I hear you and I imagine you do take flak. Being a prottie, I heard a lot of snide remarks about my Catholic relatives on this topic; whereas from my perspective, the prottie solution to family planning back in the day before The Pill seemed to be frigidity, which didn’t appeal much to me, either.
It is a very thorny issue within our presently upside-down society. I’m no fan of the Duggars any more, but it used to cheese me off when people on comments threads just assumed they are using welfare, when they are not. Yes, society has swung totally against the idea of having as many children as God provides a couple, and this evil notion has ruined millions of lives and extinguished millions of the unborn as well.
Nevertheless, I truly do think there are still many taxpayers, Christian or not, who are not in favor of providing free birth control, and certainly not providing free abortions. I did my master’s thesis on an issue closely related to this topic and did not come away with the idea that Americans were enthused about supporting other people’s sexual consequences, although it was somewhat before the recent Obama moral crime wave.
Remember the fuss over Sandra Fluke who testified before Congress that she should have free birth control, and how so many people ridiculed her? That was just a few years ago.
I’m trying to reassure you here, that many Christians still think family size is a private issue and should be privately financed.
As for viewing contraception as a postitive good, I agree that that seems to be the delusion at present. It is such a lie, on so many levels. Be blessed in your good fortune to have seen better than that, is what I say.
Thanks for your pleasant response ... I know I was overgeneralizing and didn’t mean to be offensive. I just get really cranky sometimes.
Your examples illustrate the limits of acceptable female sexuality in our society ... weird limits, so that it’s like trying to walk a maze in the dark.
Rush Limbaugh, who (to my knowledge) has never objected in principle to fornication, nonetheless leads a pack howling “Slut!” at Sandra Fluke, even though I don’t recall there being any information about her personal sexual behavior. Her infraction was reminding people that “free” sex actually has costs.
Michelle Duggar, the Stepford wife who has been programmed to view the care of her husband’s genital urge as her primary reason for existing, is also (symbolically) thrown out, simply because she isn’t sterilized ... reminding people that sex naturally makes babies. (No detail about the family’s extreme avoidance of public services could overcome the assumption that all those children, must, somehow, be costing “me” something.)
And of course you’ve seen the comments about women who choose to be chaste, whether it’s simply before marriage or for life. *Not* being available for sexual use is also *not* an option.
There’s just not much a woman can do (or not do) that’s acceptable.