Rendering unto Caesar: The Origin of the Birth Control Ban

[sophia-sadek.livejournal.com]

There is no evidence that Early Christians heeded the Roman ban on birth control. In fact, there are hints pointing to the practice of birth control in the early Christian literature. Apparently, the Church didn't subscribe to Roman law on the matter until it took control of imperial affairs in the fourth century.

The ban on birth control made sense for an urban population at the time. If each family did not give birth to an average of five children, the population would decline from disease and warfare. This threat to the city's power was also a threat to the Church's power. One of the crimes that heretical sects were accused of was the crime of trafficking in prophylactic herbs.

To this day, the subjects of the Vicar of Caesar are prohibited from practicing birth control, except in limited contexts such as through monasticism. It is easy to determine whether a person is slave or free by establishing whether they follow the ban or not. Do you obey the laws of Caesar, or do you conform to a higher jurisprudence?

Comments

[underlankers.livejournal.com]

If we lived in a state based on Civil Law I could snark that we still live under Roman law and thus there is no higher jurisprudence. Damn English and their common law. >.>

And anyone that looks at Christian history and is shocked that doctrine and practice are Earth and the Oort Cloud is in serious need of reading Christian history.

Common Law Marriage

[sophia-sadek.livejournal.com]

How many years of cohabitation does it take to become "married" under Common Law? Does it apply to gay cohabitation?

[badlydrawnjeff.livejournal.com]

So now you're going into incoherent religion bashing?

That must have been...

[sophia-sadek.livejournal.com]

... meant for Unterlankers.

[lordtwinkie.livejournal.com]

what do you mean "now"? where the hell have you been this is a frigging weekly occurrence.

[redheadrat.livejournal.com]

oj vej

[kgbman.livejournal.com]

lol

[soliloquy76.livejournal.com]

lol wut

[fizzyland.livejournal.com]

I only obey the laws of Caesar when I'm making salad dressing.

Good policy, ...

[sophia-sadek.livejournal.com]

... that.

[the-rukh.livejournal.com]

I heard a rumor somewhere that Caesar died, know anything about it?

He's dead...

[sophia-sadek.livejournal.com]

..., Jim.

It is certainly true that Caesar is dead in body, but his spirit lives on in the office of the Pontifex Maximus. There are also certain military practices that persist from the time of the original Caesar.

[devil-ad-vocate.livejournal.com]

I think the ides are in favor of that.

[geezer-also.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty sure Sid Caesar is still alive. His biography is sitting on my pile of "in process of reading" books.

[mijopo.livejournal.com]

I wish you'd be respectful of community members' time and interests.

You can please some of the people...

[sophia-sadek.livejournal.com]

... some of the time.

This makes about as much sense as your posts do

[404.livejournal.com]

Re: This makes about as much sense as your posts do

[the-rukh.livejournal.com]

What are you talking about? Your little macro makes a ton of sense. Its obviously using a scene from Predator and juxtaposing it into the 'Duck Hunt' video game for the Nintendo Entertainment System. Which frankly I find pretty cool.

[dwer.livejournal.com]

How 'bout some of that mousse stuff?

[sophia-sadek.livejournal.com]

The guy on the left says to the barber, "I was thinking of trying some of that mousse stuff in my hair."

The barber replies, "I don't see why not. I use some of that cow stuff in my garden and it grows just fine."

[hunterkirk.livejournal.com]

Another anti-Christian post... I wonder why you think it belongs in this forum?

[geezer-also.livejournal.com]

Maybe because she isn't getting enough hits on her LJ?

[reality-hammer.livejournal.com]

Never let religion interfere with sex.

[ddstory.livejournal.com]

Indeed! The prospect of seeing her procreate is disturbing.

[root-fu.livejournal.com]

I put the history book down.

And ward off the influencing finger of Caesar beckoning forth from the grave with my lvl 1, despotblock, ebonics.

[mahnmut.livejournal.com]

I love the form of your posts.

1. Title: rendering unto Ceasar + issue.
2. Historic reference about Christianity.
3. Irrelevant reference to Caesar.
4. Conclusion: question: "Do you obey Caesar"?

From here, there are several possible responses:

1. Hm, what?
2. You need to see a doctor.
3. No, I don't obey Caesar for fuck's sake.
4. Sure, why not.

[htpcl.livejournal.com]

I think this comm is in a bad need of another quality post. Have patience, been working on the matter.

Time to kick...

[sophia-sadek.livejournal.com]

... the ball about a bit.

Caesar and birth control

[gypsy-unlimited.livejournal.com]

I am an Atheist but believe birth control is ones own choice. Caesar will take what he can, but if I believe it is wrong for me and my loved ones, I will resist. I live on principal. I obey the laws I must to survive. I am finding I am in the minority in America. I do respect the majority vote however.

Re: Caesar and birth control

[sophia-sadek.livejournal.com]

It's interesting how ancient societies felt threatened by people who refused to make babies. In Sparta, it was a mark of bad citizenship to fail in the baby making department. Breeding was a state requirement.

[consortofvenus.livejournal.com]

But of course, the Church went through a lot of changes theologically, too. The birth control ban fits with the direction it was going in finding spiritual purity. Which in itself ooks like a solution to the famous pagan Greek Problem about where humans fit in the realms of 'gods' and animals. Sex is a natural, animal desire; animal passions cloud the mind which we use to understand what the 'gods' have to teach us.

[consortofvenus.livejournal.com]

...and sex with birth control is an indulgence of animal passions.