An interesting article from a professor at Wheaton College, a bastion of evangelicals, comments on the phenomena concerning why so many evangelicals use contraception or "family planning" as it is called.
American evangelicals, as it
happens, are pro-contraception. A Harris Poll conducted online in
September 2005 shows that evangelicals overwhelmingly support birth
control (88%).
This fact exists amongst a group of people who on the one hand claim adherence to "Scripture alone" even despite the fact that Genesis 38 was interpreted by not only the "Catholic" Church for 2000 years, but even Protestant Reformers such as Luther and Calvin as being the "sin of Onan." Of course, that interpretation existed until the full force of modernism and American utilitarianism took hold of the various mainline Protestant churches beginning in the late 19th Century:
Protestants' acceptance of
contraception has a relatively short history. The 1930 Lambeth
conference of Anglican bishops was the first Christian church body to
authorize the use of contraceptives within marriage, even as it
condemned certain motives for using it, like "selfishness, luxury, or
mere convenience." The introduction of the birth control pill in the
1950s and 1960s offered "free love" to society at large; married
evangelicals embraced its convenience and effectiveness. The Catholic
Church, by contrast, stated in Pope Paul VI's "Humanae Vitae"
encyclical of 1968 that the unitive and procreative aspects of marriage
are inseparable.
And more:
Still, many evangelicals portray
abstinence not as obedience but as an investment in future great sex.
For those who marry, the "my body, my choice" attitude contributes to a
contraception culture that places fulfillment of personal desires ahead
of God's desires.
Perhaps this is also a hint of evidence suggesting an incomplete theology or understanding of suffering for the Good not only of God but also of one's soul. Also, it gives credence to the claim that evangelicals argue from the position of a three-legged stool when they rail against homosexual relationships, cohabiting couples, and even abortion. For the contraception mentality is what, in essence, led to the mainstreaming and popular acceptance of these behaviors and practices.
SBW
