Jobs Simply - Those with theology degrees only, please.

Those with theology degrees only, please.

According to Pope Paul VI's humane vitae, birth control is a deliberate violation of the design that God built and a violation of natural law. Tampering with god's will is a mortal sin and grounds for excummunication according to this doctrine. I get this. Very straightforward - Tampering with god's will is a mortal sin and grounds for excommunication. It thus follows that if you are pregnant, it is god's will that you have a child and abortion is a mortal sin. Where I get lost though is the papal silence on fertility clinics. It would seem that god's will can include infertility as well as fertility. I simply don't understand why god's law is sometimes inviolable and sometimes subject to "interpretation". If it is god's will that you are childless, why is it okay to circumvent his will and attempt to become pregnant? Suppose god's plan is that those he made unable to conceive are part of a divine plan to assist with the children that are conceived? I understand the politics involved. When you are trying to sell a particular doctrine, the job is harder when it includes telling a potential mom that she won't ever be a mom. But shouldn't religion be above politicing and waffling on the issues? In utero surgery - it has now become common to repair medical conditions that would otherwise cause a fetus to die before birth or shortly thereafter. Again, isn't it circumventing god's will that the child miscarry, be stillborn or suffer birth defects? And...vaccinations. Just don't get it. God gave us polio for a reason right? I'm told that HIV is punishment for sinners, so it stands to follow that polio must also be some form of divine retribution. It would be helpful if you could clarify these issues. I know I'm asking for a lot but if you have time - Thou Shalt Not Kill. I'll admit that god is sometimes a bit oblique but here, he seemed to be putting his foot down Thou.....Shalt.....Not.......Kill.......so - what's up with the death penalty and wars and dropping bombs? Is there a revised edition of the commandments that includes the exclusions, addenda and supplements? Any thoughtful, informed, theologically based explanations are welcome! Kayla - seriously sweetie, you need to get an education cuz you only look silly when you try to explain how you arrived at a translation of ancient text. Uneducated and Christian do not have to be synonymous. Shadow and C - don't agree (of course!) but something to think about. Shadow, would just point out that abortion surgery could also fail. C - interesting article and website - would just point out that it's not up to the media to teach. My question arose as I drive to work past an abortion clinic that is picketed on a frequent basis while a nearby fertility clinic is ignored - could it be that the faithful aren't aware of the doctrine or perhaps it's simply easier to pick on unwed mothers rather than well-heeled infertile couples?

Public Comments

First, it doesn't follow that if you're pregnant God wants you to have a child... because worldwide there are something like 2,400 still births every day and 200,000 miscarriages. The majority of these women don't even know they are pregnant, and God's will ends up on a piece of toilet paper in the bathroom trashcan. Regarding "Thou shalt not kill", this is a mistranslation into English. The Hebrew text does not say "kill" but rather "murder." Within the context of when this law was written, murder was defined as the unjustified killing of a fellow clansman. For the middle part of your question, there are a number of rationalizations that you could make up, one worse than the other. You've pinpointed one of the problems with Christian doctrine that theologians have never been able to adequately address. And the reason for this paradox is simply because God does not exist.
You should direct this question to Catholics, not theology degrees.
I believe that any human interaction and claims of violation of the will of an almighty creator would be impossible.
My theological degree tells me that your question lacks a clearly defined thesis to be answered coherently. Please try again.
"Those with theology degrees only, please", aiming low, are we? It wasn't hard to learn, as a lay person, that the original better translates as, "thou shalt not murder.
this is the wrong place to be aristocratic.
I'm no theologian, but my question for the Pope is HOW can the pill frustrate the will of God? Especially when the Bible tells us that with God all things are possible... Either He can get around the little pill or He can't...I think He can.... :)
Christianity isn't consistent, just, or coherent for one simple reason... ...its not from a divine creator. It really is that simple.
Actually, The Catholic Church is just as much against in-vetro fertilization as it is against Abortion. You are correct in thinking that it would be hypocritical for the Catholic Church to be one way and not the other. Fact is that the Catholic Church is against BOTH. Below is a great article about it. Seems that the Media covers what it wants. As far as vaccinations, etc, God gave us the insight to improve our lives, they are fine as long as we are not killing one person for the benefit of another, we can have a surgery to repair our broken leg or cure cancer, or anything, again, as long as we are not killing a human to do it. Thou Shall not kill, but we can defend ourselves. Each war, each conflict has to be justified by itself. The acts of war are on the soul of the person that declared the war, or sent the troops into action. Peace and God Bless! (Catholic Convert)
Maybe if you got the commandment right "Thou shall do no MURDER, you might understand a bit different. Murder is something premeditated and therefore WRONG. To kill or be killed in a war is a necessity and not wrong in God's eyes.God also said in the bible, when somebody does a murder 'SEND THEM TO ME" ..what does that tell you?And YOU are asking for people with theology degrees only??? What a joke!! You have a long ways to go, but keep on trying, I am but a Christian, so what do I know :)
1) The Catholic Church's stance on birth control is, to my knoweldge, based around the idea that God must be able to create a life if he wishes to, ergo birth control is immoral. However, if God does not want life to be created, the fertility clinic will fail. (I'm sure actual Catholics can explain it better, but that was how it was explained to me.) 2) In utero surgery, same as above, chance for failure so it doesn't count. 3) Never heard anything against vaccinations before. 4) Improperly translated. It actually has the meaning of "Thou shalt not murder."
This isn't really a theological question. At least not directly. You've missed the point on the Papal declaration. The problem with contraception is not that it frustrates God's will to bring people into the world. The problem with contraception is that it separates the *act* of procreation from any possibility of fulfilling its intended purpose which is the generation of life. The sin is rejecting God's purpose for our sexuality. And this does form the basis for answering the rest of your somewhat incoherent question. Fertility treatment which produces a number of fertilized eggs, all but one being destroyed, is absolutely against Catholic dogma. But other methods are perfectly OK. Remember, God's will for us is life-- He's Creator. Things which preserve, maintain, or enhance life are in perfect accord with His will for us. The theological truth you're struggling to grasp is that all life is sacred, meaning that it belongs to the Creator. Human life is at the top of that list. So God has placed narrow restrictions on the shedding of human blood. Certain crimes: murder, etc., treason, and self-defense are the only justifiable occasions for shedding blood. But these are exceptions that prove the rule. Just think of it this way and you'll have the core of it, God loves life and hates death. That is the theological basis for the Pope's declaration. peace