History repeats itself

[Seeker]

I have been reading H.W. Crocker's Triumph, The Power and the Glory of the Catholic Church and would like to share a paragraph from his chapter on Rome in the second century, A.D. that struck me as being timely.

While officially illegal under Roman Law, many Romans practiced abortion and infanticide.  In the brave days of the republic, children were regarded as sources of family pride and honor.  Now they were seen as limits on one's freedom to enjoy the pleasures of the world.  The Romans also practiced contraception, which could take a variety of forms, the most drastic of which was marriage to a eunuch.  But contraception was denied to the Catholic Christian.  Life, he was taught, is God's gift.

quoted from H.W. Crocker III's Triumph, The Power and the Glory of the Catholic Church.

Maybe Crocker meant it to be an analogy of today's world, maybe not.  But I could see the parallels to America since the 1960's.  Marrying a eunuch would be similar to a men getting a vasectomy, I suppose.  

What really struck me was that the more things change, that more they really just stay the same.  The Church has been fighting these battles since it's beginning.   It is edifying to note that the Catholic Church's stance hasn't changed in all that time.

[Seeker]

Here is a link with quotes from the Early Church fathers regarding artificial contraception.  It also has quotes from them regarding voluntary sterilization for the purpose of preventing conception.

Please do not think I am condemning anyone.  I simply seek to inform.  As they say, the truth shall make you free.  

I always thought that these issues were unique to the 20th and 21st centuries, but the more I dig, the more I find out that they have been around at least since antiquity.  

I also see that the Church has not changed it's stance on these issues, rather it has come to a better understanding of why the stance it takes is correct.  Compare the quotes of the Early Church fathers to Pope John Paul II's explanation of marriage and human sexuality in his Theology of the Body and Love and Responsibility, and you will see what I mean.

[Melody]

the more things change, that more they really just stay the same. The Church has been fighting these battles since it's beginning

This is SO true seeker! I think it's great that the Catholic Church hasn't changed it's position on all the major issues.

I heard a teaching about this once & I'll never forget what I heard "The Catholic Church can't change it's position on these issues...because the Truth doesn't change."

Praise God for that!

Melody

[Seeker]

I heard a teaching about this once & I'll never forget what I heard "The Catholic Church can't change it's position on these issues...because the Truth doesn't change."

Thanks for pointing that out Melody!  I hadn't thought of it that way.  There is much wisdom in that statement.

[Rev. Eric]

Thanks for sharing this info, Seeker.  Actually, I happen to have Croker's "Triumph" sitting on my desk (with plans to read it in th near future).  I recently came across it in a Catholic bookstore and read the first couple of pages - it pretty much immediatley grabbed my attention so I bought it.

God bless,
-Rev. Eric

[Seeker]

I think you'll enjoy the rest of the book Rev. Eric.  I'm only up to chapter 6, and it has not only kept my attention, but taught me a lot about Church and world history.