kvanlaan
Puritan Board Doctor
You're right, you don't get it. You pigeon-hole all those adopting who concurrently use birth control into your narrow criteria of believing it is either "easier" to adopt (which is utterly laughable) or "more holy," in addition to your original "decadent" and "perverted" statement. You know nothing about their hearts or motives, what method of birth-control they are using, why they are using it, why exactly they wish to adopt, and so on. The statements are almost farcical, and again potentially hurtful.
In any case, this topic is far afield from the purpose of the thread, so I'll pass on any further comments about it.
I'm sorry, but I don't see Tim's statements as so far-fetched when applied to North American Christianity in general (and I DO 'get' it).
We sit there and snipe at each other with exceptions, when the rule tends to be that children are seen as something to regulate, for the first time in millenia. What about pre-pill? The only reason we are having this conversation is because the means exist now to control what was previously unbound. Yes, women died in childbirth with alarming regularity. Yes, there are cases now and previously where women were simply overwrought and killed their children (but this looks more to me like a disfunction in the Body of Christ rather than an issue of too many children). Yes, there are cases of rape and incest where keeping a child seems illogical and almost cruel (but never, never does any crime, no matter how heinous, justify murder).
I think that adopting and using birth control is an odd combination. We did it, for fear that Elizabeth would get pregnant during the adoption and thereby void the process. But again, it is a bizarre exception - that's what most of this thread seems to be composed of.
EDIT: I think what I'm reading here is that we deny God's blessing of our own womb and then seek another somewhere else, that is the contradiction that he's trying to deal with, as I understand it. We have adopted a few times, and never did I think of them as 'trophies' to be 'bought'. But I do understand the sentiment, as it seems that in some parts of the US, adopting a Chinese orphan is almost 'hip', and thus that charge could be applied to some. Saying that all chidlren adopted while on birth control are merely people exercising a material want and thus perverse, is, I think, a statement taken too far (though again, it may be applicable in some cases).
I will agree that conservative reformed people disagree on this. Our very conservative elder in his 70's will tell you that after his wife had 4 babies, he decided their quiver was full. He believed that she had all she could manage well...taking good care of the kids and glorifying God in the process
This is a fine opinion but the question is, is it his decision to make?
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