Use of Contraceptives

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Robert on July 14, 2012 at 12:05am

Adventists can use some forms of birth controls. There are those birth controls that prevent fertilization either by acting as a barrier or by preventing the release of an egg. Also there is also sterilization. These forms of control are acceptable. Then there are those forms of control which allow fertilization but prevent further development by preventing implantation in the uterus or by inducing a period.. These methods are not acceptable since life has started.
You should also consider the health implication of your chosen form of birth control.

Permalink Reply by Sarah Sulton on July 14, 2012 at 3:51am

While I respect your personal convictions and staying true to them, not everyone believes that use of contraception in a marriage dishonors God...personally, I believe it's wise.  It is wrong to bring children into the world you cannot provide support for (understanding that life happens):  

"But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever."--1 Timothy 5:8

Permalink Reply by Engelin Driessen on July 14, 2012 at 10:45pm

this is really interesting and i quite agree with Robert and Sarah..it is a huge responsibility to bring life to this world..

i have a question that i think similar to this, but I will probably post it as a new topic discussion.

Permalink Reply by Simon Zimuto on July 15, 2012 at 3:42pm

I have never read a chapter in the the bible which teaches us about using contraceptives. I personally think by using them we are going against GOD.

Permalink Reply by Khumbulani Siziba on July 27, 2012 at 9:54am

Thank you AMEN

Permalink Reply by Khumbulani Siziba on July 27, 2012 at 9:54am

Goodday i dont want to sound bad to all of us but we must all know the truth and the truth will set us free

Humans have taken the stand of God by using contraceptives God is one giving life and He has the power to take it away,if we are truly following Gods will surely we wont use any form of contraceptives,personally i found it as an abomination to God

JER 1:25

Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; and before you came forth out of the womb I sanctified you, and I ordained you a prophet unto the nations.

We personally don't use any form of contraceptives we are blessed with a baby girl who is 2years now and we trust all upon God

Permalink Reply by Ejimok Alice Rose on August 3, 2012 at 9:35am

it is a blessing to know all your opinions, keep in as we pray the Lord to enlighten us 

Permalink Reply by Ole on February 22, 2014 at 2:46pm

You are trusting God to how many children you have? You are like the man waiting to be rescued on a rooftop in the middle of a flood.  A boat comes by to rescue him and the man refuses to get on the boat.  He says that God will save him.  The man drowns.  Did God not hear his prayer?  Of course he did.  He sent the boat!

Read the words of inspiration and tell me whether you think Ellen White would have approved of contraception.

A Grievous Wrong to Mothers, Children, and Society—There are parents who, without consideration as to whether or not they can do justice to a large family, fill their houses with these helpless little beings, who are wholly dependent upon their parents for care and instruction.... This is a grievous wrong, not only to the mother, but to her children and to society.... {AH 162.1}

Parents should always bear in mind the future good of their children. They should not be compelled to devote every hour to taxing labor in order to provide the necessaries of life.1 {AH 162.2}

Before increasing their family, they should take into consideration whether God would be glorified or dishonored by their bringing children into the world. They should seek to glorify God by their union from the first, and during every year of their married life.2 {AH 162.3}

The Mother’s Health Is Important—In view of the responsibility that devolves upon parents, it should be carefully considered whether it is best to bring children into the family. Has the mother sufficient strength to care for her children? And can the father give such advantages as will rightly mold and educate the child? How little is the destiny of the child considered! The gratification of passion is the only thought, and burdens are brought upon the wife and mother which undermine her vitality and paralyze her spiritual power. In broken health and with discouraged spirits she finds herself surrounded by a little flock whom she cannot care for as she should. Lacking the instruction they should have, they grow up to dishonor God and to communicate to others the evil of their own natures, and thus an army is raised up whom Satan manages as he pleases.3 {AH 162.4}

Other Factors to Be Considered—God would have parents act as rational beings and live in such a manner that each child may be properly educated, that the mother may have strength and time to employ her mental powers in disciplining her little ones for the society of the angels. She should have courage to act nobly her part and to do her work in the fear and love of God, that her children may prove a blessing to the family and to society. {AH 163.1}

The husband and father should consider all these things lest the wife and mother of his children be overtaxed and thus overwhelmed with despondency. He should see to it that the mother of his children is not placed in a position where she cannot possibly do justice to her numerous little ones, so that they have to come up without proper training.4 {AH 163.2}

Parents should not increase their families any faster than they know that their children can be well cared for and educated. A child in the mother’s arms from year to year is great injustice to her. It lessens, and often destroys, social enjoyment and increases domestic wretchedness. It robs their children of that care, education, and happiness which parents should feel it their duty to bestow upon them.5 {AH 163.3}

Counsel to Parents of a Large Family—The question to be settled by you is, “Am I raising a family of children to strengthen the influence and swell the ranks of the powers of darkness, or am I bringing up children for Christ?” {AH 163.4}

If you do not govern your children and mold their characters to meet the requirements of God, then the fewer children there are to suffer from your defective training the better it will be for you, their parents, and the better it will be for society. Unless children can be trained and disciplined from their babyhood by a wise and judicious mother who is conscientious and intelligent, and who rules her household in the fear of the Lord, molding and shaping their characters to meet the standard of righteousness, it is a sin to increase your family. God has given you reason, and He requires you to use it.6 {AH 164.1}

Fathers and mothers, when you know that you are deficient in a knowledge of how to train your children for the Master, why do you not learn your lessons? Why do you continue to bring children into the world to swell the numbers in Satan’s ranks? Is God pleased with this showing? When you see that a large family will severely tax your resources, when you see that it is giving the mother her hands full of children, and that she has not time intervening between their births to do the work every mother needs to do, why do you not consider the sure result? Every child draws upon the vitality of the mother, and when fathers and mothers do not use their reason in this matter, what chance is given to parents or children to be properly disciplined? The Lord calls upon parents to consider this matter in the light of future eternal realities.7 {AH 164.2}

Economic Considerations—[Parents] should calmly consider what provision can be made for their children. They have no right to bring children into the world to be a burden to others. Have they a business that they can rely upon to sustain a family so that they need not become a burden to others? If they have not, they commit a crime in bringing children into the world to suffer for want of proper care, food, and clothing.8 {AH 164.3}

Those who are seriously deficient in business tact, and who are the least qualified to get along in the world, generally fill their houses with children; while men who have ability to acquire property generally have no more children than they can well provide for. Those who are not qualified to take care of themselves should not have children.9 {AH 165.1}

How Perplexity Is Sometimes Brought to the Church—Many who can but barely live when they are single choose to marry and raise a family when they know they have nothing with which to support them. And worse than this, they have no family government. Their whole course in their family is marked with their loose, slack habits. They have but little control over themselves and are passionate, impatient, and fretful. When such embrace the message, they feel that they are entitled to assistance from their more wealthy brethren; and if their expectations are not met, they complain of the church and accuse them of not living out their faith. Who must be the sufferers in this case? Must the cause of God be sapped, and the treasury in different places exhausted, to take care of these large families of poor? No. The parents must be the sufferers. They will not, as a general thing, suffer any greater lack after they embrace the Sabbath than they did before.10 {AH 165.2}

Permalink Reply by Rolly "Baring" Mandado on August 15, 2012 at 7:02pm

Birth Control: A Seventh-day Adventist Statement of Consensus

Scientific technologies today permit greater control of human fertility and reproduction than was formerly possible. These technologies make possible sexual intercourse with the expectation of pregnancy and childbirth greatly reduced. Christian married couples have a potential for fertility control that has created many questions with wide-ranging religious, medical, social, and political implications. Opportunities and benefits exist as a result of the new capabilities, as do challenges and drawbacks. A number of moral issues must be considered. Christians who ultimately must make their own personal choices on these issues must be informed in order to make sound decisions based on biblical principles.

Among the issues to be considered is the question of the appropriateness of human intervention in the natural biological processes of human reproduction. If any intervention is appropriate, then additional questions regarding what, when, and how must be addressed. Other related concerns include:

likelihood of increased sexual immorality which the availability and use of birth control methods may promote;
gender dominance issues related to the sexual privileges and prerogatives of both women and men;
social issues, including the right of a society to encroach upon personal freedom in the interest of the society at large and the burden of economic and educational support for the disadvantaged; and
stewardship issues related to population growth and the use of natural resources.

A statement of moral considerations regarding birth control must be set in the broader context of biblical teachings about sexuality, marriage, parenthood, and the value of children--and an understanding of the interconnectedness between these issues. With an awareness of the diversity of opinion within the Church, the following biblically based principles are set forth to educate and to guide in decision making.

1. Responsible stewardship. God created human beings in His own image, male and female, with capacities to think and to make decisions (Isa 1:18; Josh 24:15; Deut 30:15-20). God gave human beings dominion over the earth (Gen 1:26, 28). This dominion requires overseeing and caring for nature. Christian stewardship also requires taking responsibility for human procreation. Sexuality, as one of the aspects of human nature over which the individual has stewardship, is to be expressed in harmony with God's will (Exod 20:14; Gen 39:9;

Lev 20:10-21; 1 Cor 6:12-20).

2. Procreative purpose. The perpetuation of the human family is one of God's purposes for human sexuality (Gen 1:28). Though it may be inferred that marriages are generally intended to yield offspring, Scripture never presents procreation as an obligation of every couple in order to please God. However, divine revelation places a high value on children and expresses the joy to be found in parenting (Matt 19:14; Ps 127:3). Bearing and rearing children help parents to understand God and to develop compassion, caring, humility, and unselfishness

(Ps 103:13; Luke 11:13).

3. Unifying purpose. Sexuality serves a unifying purpose in marriage that is God-ordained and distinguishable from the procreative purpose (Gen 2:24). Sexuality in marriage is intended to include joy, pleasure, and delight (Eccl 9:9; Prov 5:18, 19; Song of Sol 4:16-5:1). God intends that couples may have ongoing sexual communion apart from procreation (1 Cor 7:3-5), a communion that forges strong bonds and protects a marriage partner from an inappropriate relationship with someone other than his or her spouse (Prov 5:15-20; Song of Sol 8:6, 7). In God's design, sexual intimacy is not only for the purpose of conception. Scripture does not prohibit married couples from enjoying the delights of conjugal relations while taking measures to prevent pregnancy.

4. Freedom to choose. In creation--and again through the redemption of Christ--God has given human beings freedom of choice, and He asks them to use their freedom responsibly (Gal 5:1, 13). In the divine plan, husband and wife constitute a distinct family unit, having both the freedom and the responsibility to share in making determinations about their family (Gen 2:24). Married partners should be considerate of each other in making decisions about birth control, being willing to consider the needs of the other as well as one's own (Phil 2:4). For those who choose to bear children, the procreative choice is not without limits. Several factors must inform their choice, including the ability to provide for the needs of children (1 Tim 5:8); the physical, emotional, and spiritual health of the mother and other care givers (3 John 2; 1 Cor 6:19; Phil 2:4; Eph 5:25); the social and political circumstances into which children will be born (Matt 24:19); and the quality of life and the global resources available. We are stewards of God's creation and therefore must look beyond our own happiness and desires to consider the needs of others (Phil 2:4).

5. Appropriate methods of birth control. Moral decision making about the choice and use of the various birth control agents must stem from an understanding of their probable effects on physical and emotional health, the manner in which the various agents operate, and the financial expenditure involved. A variety of methods of birth control--including barrier methods, spermicides, and sterilization--prevent conception and are morally acceptable. Some other birth-control methods¹ may prevent the release of the egg (ovulation), may prevent the union of egg and sperm (fertilization), or may prevent attachment of the already fertilized egg (implantation). Because of uncertainty about how they will function in any given instance, they may be morally suspect for people who believe that protectable human life begins at fertilization. However, since the majority of fertilized ova naturally fail to implant or are lost after implantation, even when birth control methods are not being used, hormonal methods of birth control and IUDs, which represent a similar process, may be viewed as morally acceptable. Abortion, the intentional termination of an established pregnancy, is not morally acceptable for purposes of birth control.

6. Misuse of birth control. Though the increased ability to manage fertility and protect against sexually transmitted disease may be useful to many married couples, birth control can be misused. For example, those who would engage in premarital and extramarital sexual relations may more readily indulge in such behaviors because of the availability of birth control methods. The use of such methods to protect sex outside of marriage may reduce the risks of sexually transmitted diseases and/or pregnancy. Sex outside of marriage, however, is both harmful and immoral, whether or not these risks have been diminished.

7. A redemptive approach. The availability of birth-control methods makes education about sexuality and morality even more imperative. Less effort should be put forth in condemnation and more in education and redemptive approaches that seek to allow each individual to be persuaded by the deep movings of the Holy Spirit.

¹ Some current examples of these methods include intrauterine devices (IUDs), hormone pills (including the "morning-after pill"), injections, or implants. Questions about these methods should be referred to a medical professional.

____________________
This statement was voted during the Annual Council of the General Conference Executive Committee on Wednesday, September 29, 1999 in Silver Spring, Maryland.

May This statement help you my brother... God bless your family...

Permalink Reply by Ejimok Alice Rose on August 25, 2012 at 10:07am

Thanks dear for this statement am going to take time to study slowly. Otherwise the highlights seem to bring light.

Blessings to you