Investigating NFP: Sidebar on Definitions

In response to a debate in the comments to my first investigative post about NFP, I’ve decided to query my readers for their opinions.  Please consider answering these surveys. I’d like Catholics and non-Catholics alike to participate.

Survey link: Do you believe that "birth control" and "contraceptive" are synonymous?
Survey link: Do you believe that NFP/FAM is a method of contraception?

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About Funky Dung

Who is Funky Dung? 29-year-old grad student in Intelligent Systems (A.I.) at the University of Pittsburgh. I consider myself to be politically moderate and independent and somewhere between a traditional and neo-traditional Catholic. I was raised Lutheran, spent a number of years as an agnostic, and joined the Catholic Church at the 2000 Easter Vigil. Why Funky Dung? I haven't been asked this question nearly as many times as you or I might expect. Funky Dung is a reference to an obscure Pink Floyd song. On the album Atom Heart Mother, there is a track called Atom Heart Mother Suite. It's broken up into movements, like a symphony, and one of the movements is called Funky Dung. I picked that nickname a long time ago (while I was still in high school I think), shortly after getting an internet connection for the first time. To me it means "cool/neat/groovy/spiffy stuff/crap/shiznit", as in "That's some cool stuff, dude!" Whence Ales Rarus? I used to enjoy making people guess what this means, but I've decided to relent and make it known to all. Ales Rarus is a Latin play on words. "Avis rarus" means "a rare bird" and carries similar meaning to "an odd fellow". "Ales" is another Latin word for bird that carries connotations of omens, signs of the times, and/or augery. If you want to get technical, both "avis" and "ales" are feminine (requiring "rara", but they can be made masculine in poetry (which tends to breaks lots of rules). I decided I'd rather have a masculine name in Latin. ;) Yeah, I'm a nerd. So what? :-P Wherefore blog? It is my intention to "teach in order to lead others to faith" by being always "on the lookout for occasions of announcing Christ by word, either to unbelievers . . . or to the faithful" through the "use of the communications media". I also act knowing that I "have the right and even at times a duty to manifest to the sacred pastors [my] opinion on matters which pertain to the good of the Church, and [I] have a right to make [my] opinion known to the other Christian faithful, with due regard to the integrity of faith and morals and reverence toward [my and their] pastors, and with consideration for the common good and the dignity of persons." (adapted from CCC 904-907) Statement of Faith I have been baptized and confirmed in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. I, therefore, renounce Satan; I renounce all his works; I renounce all his allurements. I hold and profess all that is contained in the Apostles' Creed, the Niceno- Constantinopolitan Creed, and the Athanasian Creed. Having been buried with Christ unto death and raised up with him unto a new life, I promise to live no longer for myself or for that world which is the enemy of God but for him who died for me and rose again, serving God, my heavenly Father, faithfully and unto death in the holy Catholic Church. I am obedient to the Magisterium of the Catholic Church. That is, I promote and defend authentic Catholic Teaching and Faith in union with Christ and His Church and in union with the Holy Father, the Bishop of Rome, the Successor of St. Peter. Thanks be unto Thee, O my God, for all Thy infinite goodness, and, especially, for the love Thou hast shown unto me at my Confirmation. I Give Thee thanks that Thou didst then send down Thy Holy Spirit unto my soul with all His gifts and graces. May He take full possession of me for ever. May His divine unction cause my face to shine. May His heavenly wisdom reign in my heart. May His understanding enlighten my darkness. May His counsel guide me. May His knowledge instruct me. May His piety make me fervent. May His divine fear keep me from all evil. Drive from my soul, O Lord, all that may defile it. Give me grace to be Thy faithful soldier, that having fought the good fight of faith, I may be brought to the crown of everlasting life, through the merits of Thy dearly beloved Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen. Behind the Curtain: an Interview With Funky Dung (Thursday, March 03, 2005) I try to avoid most memes that make their way 'round the blogosphere (We really do need a better name, don't we?), but some are worth participating in. Take for instance the "interview game" that's the talk o' the 'sphere. I think it's a great way to get to know the people in neighborhood. Who are the people in your neighborhood? In your neighborhod? In your neigh-bor-hoo-ood...*smack* Sorry, Sesame Street flashback. Anyhow, I saw Jeff "Curt Jester" Miller's answers and figured since he's a regular reader of mine he'd be a good interviewer. Without further ado, here are my answers to his questions. 1. Being that your pseudonym Funky Dung was chosen from a Pink Floyd track on Atom Heart Mother, what is you favorite Pink Floyd song and why? Wow. That's a tuffy. It's hard to pick out a single favorite. Pink Floyd isn't really a band known for singles. They mostly did album rock and my appreciation of them is mostly of a gestalt nature. If I had to pick one, though, it'd be "Comfortably Numb". I get chills up my spine every time I hear it and if it's been long enough since the last time, I get midty-eyed. I really don't know why. That's a rather unsatisfying answer for an interview, so here are the lyrics to a Rush song. It's not their best piece of music, but the lyrics describe me pretty well.

New World Man He's a rebel and a runner He's a signal turning green He's a restless young romantic Wants to run the big machine He's got a problem with his poisons But you know he'll find a cure He's cleaning up his systems To keep his nature pure Learning to match the beat of the old world man Learning to catch the heat of the third world man He's got to make his own mistakes And learn to mend the mess he makes He's old enough to know what's right But young enough not to choose it He's noble enough to win the world But weak enough to lose it --- He's a new world man... He's a radio receiver Tuned to factories and farms He's a writer and arranger And a young boy bearing arms He's got a problem with his power With weapons on patrol He's got to walk a fine line And keep his self-control Trying to save the day for the old world man Trying to pave the way for the third world man He's not concerned with yesterday He knows constant change is here today He's noble enough to know what's right But weak enough not to choose it He's wise enough to win the world But fool enough to lose it --- He's a new world man...
2. What do you consider your most important turning point from agnosticism to the Catholic Church. At some point in '99, I started attending RCIA at the Pittsburgh Oratory. I mostly went to ask a lot of obnoxious Protestant questions. Or at least that's what I told myself. I think deep down I wanted desperately to have faith again. At that point I think I'd decided that if any variety of Christianity had the Truth, the Catholic Church did. Protestantism's wholesale rejection of 1500 years of tradition didn't sit well with me, even as a former Lutheran. During class one week, Sister Bernadette Young (who runs the program) passed out thin booklet called "Handbook for Today's Catholic". One paragraph in that book spoke to me and I nearly cried as I read it.
"A person who is seeking deeper insight into reality may sometimes have doubts, even about God himself. Such doubts do not necessarily indicate lack of faith. They may be just the opposite - a sign of growing faith. Faith is alive and dynamic. It seeks, through grace, to penetrate into the very mystery of God. If a particular doctrine of faith no longer 'makes sense' to a person, the person should go right on seeking. To know what a doctrine says is one thing. To gain insight into its meaning through the gift of understanding is something else. When in doubt, 'Seek and you will find.' The person who seeks y reading, discussing, thinking, or praying eventually sees the light. The person who talks to God even when God is 'not there' is alive with faith."
At the end of class I told Sr. Bernadette that I wanted to enter the Church at the next Easter vigil. 3. If you were a tree what kind of, oh sorry about that .. what is the PODest thing you have ever done? I set up WikiIndex, a clearinghouse for reviews of theological books, good, bad, and ugly. It has a long way to go, but it'll be cool when it's finished. :) 4. What is your favorite quote from Venerable John Henry Newman? "Ten thousand difficulties do not make one doubt." 5. If you could ban one hymn from existence, what would it be? That's a tough one. As a member of the Society for a Moratorium on the Music of Marty Haugen and David Haas, there are obviously a lot of songs that grate on my nerves. If I had to pick one, though, I'd probably pick "Sing of the Lord's Goodness" by Ernie Sands.

19 thoughts on “Investigating NFP: Sidebar on Definitions

  1. edey

    if you make nfp and fam the same thing, there is a problem because one (fam) allows for barrier use during fertile times and the other (nfp) does not. so – independent of what you call nfp – fam is contraception if you are using that barrier during fertile times….or at least it is during said fertile times.

  2. howard

    I just looked up the definition of “contraception” — which makes me wonder if the definition you’d use would be different. (and no, I will not go read those guideline posts…)

  3. Catholic Writer

    “I just looked up the definition of ‘contraception’ — which makes me wonder if the definition you’d use would be different. (and no, I will not go read those guideline posts…)”

    Reading the guideline posts does help one to understand Funky’s position better. Using the definition that Howard suggested, one can still say that abstinence from sex during the fertile period constitutes a prevention of conception or pregnancy.

  4. Stuff

    Wasn’t sure where else this would fit – just as an FYI, while the sympto-thermal method is most popular and well-known (promoted by CCLI, etc.), I suggest looking at the Creighton Model/NAPRO literature. My own OB/GYN is in the process of being certified to practice using these methods. In addition to allowing for “birth control” in the sense of responsible child spacing, and aiding in conception for those couples who desire it (just like current methods for NFP), it can be used as a diagnostic tool for recognizing potential diseases/abnormalities AND can actually be used in treatment of such findings.

    Now, I ask you, what other “contraceptive/birth control” method can do all that? 😉

  5. Dr. Gregory Popcak

    Okay. First off, Catholic NFP of any kind forbids the use of barrier methods. If you are using barrier methods (or, for that matter, withdrawal) during the fertile phase, you are not doing NFP. You are, in fact, using contraception.

    Let’s see if, despite my–ahem–“flawed logic” 😉 (No offense taken, Grasshopper) I can make this a little clearer.

    To be contraception, an action would have to be taken “against” possible “conception” (the literal, latin meaning of “Contraception). The use of the pill and barrier methods during phase II (the fertile phase) is a willful act opposing conception–therefore it is contraception. (By contrast, the use of the Pill or barrier methods, etc, during phase III isn’t contraceptive, it is just, well, stupid, because a woman can’t conceive if she isn’t fertile.)

    Now, as I mentioned above, a woman can’t conceive during the infertile phase, so sex during the infertile phase is not contraceptive because their is no “cept” to “contra” if you get my drift. Cappice?

    Okay, now let’s play out your logic to its ultimate extreme. If what you say is true, then a couple would be “guilty” of “contraception” (as you are loosely defining it) ANY time a couple has sex when pregnancy is not potentially possible. THEREFORE, according to your own argument, the only licit time for a couple to ever have sex is during the fertile phase of a woman’s cycle (and not at all during arrested fertility of the post-partum/nursing phase, or after menopause.)

    There are, of course, some people who make this argument. But those people are wrong–according to the Church.

    The bottom line is that Church teaching distinguishes between NFP and contraception. That is Church teaching. To require either more or less of ourselves than the Church herself requires can often lead to heresy. Struggling to understand her teaching is important, but staking out a claim that is in opposition to church teaching and defending it is dangerous. By all means, ask hard questions. Just be careful how much you fall in love with your own answers.

    Peace,
    Dr.P.

  6. Funky Dung

    Welcome back, Doc. 🙂

    “Okay, now let’s play out your logic to its ultimate extreme. If what you say is true, then a couple would be ‘guilty’ of ‘contraception’ (as you are loosely defining it) ANY time a couple has sex when pregnancy is not potentially possible. THEREFORE, according to your own argument, the only licit time for a couple to ever have sex is during the fertile phase of a woman’s cycle (and not at all during arrested fertility of the post-partum/nursing phase, or after menopause.)”

    I wasn’t aiming for that extreme. My proposition (which I suppose I should display in a post), is that perhaps one should look at the menstrual cycle in probabilistic terms (binomial distributions, for instance). On any given cycle day, there is a probability, p, of conceiving. Let’s call p[i] the probability of conceiving on cycle day i. Based on previous cycles, we can estimate p[i] for each day of a new cycle. Let’s also assign a probability of 0.0 for having sex during menstruation and a probability s[i] that a couple will have sex on a non-menstrual day based on either a uniform distribution (not ideal) or a distribution based on prior cycles (ideal). The prior probability of conceiving on any particular day is then p[i]*s[i]. I won’t go into the math, but one could calculate the estimated prior probability that one will conceive a child during a particular cycle. That probability will be significantly smaller than 1.0 (100% chance of conception).

    Why am I making people’s heads spin with probabilities? Well, what if it’s God’s intention that the infertile periods not be used to deliberately avoid conception, but used implicitly through random sexual activity? Much is made of the naturalness of periodic abstinence. I’m not convinced that it’s natural at all. The only truely natural spacing of births is that that which occurs due to random processes. Contrary to Albert Einstein, I’m proposing that God does indeed play dice, or at the very least, He lets us play with them. 😉

    There are, of course, some people who make this argument. But those people are wrong–according to the Church.

    Agreed.

    “By all means, ask hard questions. Just be careful how much you fall in love with your own answers.”

    Point well taken. I’ll keep that in mind as I proceed. 🙂

  7. Sean

    Well, what if it’s God’s intention that the infertile periods not be used to deliberately avoid conception, but used implicitly through random sexual activity?

    So we have stumble through Creation determining what features of it we can purposefully use and what ones we have to put intellectual blinders on and pretend that we don’t understand so if we make use of it, its only “by accident”… randomly? 🙂

    I have a hard time swallowing that one. I understand there’s a bit of a fine line between between actively contracepting and passively not doing something when conception might happen. But the Church does draw that line, however fine.

    But I think there’s also a bit “letter of the law” vs. “spirit of the law” here, too. If someone is using NFP just as they’d use condoms, to prevent conception… for no good reason… or for any minor reason you’d care to name… Well, I’m not sure this is what the Church intends by its teaching either. I thought there had to be a very serious reason for using NFP.

    But I haven’t seriously looked into it. I’m single with no immediate threats on the marriage radar. So its not something I’ve had to worry about.

  8. Funky Dung

    “But I think there’s also a bit ‘letter of the law’ vs. ‘spirit of the law’ here, too. If someone is using NFP just as they’d use condoms, to prevent conception… for no good reason… or for any minor reason you’d care to name… Well, I’m not sure this is what the Church intends by its teaching either. I thought there had to be a very serious reason for using NFP.”

    Well, I’m not looking for excuses so more people can licitly periodically abstain. I’m trying to look at the grey areas to determine how grey they really are. What I’ve seen so far is that popularizers of NFP have wimpier definitions of “serious” and “grave” reasons than popes.

  9. Donna Marie Lewis

    I skipped the surveys because neither answer was detailed enough for me.
    I believe that NFP is the only true ‘birth control’, as it can be used to avoid a pregnancy and to achieve a pregnancy. Contraceptive methods can only do the former. Anytime the latter occurs, it is either because contraceptives were not used, or because of ‘contraceptive failure’.
    Unfortunately, the words ‘birth control’ have been co-opted by the contraceptive industry for close to a century, and reclaiming them for NFP would probably confuse people.
    It would be rather like saying that one is ‘pro-choice’- then explaining that the choice is whether or not to have sexual intercourse, not choice to kill a conceived child or not. Technically, one would be right- but it would be misleading to a lot of people, and would probably more trouble than it would be worth.

  10. Lightwave

    As the other said, facinating point. I thought it might be good to go back to the method Funky used earlier. Dictionary.com has this definition for Birth Control:

    1. Voluntary limitation or control of the number of children conceived, especially by planned use of contraceptive techniques.

    2. A contraceptive technique.

    I think you hit the nail on the head, Donna.

  11. advogado de diabo

    I voted for contraception and birth control as synonymous, but after some though I’d have to say abortion can be used as a form of birth control, however by definition it occurs after conception so it cannot be considered a form of contraception. Therefore birth control is a broader term and contraception is a subset of birth control.

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