"The fact is, as experience shows, that new life is not the result of each and every act of sexual intercourse. God has wisely ordered laws of nature and the incidence of fertility in such a way that successive births are already naturally spaced through the inherent operation of these laws."
How I interpret these words is that no matter the situation or outcome, what happens is under God's purview and if he wanted it to be, it will be. While I don't believe in God personally (I fancy myself agnostic), I can understand the belief and faith people have. I don't discourage it and I don't look down upon it, but there are times like these where I question the interpretation people have. The Pope states that the Lord Almighty has a plan for each and every time someone has sexual intercourse. People will state that "God wanted this," or "It wasn't meant to be," in certain situations that involve birth, which always makes me wonder if that actually gives people faith or if it's just a blameless direction. In the instance of the article I linked above, there was a girl who had (apparently) slept with other underage boys her age (of 15). Although there were multiple... boys, it only took one to get her pregnant. Was that part of the plan?
I don't think that this is appropriate to say to anyone for any reason. To women or men who are infertile for whatever reason, are they being punished by God to live a life without children? Is this some grand punishment? Being unable to enact a holy and virtuous act, despite their belief and faith in God? If so, then what about the women that are raped, or this fifteen year old girl. I'm not saying that they're aren't worthy of God's love or anything like that, but there's the whole (slightly animated comedy style) scenario running through my head.
God: "Y'know, that couple really, really believes in me and my teachings. Let's give them a kid."
Random... ethereal being?: "What about that fifteen year old girl that keeps sleeping around with other fifteen year old boys?"
God: "Yeah. Let's make them sterile." - snaps fingers -
Random Ethereal being: "I think you've made a mistake... that girl is pregnant now."
God: "Oops."
God: "Oops."
My poor satire aside, this can really mess with a person's identity. Having faith in Christ for so long, only to be met with such sorrow. I don't know anyone personally who have encountered this issue, but I can't imagine there isn't a couple like this somewhere. To me, having something so ingrained and attached to who you are and what you are, such as religion, and being told that good things to happen to those who are faithful and respectful, only to have something like infertility present itself. I couldn't imagine the repercussions this could have on a person. If someone came up to me and told me that my father isn't my father (which is the closest thing I could empathize with), I would be crippled emotionally and mentally. I wouldn't know what to do with myself. I wouldn't know who I was anymore. It would be as if everyone had just lied to me my whole life and I wouldn't know what to believe. In the case of religion, belief is the most powerful thing you can have. You've been taught to believe from (conceivably) birth to revere a mighty Lord, going to church and performing activities such as praying. You're creating docile bodies to belief and cherish and worship. Then in the case of infertility, and maybe even the case I've linked to above, these beliefs just shatter because they are completely opposite of what you've been told. Not only would this effect you on a personal and emotional level, this could irreparably effect you psychologically.
I just don't think that going around saying that if you do or don't have children, it is God's way or punishing/praising you for all of your (lack) of faith. There are just too many things that make the notion of religion contrived and could break the faith of many people who have had faith all their lives.
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