all. Hence, God let people make their own quivers. A coupleof arrows is fine.

I know,and who says the first arrow wouldn't be just the kill shot needed?

[2xx1xy1JD]

Yeah, some of those examples were a stretch.

For the Queen Esther example, it's possible that those oils were known to reduce fertility, but that would reflect the Persian attitude toward harems. In other words - it's possible that the story would have been read as "the Persian King wanted to bed a bunch of beautiful infertile women for his own pleasure".

The more contraceptive-friendly attitudes really only come out in the Jewish commentaries and the Oral Law, rather than the simple Biblical text itself. That's where there are explicit teachings that only men are COMMANDED to marry and procreate, since women can't be forced to undergo something risky, and where you also find explicit discussions of situations where birth control is to be used.