Some months back I posted about ancient forms of contraception, a subject covered well in Rodney Stark’s book The Rise of Christianity. Now Kevin Knight has pointed me to another online look at the subject. The Fathers consistently condemned the practice, and some of the people who comment on that article show us why.
4 thoughts on “Contraceptives of Late Antiquity”
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“and some of the people who comment on that article show us why.”
Ha! Ain’t that the truth!
Do you think it significant that Mark makes the point to tell us that the man chosen to help carry the cross was from Cyrene (Mk 15:21). I believe the article states that Cyrene was infamous for the exportation of this crop, that it’s economy was based on this. The first readers of Mark’s Gospel certainly would have known about Cyrene’s trade in silphium. Am I reading too much into this??? Am I wrong to look for a link here?
It is also of interest to speculate that Simon would have changed out his Cyrenean coins at the temple. Those same coins depicting heart shapes and women holding thier wombs would have been some of the one’s spilled out onto the floor by our Lord’s outburst.
This is on another topic, but I was trying to find out how the tradition of St. Joseph’s lifelong virginity developed. I did a short post about it on my own blog but am wondering if you have more sources. I found a book “St Joseph in Early Christianity–a Study and an Anthology of Patristic Texts” by Fr Joseph Lienahrd, SJ. It’s a slim volume (only 60 pages!) so evidently St Joseph was ignored by most ancient writers. Thanks
I read this book and it truly brought me a closer understanding of this Eucharistic sacrifice from the fathers of the church to today .When I partake in the mass it brings me a closer understanding why the Church do what they do during this “Perfect Sacrifice”. Thanks.