Christian contraception (found 44 titles)

Sex and the Soul: Juggling Sexuality, Spirituality, Romance, and Religion on America's College Campuses

Author: Donna Freitas
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Publication date: 2008-04-11
ISBN: 0195311655
Pages: 328
Rating:
Price: $24.95

Today's college students are fascinated by religion but they are also more sexually active than previous generations. How do these young people reconcile their spiritual longings with sexual freedom on campus?
Based on dozens of face-to-face interviews, Sex and the Soul explores the sexual and spiritual lives of today's college students. Donna Freitas crisscrossed the country, visiting a range of America's colleges and universities--from public to private, Catholic to evangelical--to find out what students had to say about these highly personal subjects. Their stories will not only engage readers, but, in many cases, move them with the painful struggles these candid young women and men face. Indeed, the book uncovers aspects of college life that may unsettle some readers, especially parents. Many campuses, for instance, are dominated by the hook-up culture of casual sex. Moreover, a surprising number of students see little connection between sex and religion. Indeed, these observations hold true even at Catholic schools. Only at evangelical colleges is religion an important factor when deciding whether or not to engage in sex. But Freitas's research also reveals that, even at secular schools, students are not comfortable with the prevalence of casual sex, and that they do want religion to speak about what they should do and who they should try to be--not just what they should avoid doing.
Sex and the Soul will offer readers the chance to hear college students speaking honestly about extremely sensitive topics, in a book that will be of great interest to students, parents, clergy, teachers, and anyone who wants to know what's happening on today's college campuses.

Customes reviews 4

A Superb Examination Of A Troublesome Issue (2009-12-25)

There's been a lot of very good material written in the past couple of years on the detrimental emotional and psychological effects that unrestrained sexual behavior is having on American young adults; primarily college students. Donna Freitas' Sex and the Soul is a worthy addition to that material. The reason the book is as valuable as it is stems from the approach that Freitas took to present the information. As is the case with any scientific study, Freitas provides a factual definition of the issues through the use of raw data gathered through observation (in this case, surveys that she and her staff organized). However, instead of stopping with the data, she gives the study depth by incorporating comments from students on their views regarding sexuality and spirituality. The comments not only put a human face on the issues, they also make what would be a dry study readable. Both the data and the interviews bolster Freitas' conclusion that there is a discontentment with the options of promiscuity and chastity. In order to address this discontentment, Freitas develops practical recommendations for finding the middle ground between spiritual goals and sexual practice.

As I stated earlier, Sex and the Soul is the latest addition to a body of material which persuasively argues that promiscuity as a means to explore one's sexuality is not an emotionally healthy lifestyle. What distinguishes Sex and the Soul from these other books is that Freitas respects the role that both spirituality (in either a religious setting or non-religious setting) and sexuality have in one's life. She takes pains to show that the issue doesn't need to have an "either/or" answer; but, is instead broad enough to allow for one to express sexuality within a religious context. Because of this even-handed approach, Sex and the Soul rises to the top of the list of books that have been written on this subject in the past few years.

Fascinating and Insightful (2009-05-16)

Freitas has created a nice mix of fact and research with personal insight and anecdotal interviews. By carefully selecting a variety of college campuses she is able to critique both liberal and conservative approaches to campus social life. She also suggests possible solutions to the failings she sees at both places.

Excellent book! (2008-07-02)

This is an excellent ( at times appalling - at times hopeful) book. I don't usually find sociology books that I can't put down, but I read through this one in short order. What the author does quite brilliantly is weave her study of college students and how they integrate faith/religion and sex, around the personal stories of the students that she interviews. If you are a parent (like me) it is disheartening to see the influences that kids come under when they go away to college, and the soul-destroying nature of casual "hook-ups" with people one may or may not know well.

The book is hopeful (to my way of thinking) in that it is almost exclusively the evangelicals (I am one) who believe that there is a connection between spirituality and sex, and that it is important. While it is no surprise that virtually everyone struggles with how far to go physically before marriage, it is nice to see that evangelicals are generally trying to follow what they believe God desires in regards to dating and marriage.

Timely, Brilliant, Fair, Poignant (2008-04-30)

This is a carefully researched and elegantly written book on the relationship between sexuality and spirituality on US college campuses. It is pretty well known among scholars that high school kids are quite religious in the US. When they go to college they start turning away from the religions of their parents, often toward more generic spirituality. Why does this happen? Freitas thinks sexual experience might hold the key. In other words, as college students start experimenting sexually they push away from religion, since religion is in their view "anti-sex." That's the argument, or part of it. But at the heart of the book lie stories about these students. Kids at evangelical, Catholic, and secular schools struggling with faith and sexuality. It's brilliantly done. It's sad in many ways to see the binds that "hookup culture" put young people in. It's balanced in that there are things in here that will infuriate (and delight) conservatives and liberals alike. And it's timely. Makes me wonder what the next generation is in for heading off to college.

Teaching Your Children Healthy Sexuality: A Biblical Approach to Preparing Them for Life

Author: Jim Burns
Publisher: Bethany House
Publication date: 2008-06-01
ISBN:
Pages: 208
Rating:
Price: $13.99

It's not just the birds and the bees anymore.

You may have been eleven once, but you were never their age. Thanks to the Internet, graphic images in the media, and their "know-it-all" friends, kids today grow up earlier than ever. They have questions, and as a parent, your responsibility is to clear up the mixed messages and lead them to a healthy, value-centered view of sexuality. Sure, conversations with your kids about sex and their changing bodies can be uncomfortable--but they don't have to be. Jim Burns gives expert advice on how and when to talk with your children, and he provides answers to the most difficult questions your kids and teens might ask, like:

How far is too far? If you do "everything but sex," are you still a virgin? Is self-stimulation wrong? I think I'm addicted to porn. What can I do to get help? Is a boy/girl sleepover okay if there's a chaperone?

The world's culture may have cheapened sex, but God's view of sexuality is wonderfully made. Talking with your kids at a young age will help them make more godly decisions along the way, but they'll need conversation with you at every age. This is your opportunity to establish in them a lasting sexual integrity that will extend throughout their lives.

Customes reviews 1

It's not just the birds and the bees anymore. (2008-07-14)

You may have been eleven once, but you were never their age. Thanks to the Internet, graphic images in the media, and their "know-it-all" friends, kids today grow up earlier than ever. They have questions, and as a parent, your responsibility is to clear up the mixed messages and lead them to a healthy, value-centered view of sexuality. Sure, conversations with your kids about sex and their changing bodies can be uncomfortable --- but they don't have to be. Jim Burns gives expert advice on how and when to talk with your children, and he provides answers to the most difficult questions your kids and teens might ask, like:

How far is too far?
If you do "everything but sex," are you still a virgin?
Is self-stimulation wrong?
I think I'm addicted to porn. What can I do to get help?
Is a boy/girl sleepover okay if there's a chaperone?

The world's culture may have cheapened sex, but God's view of sexuality is wonderfully made. Talking with your kids at a young age will help them make more godly decisions along the way, but they'll need conversation with you at every age. This is your opportunity to establish in them a lasting sexual integrity that will extend throughout their lives.

Sacred Choices

Author: Daniel C. Maguire
Publisher: Augsburg Fortress Publishers
Publication date: 2001-01-03
ISBN:
Pages: 172
Rating:
Price: $16.00

Breaking the silence about choice

As the world teeters on the edge of overpopulation, this new addition to the Sacred Energies series aims to show how ten major religious traditions in fact contain strong affirmations of the right to family planning, including contraception and even, when necessary, abortion.

Maguire first shows how interrelated overpopulation is with poverty, ethnic injustice, gender injustice, and the maldistribution of economic resources. Often the world’s religions (most notoriously perhaps, Roman Catholicism) are thought to contribute only to the problem, rather than solutions, through their hostility to sex, education and equal rights for women, and birth control. In fact, argues Maguire, the ten scholars who consulted for several years about how these traditions treat issues of contraception and abortion find in them a true religious awe at the sacredness of life, a genuine openness to sexuality as a dimension of the sacred, and “alongside the ‘no choice’ position . . . a ‘pro-choice’ position that is too little known, even by adherents to the religion. That is the key message of this book.”

Customes reviews 11

An embarrassment to the Pro-choice side (2009-09-10)

Words like awful, bad, terrible, abysmal, atrocious, etc. are so often used that they have lost much of their meaning, so I had to consult a thesaurus to find a word that even conveyed the smallest fraction of my feelings as to how bad this book is. Yet the thesaurus did not have a word that seemed adequate, so I do not know how to use the English language to adequately communicate to you how bad this book really is.

After an introduction that boasts of the scholarship and credentials of the group of scholars that has been assembled to undertake the writing of this book, we go on to find approximately 0 footnotes and a dozen or so "suggested reading" lists amidst a plethora of statistics, quotes, claims, etc. In fact, the book is full of statistics that are almost impossible to verify, as no references are given. Sometimes there is a hint of where a quote can be found, but it is never referenced, so I can not find where Aquinas claimed that Catholics are justified in killing heretics, for example.

Unfortunately, the book begins with the faulty premise of utilitarianism. That is simply an underlying assumption which is never addressed. With the utilitarian framework in place, the first couple chapters attempt to argue that the world is overpopulated (yawn), and once this has been established, it naturally follows that we are justified in using contraception and abortion.

When the book is not making utilitarian arguments and throwing out unverifiable statistics, it is parroting every cliche phrase in the book. You name it, this book has it covered, including "trust women to make their own decisions", "choice is a personal, private decision which should be between the woman and her doctor", "religion teaches that sex is dirty" , "those who do not support abortion should not have abortions themselves" etc etc etc.

I do not even know where to begin critiquing the "Catholic" position on abortion in this book. The overall argument is basically as follows: there seem to be a few instances in history of Catholic theologians saying things that don't directly condemn abortion and there are also times when certain the Church didn't say anything about abortion when we think they should have: therefore, abortion is permissible. This isn't even worthy of being labeled a non sequitur. "Quotes" of these fathers are sparse, sometimes giving partial sentences or sentence fragments, other times simply asserting that a certain Church father said something. Of course, not a hint of a reference is given. The anti-science, 18th century, stone age notion of "quickening" is, of course, appealed to. No poorly argued pro-choice book of religion would be complete without it. Some of the most asinine straw men are used. What is the reason that the Catholic church is against abortion? The author speculates that it is because women are becoming too independent and gaining too much power and its a way to "hold them down." No mention of science, never interacting with any other viewpoints. No arguments of John Paul II, Christopher West, Patrick Lee, Robert George, Frank Beckwith. No documents or arguments which actually outline a coherent anti-abortion position are considered. Instead, we get the straw man that all of this is based on the Church's want to keep women in their place. Only in the world where it is legitimate to slice up your unborn child is it also acceptable to build these ridiculous straw men, never once interacting with any sort of argument that the pro-life side puts forth. This is why the "scholarship" of this book is a joke. Not only is NOTHING referenced, but there is no interaction with scholars from the "other side", or even documents that outline the other sides position, such as Evangelium Vitae. So much more can be said about the inaccuracies and half truths of this chapter, including the absurd notion on the "sense of the faithful" to justify abortion i.e. if enough of the faithful really want it to be a certain way, then it is! How pathetic. But they used the Latin phrase for "the sense of the faithful", so it must be a true Catholic teaching! Wait a minute... what if a majority of Catholics believed that there was no "sense of the faithful" in Catholic theology. Then it would follow by the sense of the faithful that there is no sense of the faithful. Is this self-refuting? Oh well, who cares as long as we get to kill the unborn!

The upshot of this book is that it is a very good indicator of how deep and far away from reason someone will go because of sin. I'd like to say that this book is dangerous, but it is so badly reasoned and argued, that I can't imagine this would pose a threat to any thinking person. Most pro-choicers are honest enough to at least realize that the Catholic Church unequivocally condemns abortion. I never accuse people of being outright liars, but the authors of this book are the closest I've seen to legitimately thinking that they are straight-up liars. Demon possession is out of the question because demon possessed people are extremely bright and put forth good sounding arguments. This book is a disgrace.

a serious work of religious scholarship (2003-04-13)

While Daniel Maguire is one of the few mirthful scholars of religious thought, his writings have serious import in a world too often darkened by religious crime. Maguire and his sources demonstrate quite vividly that while most of the world's religions have often been involved in horrific and destructive actions, that there was and is a serious and awe inspiring underpining to their formation and purpose. My personal opinion is that there was probably much more fear and trembling than awe and reverence at their core beginnings, but Maquire is more generous in his accessment. Maguire takes us through more than ten of the world's great religious traditions with the help of scholars well versed in their own religious traditions, to demonstrate conclusively that although there is much in religious tradtions to comfort Pro-Life adherents, that there is a line of equally orthodox thought in every religious tradition to support the Pro-Choice view, and that government support of one of these religious views over the other is in conflict with the American ideal of resisting governmental intervention into religious matters. Maguire has an obvious bias toward the Pro-Choice religious position, but he is generous in granting legitimacy to the Pro-Life position as well. However, he unabashedly points out the inconsistancies in the lobbying and advocacy efforts by current avowedly Pro-Life activist's positions on multiple fronts in public policy debates. This is an important book for anyone who takes religious matters seriously. And whether or not one is religious or irreligious, I think that none can deny that religion plays a very big part in both national and international policy debates, and therefor, it behooves us all to take seriously matters of religious thought. Maguire shows us in his first few pages exactly why it is so necessary that we do so. An excellent and thoughtful read and a book which belongs on any thinking person's book shelves. wfh

Lies, Distortions and Pernicious Intent (2002-06-17)

The author, Maguire, is a lapsed Catholic priest who seeks the distruction of the Gospel in Sacred Choices. His thesis is that Catholicism along with other religious traditions acually endorse the right to contraception and abortion! By twisting historical events and moral theology, he presents his heretical views to advance the culture of death. For those who need convincing just look at the word contraception and its associative meaning. Contra = against or Anti; and Ception = Life or Christ. Put it together contra-ception = Anti-Christ. (This semantic play reveals the meaning behind the practice of contraception). This book's thesis is that the Catholic Church, along with other religious traditions, support contraception, or alternativly the Anti-Christ, or that which is agaist Life.

If religion is about the celebration of Life, how could this ex-priest have the (...) to suggest that religions support anti-life devices and proceedures that end life pre-maturely? The mind boggles . . . there is something darker in this author than what can be gleened from the cover of his book!

Great Contribution (2002-05-31)

This book provides much needed information and is a great contribution in refuting the falsehoods spread by the so-called "Christian" Right. It is a good companion to a wonderful new book titled Real Prophecy Unveiled, by Joseph J. Adamson. Thank God for books like these, because they shed light in a world made dark by "religious" bigotry, hypocrisy, and aggression. They give me faith that the humble and meek shall inherit the earth after all.

Punctured Preconceptions (2002-05-16)

... Dan McGuire, drawing on a lifetime of study and research, in conjunction with scholars from other religions, finds that Christianity and other faith traditions have many strands of thought expressed over the centuries. The common thread is a passion for the givenness of our human life, and the sacred dimension of making critical decisions affecting reproduction. McGuire and the other writers survey the less well-known attitudes in the historic faiths and suggest that that univocal opposition to planned pregnancy is in sore need of review. He offers cogent, yet powerful reasons for doing more research. The book will be welcomed by all who want more open discussion, including Catholics for Free Choice who want freer dialogue in their religious communities about options for men and women regarding their fertility. ...

The Ovulation Method: Natural Family Planning

Author: John J. Billings
Publisher: Liturgical Press
Publication date: 1984-12
ISBN: 0814610110
Pages: 40
Rating:
Price: $9.95

Customes reviews 8

Natural (2010-03-03)

I enjoyed the Ovulation Method Book. It really help me out to understand what I need to do in order to get pregnant.

Very Effective!!!! (2007-07-15)

I have been on the Billings Ovulation Method for a few years now and beleive me, if you don't cheat it is 99.99% effective. The downfall to this method is that you are not suppose to know exactly how to use it without instruction. There are ways to contact these instructers that can guide you through the process for a fee. Check with your local womens center or life center, they can help. I was able to go through my training course right here in my home for thirty dollars, and you don't have to be Catholic to use it. Good luck to you.

PS.. I did get pregnant during the time of practicing this method but it is because we chose to cheat on my most fertile day. An Anniversary and a few drinks will impair judgement like that so be careful...lol

Promotes the method but doesn't teach it (2007-07-12)

This slim book promotes the Ovulation Method, profiling its advantages and utility. But it is not an instruction book. I'm only giving it three starts because although it's well-written I'm not sure who the intended audience is, or what group might find it useful.

For someone looking to learn a mucus-only method, I would look to "The Billings Method:Controlling Fertility Without Drugs or Devices" by Evelyn Billings. For someone just interested in any kind of fertility charting, not specifically a mucus-only method, I highly recommend Taking Charge of Your Fertility by Toni Weschler as the definitive book in this category.

Well worth it! (2007-01-13)

The ovulation book was great. The book was a good price, it was packed full of information and came with a chart and pleanty of stickers to get you and your spouse started on the wonderful journey of natural family planning.

Could be Better (2005-07-07)

I was hoping that the book went into better detail. It did not help me. However, it was informative and an easy read.

Teaching Your Child about Sex: An Essential Guide for Parents

Author: Grace Ketterman
Publisher: Revell
Publication date: 2007-10-01
ISBN:
Pages: 240
Rating:
Price: $12.99

Imparting healthy attitudes and solid information about sex to children is one of the most challenging aspects of parenthood. For more than twenty-five years, Dr. Grace H. Ketterman has been helping parents give the best and most accurate information and guide their children in sexual responsibility. She gives parents the perfect words for explaining the physical, emotional, and spiritual aspects of sex, in age-specific increments from babyhood through adolescence. This updated edition includes chapters on special issues that are a part of our social and cultural environment, such as sexually transmitted diseases and homosexuality. Going way beyond "the talk," Dr. Ketterman gives parents the tools they need to pass on a Christ-centered understanding of one of God's most wonderful gifts.

Customes reviews 1

Might be perfect for some. Not me. (2010-02-08)

It was pretty reasonable to expect that I'd find this to be a matter of fact, straightforward, empowering book. It's by so and so, MD, a practicing chid psychiatrist, etc. etc.

That was not this title. This is filled with Bible verses and disturbing statements: that women who don't regret an abortion are probably lying, that you should tell children childbirth is not painful, and misnamed body parts. If an MD can't tell the difference between vagina and vulva, some credibility is lost for me.

Scariest of all for me was her unsubstantiated opinion being touted as fact: "I believe homosexuality to be based on repeated stimulation by abusers of the same sex." "Today's culture has robbed children of any widely defined characteristics of maleness or femaleness...this is tragic..."

If you are looking for a book that will teach abstinence, however, and rigid gender roles, this is a good choice.

Ethics of Procreation and the Defense of Human Life: Contraception, Artifical Fertilization, and Abortion

Author: Martin Rhonheimer
Publisher: Catholic University of America Press
Publication date: 2010-03-03
ISBN: 0813217229
Pages: 309
Price: $39.95

Building on the renewal of Thomistic ethics encouraged by key moral encyclicals including Humanae Vitae, Veritatis Splendor, and Evangelium Vitae, Swiss philosopher Martin Rhonheimer revisits some of the most difficult questions regarding the ethics of procreation and human life. The book offers a rigorous argument on the contested question of contraception and related matters, and similarly engages disputed questions surrounding abortion.

With Rhonheimer's characteristic circumspection and rigor, his discussion of sexual ethics provides compelling argumentation in support of Catholic teaching against contraception. He applies this analysis to the related case of using contraceptives under the threat of rape. Rhonheimer agrees with trusted Catholic moralists, who from the early 1960s to the present have concluded that such use would be licit. He shows, moreover, both the flaws in alternative analyses and how the same conclusions can be reached in a defensible manner while upholding the teachings of Humanae Vitae and Veritatis Splendor.

Rhonheimer applies his philosophical acumen to another set of difficult moral questions about contemporary threats to the sanctity of human life, including artificial reproduction and abortion. Regarding artificial reproduction, his treatment further illustrates both the fecundity of his application of Thomistic virtue and action analysis and his insistence on the moral link between sex and procreation. Finally, he not only provides a rigorous rebuttal of some of the leading arguments justifying abortion, but offers readers an example of his writings in political philosophy through a profound reflection on the defense of human life in a constitutional democracy.

Love, Reason, and God's Story: An Introduction to Catholic Sexual Ethics

Author: PhD, David Cloutier
Publisher: Anselm Academic
Publication date: 2008-02-15
ISBN: 0884899454
Pages: 292
Price: $26.25

In Love, Reason, and God's Story: An Introduction to Catholic Sexual Ethics, Dr. David Cloutier provides readers with a basic understanding of the history of Catholic teaching on sexual ethics, particularly as it has evolved in the last half century. By engaging students in serious intellectual discussion, this author allows them to integrate that discussion with the practical questions that affect their lives.

This text explores the historical, spiritual, practical, and normative elements of Catholic sexual ethics in a way no other book does. Love, Reason, and God's Story is faithful to the Catholic tradition, engaging, accessible to students, and pedagogically structured to encourage critical thinking about dating, marriage, and sexuality.

The Christian Case Against Contraception: Making the Case from Historical, Biblical, Systematic, and Practical Theology & Ethics

Author: Bryan C Hodge
Publisher: Wipf & Stock Publishers
Publication date: 2010-01
ISBN: 1608990109
Pages: 310
Rating:
Price: $34.00

Customes reviews 1

A Thorough Argument Against Contraception (2010-03-05)

I am very pleased with the thorough nature of this book. It fills the gap of a modern, scholarly, rigorous argument against the practice of contraception among evangelical Christians. The author has done a wealth of research into this topic, and has well thought-out arguments to support his case. I highly recommend it for anyone who wants to seriously consider whether or not contraception is biblical. However, as a warning, it is written at a scholarly level--it reads like a masters thesis or doctoral disertation, making it ideal for pastors or lay people who are wanting to dig deep.

Sacred Work: Planned Parenthood and Its Clergy Alliances

Author: Tom Davis
Publisher: Rutgers University Press
Publication date: 2006-07-24
ISBN: 0813539501
Pages: 264
Rating:
Price: $18.95

In the struggle for reproductive freedom, there are religious extremists at one end and liberal secularists at the other. Lost in this battle and often invisible to the public eye are the religious leaders and institutions that have worked in favor of protecting reproductive rights. In Sacred Work, Tom Davis brings to light the ways in which the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, a leading reproductive rights organization, and the clergy are not as incongruent as they often are construed to be. Although clergy supporters of choice are rarely, if ever, given attention in the media, Davis shows that they in fact play a major role in advancing women’s rights, rebutting right wing arguments, and helping to make (and keep) abortion legal nationwide.

Beginning with Margaret Sanger’s efforts to include mainline clergy in the fight to provide information about contraceptives to the general public, Davis details the religious and historical dimensions of this long alliance up through current debates. Drawing on stories of real women and men who are struggling to be faithful in the face of genuine dilemmas, this book cuts through the politics and semantics that typically surround the issue of reproductive rights.

Customes reviews 4

Great historical perspective (2009-12-17)

Rev Davis work captures the historical aspects of the pro reproductive choice movement. The biblical commands of justice not judgement drive the involvement of the clergy to support women in their reproductive work. Women's health care being provided in churches? What a great concept.

Sacred Work in the Twenty-First Century and Beyond (2006-07-26)

A book reviewer's job is to provide an informed opinion as to whether the writer accomplished their craft and has written to the best of their ability a good book. A review shouldn't be a platform for the reviewer's political or religious point of view. A review should be about the book. Reviewers should be able to back up their opinions by explaining the strengths and weaknesses of the book by taking examples from the text of the said book. The key word here of course is opinion, to what one reviewer might trumpet accolades, another might pan relentlessly. The reader must remember, it is easier to critique than create and that everyone has an opinion. Sacred Work focuses on subjects that cause great controversy and as a reviewer I dreaded writing this review, not because it is a poorly written book, on the contrary, Davis has written an incredible informative tome on the history of Planned Parenthood and the organization's involvement with the clergy. The conundrum is that as a fair and unbiased book reviewer I cannot allow my personal beliefs about Pro-Life or Pro-Choice seep into this review.
With that said let us begin.
For my entire life so far, from birth to this exact moment I have enjoyed being a heterosexual male and I haven't any plans in the near or distant future that I can foresee that would invoke me into changing genders. For a decade I have been a husband and partner to a wonderful woman. I am the father of three beautiful and magnificent daughters. I was raised by a strong and independent mother and I am proud to admit that my mother-in-law and I are friends. I think it is safe to say that I am respectful to women and sensitive to their rights, but until I read Tom Davis book I never fully understood the trials and tribulations women through out history, including the present day endured to maintain their reproductive rights and autonomy and how much the clergy was involved.
What exactly is the nature of `sacred work' and how does it involve Planned Parenthood and the clergy? Davis writes, "In the biblical view, sacred work is love and in practical social realities, sacred work is justice...nowhere was injustice more clearly present then in the twentieth-century battle over contraception...if women were able to determine their reproductive life, then the control over their lives by male dominated political institutions would be threatened...and since spiritual realities cannot be separated from social and political life, the pursuit of the sacred work of justice takes clergy into the public arena. The realm of justice is a realm of hard, sometimes tragic choices. As Planned Parenthood and the clergy each tried to stand with women making those hard choices a bond was formed."
The popular misconception about the clergy and Planned Parenthood in the media is that they are bitter enemies. Davis blows apart this myth. He writes, "In the spring of 1997 the Planned Parenthood affiliate in Washington D.C. opened a clinic in a nearby church. Soon after indicating how incongruous the situation seemed to be, the Washington Post ran an article under the headline "Unlikely Alliance for Planned Parenthood." The Washington Post may have thought it was merely reflecting the popular understanding that the work of Planned Parenthood is opposed by all religious institutions...an alliance between churches and synagogues, temples and Planned Parenthood has existed for over seventy years...below public radar, mainline Protestant and Jewish Clergy in their alliance with Planned Parenthood, have played a major role in achieving respectability for birth control in a nation whose religious convictions always involve social and moral issues and never more than when the subject at hand involves women's sexuality." Davis goes on and explains how Margaret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood in 1913 searched for information about contraception in the United States. Davis writes, ..."Sanger herself worked as a maternity nurse...delivering babies of immigrant women...she saw the horrific consequences of decades of the suppression of sexual information... women having frequent illegal abortions, women overwhelmed by poverty and too many children, women dying because they had no knowledge of how to prevent one pregnancy after another...hoping to find some birth control information...Sanger went on a six-month search in some of the finest American libraries, including the Library of Congress. She could find virtually nothing. She marveled at how completely this information was suppressed. In effect, there was no practical knowledge of birth control available in America." Sanger then went to Europe and learned about different types of contraception. When she returned home she published a magazine called The Woman Rebel and shared her finds with American women and traveled around the country giving speeches, she was immediately a target of the law and she knew she needed the aid of the clergy. Davis writes ... "One of her Cleveland appearances was at the First Unitarian Church, an early sign of the religious support to come from that denomination." Sanger said, "When I am confronted with arguments against Birth Control, arguments that are as a rule presented by learned theologians or indefatigable statistician, the dim far off chorus of suffering and pain begins to resound anew in my ears. How academic, how anemically intellectual and how remote from throbbing, bleeding humanity all these prejudiced arguments sound, when one has been brought face to face with the reality of suffering!"
Davis writes, "To their credit, a number of clergy joined Sanger in her urgency for the freedom to choose contraception. From the 1930s on, clergy support for Planned Parenthood grew steadily. In city after city, affiliates found that some clergy were more than willing to speak out publicly in defense of clinics. By the 1960s it was precisely the religious and moral authority of these supportive clergy that changed public opinion about birth control."
Davis continues with the history of the clergy's involvement with Planned Parenthood and discusses how the Roman Catholic Church made sure hospital funds were taken away when women were informed of different contraceptive techniques, let alone that contraception or even abortion was an option. The Vatican wanted to enforce a gag order that other clergy fought. Davis writes, "This issue remains alive as it was in 1952-53. The controversies that currently embroil Planned Parenthood and the women's movement involve government attempts to impose "gag rules" both internationally and domestically. These rules state that no government funding can go to clinics that inform a pregnant woman that abortion is one of her choices. That is forbidden speech. Those clergy who oppose gag rules invoke the right of freedom of speech."
Davis has not just written a history or compendium of the clergy's relationship with Planned Parenthood for the last seventy years. Sacred Work is an epic on hope and human nature. It shows that the fall-out from an agrarian nation that rapidly mutated into an industrialized consumer based disposable culture still has checks and balances in place made up of those that seek social justice for the weak and unprotected from an antiquated value system and hierarchy of a male dominated society that enforces an ambiguous moral code of guilt that demeans and subjugates women. Davis's writing has enhanced and has brought a post-postmodern quality to Margaret Sanger's discourse. He has defined and set a standard for those that wish to do sacred work in the twenty-first century and beyond.

Don't Buy This Book! (2006-06-12)

This is a horrible book that uses 245 pages to describe the definition of oxymoron.

One of the Great Social Justice Fights. (2005-08-06)

I was in the methodist clergy 1971 - 1989 and never knew that this was one of the great conflicts of the twentieth century. Planned Parenthood was firmly in place and I had no idea of the storms that
had been involved. The great names: Niebuhr, Oxnam, Fosdick, Peale
transformed the social, political and religious environment. In 1916, it was utter ignorance about sex and reproduction. By 1965, everything was available. Sacred Work is about Protestant and Jewish clergy, from pastoral concerns, fighting as great a fight as was civil rights or anti-war. Warfare is begining again; it behoves us to know our history.

Birth Control in China 1949-2000: Population POlicy and Demographic Development (Chinese Worlds S.)

Author: T. Scharping
Publisher: Routledge
Publication date: 2002-12-06
ISBN: 0415386047
Pages: 424
Rating:
Price: $39.95

This comprehensive volume analyzes Chinese birth policies and population developments from the founding of the People's Republic to the 2000 census. The main emphasis is on China's 'Hardship Number One Under Heaven': the highly controversial one-child campaign, and the violent clash between family strategies and government policies it entails.
Birth Control in China 1949-2000 documents an agonizing search for a way out of predicament and a protracted inner Party struggle, a massive effort for social engineering and grinding problems of implementation. It reveals how birth control in China is shaped by political, economic and social interests, bureaucratic structures and financial concerns. Based on own interviews and a wealth of new statistics, surveys and documents, Thomas Scharping also analyzes how the demographics of China have changed due to birth control policies, and what the future is likely to hold.
This book will be of interest to students and scholars of modern China, Asian studies and the social sciences.

Customes reviews 1

More than statistics (2006-08-26)

This is a scholarly volume, but also tells an important human and cultural story. It will be of great interest to any parent who has adopted from China and has a desire to better understand the predicament that causes birthparents to abandon children, especially girls. It will also be of value to readers interested in demographics, medical ethics, or public policy studies.

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