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This piece is part of a larger section called 'Short takes'.
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Beware laxism
Just one thought on your excellent piece on NFP. Regarding those who think that the criteria for spacing births by means of NFP are stricter than they really are, I would not want to say that they are all tainted by a judgmental spirit and are resentful of the freedom that is proper to spouses. They may honestly have a wrong understanding of these criteria and may honestly perceive us as laxists. All we can say--and I suppose all you really wanted to say--is that the stricter view of NFP lends itself easily to a judgmental spirit. But then it has to be acknowledged that our position lends itself equally easily to laxism. You know what happened when the old Friday abstinence was replaced by the new regime of leaving it up to the conscience of each believer to do his or her own Friday sacrifice: most lost sight entirely of the duty to make some Friday sacrifice. When one stresses the legitimate place of conscience in spousal decisions about family size, the same kind of moral slide becomes a real danger.
John Crosby, FUS Professor of Philosophy
Related Articles:
• NFP, by itself, does not compromise the marriage vocation, Kathleen van Schaijik (I,1)
• NFP (1), Carole Brown (I,2)
• NFP (2), Susan C. Fischer (I,2)
• NFP (3), Carol Puccio (I,3)
• NFP and connaturality, Kathleen van Schaijik (I,4)
• NFP and breastfeeding, Daniel Ellis (I,6)
• Abusing NFP, Kathleen van Schaijik (VII,1)
• Beware laxism, John F. Crosby (VIII,1)
• The logic of love, Michael Houser (VIII,1)
• NFP and peace of mind, TG (VIII,1)
• Marriage and the use of Natural Family Planning, Thomas Storck (VIII,1)
By the same author:
• Shouldn't we have a real core curriculum at Franciscan University?, (I,1)
• Chairman addresses the question of Thomism in Franciscan University's philosophy department, (I,6)
• Finding common ground between Thomists and non-Thomists in Catholic philosophy, (I,7)
• In reply to Mark Fischer's defense of the present core curriculum, (II,1)
• Last words on the core, (II,3)
• Franciscan University and distance education: Some doubts, (III,2)
• Doubts about DE that won't go away: Response to Dr. Miletic, (III,3)
• Oral traditions and distance education, (III,4)
• John Paul II to Franciscan University:, (IV,1)
• Another thought on modesty, (IV,6)
• Beware laxism, (VIII,1)
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© The University Concourse, September 30, 2002
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