Resources on the Question of Birth Control

Sunday before last, I preached on 1st Timothy 3:14-4:5. One of the main points we saw from the last few verses is that we must never find ourselves, as Christians, calling gifts from God evil: For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer (1st Timothy 4:4-5).

One of the gifts from God I brought up that is so easy to reject is children. There is a desperate need for Christians to grapple with whether or not we consider children gifts from God. It’s a great reminder, especially for parents and grandparents, that children are a gift– even when the kids are crazy and the task of parenting is so burdensome at times. Here’s an excerpt from my sermon:

Children. There’s nothing necessarily wrong with waiting to have children. There’s certainly nothing wrong with not being able to have children. But, in our culture today, we do not value children as gifts from God. We put them off because we want to have our real fun and joy before settling down. We resent them because they have interrupted our self-centered lives. We’re eager to pawn them off or see them out of the home to give us a desperately-needed break. Don’t mishear me. I’m a father of four young children. I know how crazy things can be. But as believers, we cling to Christ and His Word. That’s our blueprint for life. And God’s Word says children are a gift! (Psalm 127:3). That means we don’t deserve them. They are good, and we’re to receive them and love them and raise them with thankfulness.

To give you a bit of context as to why I’m putting together this resource page, I had multiple questions come in during the Q&A about birth control, vasectomies, and tubal ligations (tying tubes). How do these fit into the conviction that children are gifts from God? In the moment, I didn’t feel able to answer meaningfully in only a few minutes. And to be completely honest, I’m still researching a lot of this myself. While I have my personal convictions on this, I want to help Christians grapple with the Scripture themselves. That’s why I’ve included a few resources below. To be clear: the resources below represent differing viewpoints on this question, and I don’t necessarily agree with all of it myself. However, I trust and recommend each resource, and the people writing or speaking in each. I hope this is helpful!

One Video to Watch

For years, I was not one to question the use of particular birth control methods (like the pill) and any ethical implications. But I think it worth Christians becoming knowledgeable about the pill and all its efficacies. The video below is by Dr. Kenneth Magnuson, a current ethics professor at Southwestern Seminary. He also discusses (briefly) condoms, diaphragms, family planning, hormonal implants, IUDs, RU-486, birth control pills, vasectomy, and tubal ligation. Well worth watching (only 9 minutes), and thinking through these issues. Thank you to Joel Edgemon, our student minister, for sending me this video!

A More Detailed Treatment

In the podcast below (there’s also a transcript if you prefer reading), Dr. Magnuson deals more openly with the procreative liberty of culture and the many questions that come with the use of different birth control methods.