Theology Of The Body For Protestants?

[NotreDame]

If I want to introduce a protestant friend to the idea behind birth control being immoral, what would you recommend I have him read? 

 

I was hoping there was something short (a linkable online essay rather than book) that might also discuss the ordered role of sex in marriage, what makes it ordered, and how birth control violates that.

 

He's reading some protestant book ("sex and money"?) where the author refers to sex in marriage as "worship of God" (idk that's what he said) so he's open to the idea of sex having a purpose. 

 

I started explaining in the context of procreation and wasn't doing a good job (ie. he was not down with the idea that the purpose of sex was procreation and, although that's not what I was trying to say, that's where we got stuck.)

 

Thoughts / recommendations?

[AugustineA]

But.. sex is for procreation, I thought.. hmm.. somebody has some explainin' to do. 

 

Seriously though, coming from an evangelical protestant background, I was never able to accept certain beliefs associated with the faith outside of a Roman Catholic framework. If you had approached me in like manner 5 years ago, I probably would not have seen level with you either. First came Catholicism, then came the sanctity of marriage, then came the idea of sex with the purpose of filling a baby carriage. 

 

 

[arfink]

My disorganized thoughts:

 

The Church doesn't state that sex is only for procreation. The Church in fact asserts that sex is also for uniting the spouses by physical pleasure. We're not asking for women to just lay still and think of the Queen and doing their duty by their husband. Rather the Church is saying that in addition to having fun and bonding with your spouse, sex must not willfully shut out procreation.

 

Of course, the Church also recognizes that people can't be fertile at all times, the human body doesn't work that way. So rather than insist that every sex act must produce a child, the Church asks that we not do anything to intentionally prevent procreation from happening when we have sex.

 

For those curious, NFP doesn't count as intentionally preventing procreation from happening, because the positive act taking place is to prevent sex from happening. We are allowed to use our active will to choose not to have sex, obviously, so it's no contradiction to choose not to have sex when you know you can get pregnant.

 

In order to understand this distinction you're going to have to explain how the distinction between active and passive will works, and to that I say, good luck. Also, TOB is going to make the most sense if your friend has some knowledge of phenomenology. This is the idea that our bodies, by their very design, can tell us things about ourselves, about God, and about what we were made to be, simply because of our nature. However, if they do not have a background in a Catholic understanding on anthropology, you'll just lose them there.

 

Protestants have, first of all, a serious problem with the concepts of original sin, which is going to wreck most of your work. They either don't really believe that concupiscence is real, or they believe in some variant of total depravity. Either case is going to make a mess of theology of the body, since it drives a wedge between our bodies and our souls.

Edited April 2, 2014 by arfink

[arfink]

I think also, it might be cool to get into how the Church views the sacramentality of marriage. It's complicated to explain and presupposes a ton of Catholic thought, which is why I think so many people wind up accepting it only after they've been Catholic for a while. :P But suffice to say that marriage is supposed to mirror the activity or the Trinity, which is a very very big reason why we can't use contraception.

 

In the church's philosophy of God (and the creed) you'll hear often times that God's primary activity is Being, and that His will is to love, and that the existence of all other things is predicated on the fruitfulness of this love. This is why in the creed you hear that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son, as this is meant to convey the idea that the Trinity is procreative. God's love is not fruitless, but spills over into all of creation. So too must marriage, which is meant to mirror the activity of the Trinity. Husband and wife are made one (and also by Baptism and Communion are made one with God) while still remaining distinct (sound at all familiar?) and their love produces fruit in the form of their children.

 

So, in short, using contraception breaks our mirroring of the activity of the Trinity, thus effectively pushing God out, depriving the marriage of its ability to create life, dividing the union of man-wife-God into man-wife and damaging also the man-wife bond by separating them literally when they have sex.

Edited April 2, 2014 by arfink

[NotreDame]

Thanks Arfink.  Sounds like there are more hurdles to communicating to them than I expected.  I'm going to google around a bit.  Will post if I find anything.

[Benedictus]

You could try Theology of the Body for Beginners: A Basic Introduction to Pope John Paul II's Sexual Revolution by Christopher West. Also a raw reading of the encyclical Humanae Vitae alongside the Catechism might be a good starting block; listing questions that can then be addressed in various other sources.

[Ice_nine]

What does he think about homosexual sexual sex? If he's against it, you could ask him why recreational sterile sex is OK for a man and a woman, but not two men or two women. I mean, that could open a whole 'nother can of worms, but at least it highlights some potential hypocrisy which may get him to thinking.

[Anastasia13]

I think also, it might be cool to get into how the Church views the sacramentality of marriage. It's complicated to explain and presupposes a ton of Catholic thought, which is why I think so many people wind up accepting it only after they've been Catholic for a while. :P But suffice to say that marriage is supposed to mirror the activity or the Trinity, which is a very very big reason why we can't use contraception.

 

In the church's philosophy of God (and the creed) you'll hear often times that God's primary activity is Being, and that His will is to love, and that the existence of all other things is predicated on the fruitfulness of this love. This is why in the creed you hear that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son, as this is meant to convey the idea that the Trinity is procreative. God's love is not fruitless, but spills over into all of creation. So too must marriage, which is meant to mirror the activity of the Trinity. Husband and wife are made one (and also by Baptism and Communion are made one with God) while still remaining distinct (sound at all familiar?) and their love produces fruit in the form of their children.

 

So, in short, using contraception breaks our mirroring of the activity of the Trinity, thus effectively pushing God out, depriving the marriage of its ability to create life, dividing the union of man-wife-God into man-wife and damaging also the man-wife bond by separating them literally when they have sex.

 

Is this official church doctrine that they make this comparison?

 

Cause I was pleased you mentioned it was for more than just procreation. Then you made this comparison. The Filioque is not part of the Byzantine tradition, and my understanding is that it is acceptable to enough heads of the Eastern rites by virtue off the meaning proceeds from the Father through the Son, so the woman is Jesus in that analogy since the baby comes out through her, which also makes the woman the husband's son... Hard to wrap brain around, (also must block analogy of husbands loves wife as Christ loves the Church).

 

I would hold off on that part for the non-Catholic newbs.

Edited April 5, 2014 by Light and Truth