We have, but we feel uneasy about it, and we are not alone in evangelicalism. Check out the excerpts below. Of note is the last one from RBC, who actually state that the scriptures do NOT prohibit it, but that that the prohibition stems, not from selfishness or our desire to seprate pleasure from procreation, but that it is rooted in unbiblical asceticism. Wow.
Can Christians use birth control? (Al Mohler)
The
reality of abortion forced a reconsideration of other issues in turn.
Affirming that human life must be recognized and protected from the
moment of conception, evangelicals increasingly recognized Intrauterine
Devices [IUDs] as abortifacients, and rejected any birth control with
any abortifacient design or result. This conviction is now casting a
cloud over the Pill as well.
Thus, in an
ironic turn, American evangelicals are rethinking birth control even as
a majority of the nation’s Roman Catholics indicate a rejection of
their Church’s teaching. How should evangelicals think about the birth
control question?
First, we must start
with a rejection of the contraceptive mentality that sees pregnancy and
children as impositions to be avoided rather than as gifts to be
received, loved, and nurtured. This contraceptive mentality is an
insidious attack upon God’s glory in creation, and the Creator’s gift
of procreation to the married couple.
Second,
we must affirm that God gave us the gift of sex for several specific
purposes, and one of those purposes is procreation. Marriage represents
a perfect network of divine gifts, including sexual pleasure, emotional
bonding, mutual support, procreation, and parenthood. We are not to
sever these "goods" of marriage and choose only those we may desire for
ourselves. Every marriage must be open to the gift of children. Even
where the ability to conceive and bear children may be absent, the will
to receive children must be present. To demand sexual pleasure without
openness to children is to violate a sacred trust.
Third,
we should look closely at the Catholic moral argument as found in
Humanae Vitae. Evangelicals will find themselves in surprising
agreement with much of the encyclical’s argument.
Should Christian married couples use birth control? (Today’s Christian Woman)
I
don’t believe Christians should use artificial birth control. God
created sexual intercourse both as an expression of love and unity for
a married couple and as a means of procreation. Interfering with these
purposes is an insult to God.
Make Love and Babies (CT Library)
The contraceptive mentality says children are something to be avoided. We’re not buying it.
A Hard Pill to Swallow: How the tiny tablet upset my soul. (CT)
Being
pro-life isn’t only about opposing surgical abortion. It’s about
opening ourselves to the risk and mess and uncertainty that accompany
any God-sent guest we allow into our lives. The least we can do is
leave our doors unlocked. (also see commentary)
Young Protestant Couples Rejecting “Contraception Revolution” (LifeSite)
The
previous generation’s acceptance of a secular understanding of
sexuality and marriage is no longer satisfactory to young people, Dr.
Mohler said, who are challenging the separation between fertility and
sexuality in the popular mindset.
COUNTERPOINT: Should Christians use birth control? (RBC)
But
there are couples who are unable to conceive or who are past their
child-bearing years. If it is impossible for them to have children,
should they abstain from sex? The Bible doesn’t even hint that this is
the case. Nothing in Scripture implies that it is sinful for married
persons to have sexual intercourse without the possibility of bearing
children. Sex within marriage is pure and honorable, even when
conception cannot occur. This is because marriage is an expression of
the deepest intimacy possible between two people, an intimacy so deep
that Paul uses it as a symbol for the love of Christ for His church.Why,
then, would there be any question about the use of artificial
contraception within marriage? Isn’t all sexual intercourse between a
husband and wife made honorable and pure by the nature of their
matrimonial commitment? Isn’t the position of the Roman Catholic Church
regarding artificial contraception and the reluctance of many sensitive
couples to use it based upon an unbiblical asceticism and an unhealthy
if not morbid view of the body and sexual function?