"Onan, however, knew that the descendants would not be counted as his; so whenever he had relations with his brother's widow, he wasted his seed on the ground, to avoid contributing offspring for his brother. What he did greatly offended the LORD, and the LORD took his life too." (Genesis 38: 9-10).
Suggested reading: http://www.zenit.org/article-10090?l=english
The time is short.
What offended the LORD was not that he wasted his seed but that he was committing a sin by having an affair with his Brother's widow. He was expected to have sex only with his wife as all men are.
ReplyDeleteI wonder how the title of the post relates to the story. At World Youth day, rather than distibuting condoms, an awareness should be created for not to have an extra-marital affair or sex with a non-wife. If this is what you are pointing at, I agree with you.
Our culture is definitely in crisis. Still, the priests are largely remaining silent. Thank God for EWTN and the internet.
ReplyDeleteGrace, you write: "What offended the LORD was not that he wasted his seed but that he was committing a sin by having an affair with his Brother's widow. He was expected to have sex only with his wife as all men are.
ReplyDeleteI wonder how the title of the post relates to the story. At World Youth day, rather than distibuting condoms, an awareness should be created for not to have an extra-marital affair or sex with a non-wife. If this is what you are pointing at, I agree with you."
Actually, you are mistaken. God slew Onan for "wasting his seed" (practicing contraception). An early word for artificial birth control, "onanism," derives from Onan's deed.
Onan wasn't punished for having an "affair." Read verse 8 very carefully: "Then Judah said to Onan, 'Unite with your brother's widow, in fulfillment of your duty as brother-in-law, and thus preserve your brother's line.'"
Verse 9 tells us, "Onan, however, knew that the descendants would not be counted as his; so whenever he had relations with his brother's widow, he wasted his seed on the ground, to avoid contributing offspring for his brother."
The consequence: verse 10 explains: "What he did greatly offended the Lord, and the Lord took his life too."
In the New Testament, we have only one instance where sin is punished by God with immediate death. That of Ananias and Saphira, a husband and wife who promised a gift to God but kept back part of it. Scripture says they lied to the Holy Spirit.
This is what happens with regard to contraception. Two people go through the motions of an act of self-giving but hold back on their promise by obstructing the natural fruition of their act: the conception of children.
Reflect on what the Catechism of the Catholic Church and Vatican II have to say about artificial contraception.