Journal: Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society
Volume: JETS 58:1 (Mar 2015)
Article: Sex And Fullness: A Rejoinder To Dennis Hollinger On Contraception
Author: W. Ross Blackburn

---

JETS 58:1 (March 2015) p. 117

Sex And Fullness: A Rejoinder To Dennis Hollinger On Contraception

W. Ross Blackburn*

* W. Ross Blackburn serves as rector of Christ the King, an Anglican fellowship in Boone, NC, and may be contacted at PO Box 3517, Boone, NC 28607.

Dennis Hollinger’s essay “The Ethics of Contraception: A Theological Assessment,”1 is borne out of a very simple but important observation: the sea change that Protestantism underwent in the 20^th century from staunch opposition to acceptance of contraception came without significant theological reflection. In an attempt to address this lack, Hollinger has undertaken the task of theologically backfilling the issue, seeking to provide the appropriate justification for contraception from a Protestant perspective. While there may have been no theological rationale for accepting contraception, Hollinger argues that contraception is not only theologically acceptable, but is even an important part of what it means for Christians to live as stewards of the world that God has given. It is the burden of the following essay to challenge Hollinger’s argument, and thus the theological legitimacy of contraception, a position that is largely a given in most Protestant thought, whether mainline or evangelical.

There has, obviously, been much deep theological reflection on the issue of contraception, particularly from the Roman Catholic Church. While I appreciate and have benefitted much from Catholic teaching on the matter of contraception, I write as a Protestant and, furthermore, as an Anglican, and thus a part of the body of Christ that, as Hollinger rightly points out, opened the doors to contraception in 1930. But mostly I write as a pastor, for sex gets to the heart of who we are as people (note how many hot-button issues—abortion, same-sex marriage, sexual discrimination—at the center of American culture and politics relate to sex), and even to the witness of the Christian church. It is an issue that, from my pastoral experience, many young couples preparing for marriage address as a given, the question not generally being “Should we use contraception?” but “How should we use contraception?” Given the importance of sexual intimacy in the health of a marriage, and the further importance of marriage in the life, witness, and mission of the church, the issue of contraception is a matter of foundational importance.

In responding to Hollinger’s argument, I will seek to follow his own structure, addressing the traditional arguments he cites (and dismisses) against contraception, focusing on the two central reasons he gives in support of contraception, and finally ending with a few comments supporting the traditional Christian p...

visitor : : uid: ()