How can sexual intimacy between husband and wife be a sin if neither want to have children?

Only in the minds of blinkered old men in dresses who still talk Latin.

Nowhere does the Bible command Christians to procreate. God told the first human couple and Noah’s family: “Be fruitful and become many and fill the earth.” But this command was not repeated to Christians. (Genesis 1:28; 9:1) Hence, married couples may decide for themselves whether they will raise a family, how many children they will have, and when they will have them. The Scriptures, likewise, do not condemn birth control. From a Biblical point of view, then, whether a husband and wife choose to use some nonabortive method of contraception is really a personal decision. Why, though, does the Catholic Church condemn contraception?

Catholic sources explain that it was in the second century C.E. that professed Christians first adopted a Stoic rule according to which the sole lawful purpose for marital intercourse was procreation. The reasoning behind this position was thus philosophical rather than Biblical. It was based, not on divine wisdom, but on human wisdom. This philosophy persisted down through the centuries and was elaborated on by various Catholic theologians.* The logical outgrowth of this teaching, however, was the idea that sexual pleasure as an end in itself is sinful and, consequently, that sexual relations that exclude the possibility of procreation are immoral. But this is not what the Scriptures teach.

Using poetic language, the Bible book of Proverbs describes the joy that can result from appropriate sexual intimacies between husband and wife: “Drink water out of your own cistern, and tricklings out of the midst of your own well. . . . Let your water source prove to be blessed, and rejoice with the wife of your youth, a lovable hind and a charming mountain goat. Let her own breasts intoxicate you at all times. With her love may you be in an ecstasy constantly.”—Proverbs 5:15, 18, 19.

Sexual relations between husband and wife are a God-given gift. But procreation is not their sole purpose. Sexual relations also allow a married couple to express tenderness and affection for each another. So if a couple should decide to exclude the possibility of a pregnancy by using some form of contraception, that is their choice to make, and no one should judge them.—Romans 14:4, 10-13.

* It was only in the 13th century that Gregory IX enacted what the New Catholic Encyclopedia calls “the first universal legislation by a pope against contraception.”

HAVE YOU WONDERED?

Is there anything sinful about sexual relations between husband and wife?—Proverbs 5:15, 18, 19.

What should Christians bear in mind if they use contraceptives?—Exodus 21:22, 23.

How should others view married couples who use contraceptives?—Romans 14:4, 10-13.

Appeared in Awake! September 2007

It's not a sin. The female body has an organ which serves only one function, pleasure. guess what that is. every other organ in the human body has more than one function.

That being said have fun without feeling the obligation to procreate.

this needs to be treated with empathy. It is tough phase.. but you could atleast hold hands...if wife is not ready even to hold hands or just a hug, then that means she is emotionally excluding you - may be because she needs more help from you at home or she needs more caring from you.. is she undergoing depression....perimenopause sometimes is associated with depression

It's a sin in your religion if the leaders define it that way. (the pope, for example, if you are Catholic)

The Bible does not teach that doctrine. The apostle Paul encourage marital sex to keep the partners pure and faithful.

Actually, No Gods_No Masters , it is a sin not to show intimacy between mates. The Bible says our bodies are not our own and we should not withhold if from the other.

I do not blame you in the least for being a skeptic, I was too. But God closed up only one part of the Bible until our day, just for them who would serve Him unflinchingly if they knew He exists. Recommend this site to your Arab friends, too:

English: http://revelado.org/thetimeoftheend.pdf -- Arabic, http://revelado.org/arabic.pdf

Blessings, Messiah

It is not, God says not to deny each other sex.

5 Do not deny yourselves to each other, unless you first agree to do so for a while in order to spend your time in prayer; but then resume normal marital relations. In this way you will be kept from giving in to Satan's temptation because of your lack of self-control. 6 I tell you this not as an order, but simply as a permission. 7 Actually I would prefer that all of you were as I am; but each one has a special gift from God, one person this gift, another one that gift. 8 Now, to the unmarried and to the widows I say that it would be better for you to continue to live alone as I do. 9 But if you cannot restrain your desires, go ahead and marry - it is better to marry than to burn with passion. 10 For married people I have a command which is not my own but the Lord's: a wife must not leave her husband; 11 but if she does, she must remain single or else be reconciled to her husband; and a husband must not divorce his wife. 12 To the others I say (I, myself, not the Lord): if a Christian man has a wife who is an unbeliever and she agrees to go on living with him, he must not divorce her. 13 And if a Christian woman is married to a man who is an unbeliever and he agrees to go on living with her, she must not divorce him. 14 For the unbelieving husband is made acceptable to God by being united to his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made acceptable to God by being united to her Christian husband. If this were not so, their children would be like pagan children; but as it is, they are acceptable to God. 15 However, if the one who is not a believer wishes to leave the Christian partner, let it be so. In such cases the Christian partner, whether husband or wife, is free to act. God has called you to live in peace.

<< 1 Corinthians 7:41 Corinthians 7:5-151

It's not a sin. Read Song of Solomon. no kids mentioned!

The cult needs breeders for the next generation of revenue streams.

The cult must be protected.

The cult must not perish.

Sleep.

Breed.

The cult must be protected.

Sleep.

Breed.

If they're not doing it to make children, that means they're enjoying it, and they're filthy sinners who are going to burn in hell.