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BIBLICAL BASIS:

God is Sovereign in birth. He opens & shuts the womb; He blesses
with children. (The following verses are NOT an exhaustive list.)

        It is GOD Who opens and shuts the womb: Genesis 20:17-18;
29:31-33; 30:1-2,6,17-18, 20, 22, 23; I Samuel 1:6, 11, 19, 20;

        God helps and participates in the process of bringing forth children:
Genesis 4:1, 25; 21:1-2; Ruth 4:13; I Samuel 2:20-21; Psalm 139:13, 16;
Luke 1:21-25, 57-58

        God multiplies children: Genesis 16:10; 17: 2,20; 22:17; 26:4, 24;
28:3; 41:52; 48:4; Exodus 32:13; Deuteronomy 1:10,11; 28:63; 30:5,
Joshua 24:3; I Chronicles 27: 23; Psalm 105:24; 107:38; Isaiah 26:15; 51:2; Jeremiah 30: 19; 33:22; Ezra 36:10-11, 37; 37:26
 

      The Bible nowhere encourages B.C., but everywhere condones fertility!

        Pro-child verses: Psalm 127:3-5; 128; I Chronicles 20:4-5; Exodus 23:25-26; Proverbs 17:6

        Children are a blessing that comes from obeying God: Leviticus 26:9; Deuteronomy 28:1-4; 6:3; 7:13; 13:17 ff

        Pro-Fertility verses: Leviticus 20:18 (abstaining during monthly periods increases chance of fertilization after period);
     Genesis 1:27-28 (The command to be fruitful has never been revoked); I Cor 7:3-5 (Not compatible with "Natural Family Planning")

        Anti-Infertility Verses: Infertile manners of intercourse were condemned: Beastiality (Leviticus 20:15, 16), Homosexuality (Leviticus 20:13), Withdrawal (Genesis 38:6-10, Deuteronomy 25:5-10). In fact, all of these things incurred
the death penalty. There was no death penalty for improper manners of intercourse which were yet fertile (Fornication and polygamy).

        Semen is referred to as offspring even before it joins the egg: Hebrews 7:9-10; Job 10:8-11

        Childlessness is a curse: Leviticus 20:20-21; Hosea 9:10-17

        Having children is part of the whole picture of a family:

        The Father is to provide for his family--I Timothy 5:8; Ephesians 6:4

        The Mother is to work at home and have children: I Timothy 2:15; Titus      2:3-5, Malachi 2:15, I Timothy 5:9,10, 14

        Children are a blessing to parents: Proverbs 10:1; 23:24-25; Mark 7: 10-13

        Parents are to teach children: Deuteronomy 6:7; 11:19

HISTORY:

B.C. has existed for millennia. Ancient Egyptian papyruses have
been discovered with references to chemical contraceptives. The
IUD was used by ancient Arabic caravan traders. Infanticide has
always been widespread in pagan cultures either through
sacrifices to appease spirits or through abandonment (i.e. Oedipus Rex).

God's people, Israel, did not practice B.C. They WANTED all the
children they could get and considered them an unqualified
blessing. The one man mentioned as practicing B.C., Onan, was
struck dead for it. (Onan's judgment was not due to a simple
refusal to raise up offspring for the widow. If he wanted to refuse
that duty, he could have followed the teaching of Deuteronomy
25:5-10, as Ruth's nearest-of-kin did, removed his sandal, and passed
on the responsibility to the next-nearest-of-kin--which, in
Ruth's case was Boaz. See Ruth 4:1-12. No, the issue was that Onan
practiced birth control by spilling his seed.)

Christians have also historically not practiced B.C. This is not a
Roman Catholic church issue--their practice is a carry-over from a
time when ALL Christians did not practice B.C. The Protestant
Synod of Dort equated contraception with abortion. Martin Luther,
John Calvin, John Wesley, and many other founders of Protestantism
linked B.C. with murder. The Pilgrims who founded our country
considered B.C. as bad as adultery and disqualified anyone from church leadership who practiced it.

The change of Christians in the U.S. to using B.C. has been concurrent
with many other bad trends: feminism, higher criticism, worldliness,
abuse of spiritual gifts and church offices, decline of purity in the church,
and a lack of evangelism and discipleship. There is more recently,
however, a growing movement in the U.S. of Christians ditching B.C.

Obviously, we shouldn't base our position on whether or not
OTHER people practice B.C., but if the non-use of B.C. has been a
universal trend for the vast majority of Christian history, we should
not lightly dismiss it, but rather examine WHY.

CON'S OF B.C.:

        All forms of B.C. increase abortion. Contrary to what some
doctors say, there is no such thing as a chemical contraceptive
(Pill, implant) that does not cause abortion from 2-5% of the time.
Although the primary function of most of these "Pills" is to
prevent ovulation, they do not prevent all ovulation (people still
occasionally get pregnant), so they ALL have a secondary function
of irritating the lining of the uterus so that a fertilized egg will not be
able to implant, and thus will abort. There are several other pills
whose primary effect is to abort fertilized eggs; the IUD also does
this as its primary function. Apparently, the body also aborts some
pregnancies naturally at very early stages, without provocation,
and all methods of mechanical prevention of fertilization
(condom, diaphragm, Rhythm, N.F.P.) actually increase the number
of these natural abortions by perpetuating the monthly menstrual cycle,
which can be suspended if a woman gets pregnant often.

        Biblical support is missing: B.C. puts a Christian in the shaky
position of Onan, who was killed. I Corinthians 7:3-5 gives the only
reason for abstinence in marriage--Prayer and fasting, not to avoid
children. Leviticus 12:1-5 and 20:18 establish a sexual pattern that
actually increases fertility rather than decreasing it!

        It's inconvenient: I have never heard a single positive comment
about diaphragms and spermicidal jelly or condoms from people
who use them (and condoms are not highly effective at preventing
fertilization anyway). And, of course, it's not fun to abstain for
long periods of time as per the "Rhythm" or "Natural Family Planning"
methods; abstaining for long periods of time can contribute to the
sin of adultery. Using B.C. methods causes a woman to undergo
uncomfortable periods every month, but going without B.C.,
periods can be rare.

        Health problems: If you take the pill, you are five times more
likely to die of circulatory disorders. The pill can also cause
permanent infertility and a host of other major and minor problems.
The IUD often causes lacerations in the uterus which result in severe
pain and permanent infertility. Abortion is a serious cause of breast
cancer. It is also a proven fact  that the longer child-bearing is delayed,
the more likely a woman is to get endometriosis.

OBJECTIONS HOLD NO WATER:

        Overpopulation is a local problem in some cities, but it is not
a world crisis. If every person in the world today were given one
acre of land (therefore families living together would have far more
than 1 acre of land), everyone living in the world today could just
about fit within the Continental U.S. alone. (According to agricultural
studies, an acre would give far  more than enough land for living
space and food-production for one person!) It is also a fact that
humans adapt and create new methods of coping with scarce resources.
Over a thousand years ago, thinkers were afraid that the earth was too
 overpopulated then for the human race to survive, but we have
adapted fine!

        Multiplying like rabbits: The average number of children borne by monogamous couples not practicing birth control is only five!

        Cost: The scary, high figures you see quoted are based on
expensive C-sections, baby formula, baby food, frivolous baby furniture,
not getting a baby shower, using day care, etc., all of which is unnecessary.
It doesn't take long before children are old enough to become income
producers, anyway. Additionally, God provides for His children.
See Psalm 23:1; 37:25-26; 84:11; Proverbs 3:33; 14:26; Malachi 3:8-10;
Matthew 6:25-34; Philippians 4:6, 19; I Timothy 6:6-10.

        The myth that children of large families are less intelligent is
sheer bunk. 76% of U.S. Presidents came from families of 5 or
more children! Almost every famous Classical musician came
from a family of more than 7. Comparing an  upper-income
only-child with the 10 children of a dysfunctional family in the
"Projects" is comparing apples and oranges;  intelligence is based on the intelligence and discipline of the parents, not the number of children.

        Stewardship: Look at the famous passage on stewardship:
the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25:14-30. Who decided how
many talents each servant could steward, the servant or the Master?

        Technology is good. Not necessarily so. The H-bomb is intelligent,
highly advanced technology, but that doesn't mean we should blow
up the world with it! Simply because technology (such as the Pill)
is available doesn't mean we should use it! We must first evaluate the
moral ramifications of its use.

        What if I have health problems? There may be exceptions,
but are you looking for an excuse, or are you trying to be faithful to God? Although many doctors won't admit it, many female problems would
be solved rather than exacerbated by having children. One woman
who had a hole in her lung that would not heal was told never to have
children because she could not provide enough oxygen for two.
She got pregnant anyway, and the pressure of the growing uterus
against the lung sealed the hole and healed it!

        Bible only for Agrarian community. No, God's principles apply
to all cultures. The famous verse about having a "full quiver" of children
(Psalm 127:3-5) was written by a politician in a big city and was written
about a soldier. The context is not agrarian at all!

        Sex only for Procreation? No, this is the Argumentum ad absurdum
fallacy. Notice that there is a difference between  trying to avoid children,
trying to create children, and not worrying about it either way.
We believe the Bible teaches that the last of the three is the best!
Besides, no matter which of the three approaches you take, you can't
help having pleasure, therefore sex by its very nature is not limited
to procreation!

        A sovereign God can override B.C. Let us apply the same logic
to another context: suppose a murderer were to say, "I've bought a
knife, and I'm going over to Fred's house to kill him, but if God
doesn't want me to kill Fred in cold blood, He will find a way to
stop me." This logical progression is exactly the same as that of
someone who says they don't know whether B.C. is wrong or not,
but that they will do it anyway and God will stop them if it's wrong.
This is not a logical position. It is irresponsible to purposefully not
decide whether what you're doing is right or wrong! Here's one
more question:
"Why would God want to give children to someone who doesn't want them?"

CONCLUSION

Given the Bible's pro-children stance and its anti-infertility stance,
given the fact that Christians have historically not practiced birth
control, given the problems caused by birth control, and given the
fact that most reasons for using birth control are not valid, it is a
reasonable and good conclusion for a Christian to not practice birth
control.

 Revelation 20:15
And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

Isaiah 59:2
For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have
spoken lies, your tongue hath muttered perverseness.

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