20 Duggars ... Dang!

That's a good kind of "Dang!" as in "Dang, these fries are good!" or "Dang, how 'bout them Sixers?!" or "Dang, it's warm!" said with a smile on a 70 degree, February day.

Cause, as you know, I dig the Duggers and I heartily congratulate them on Baby Number 18. I do, however, have just one suggestion for Jim Bob and Michelle if Our Lord blesses them with a 19th:

How about Roxanna or Marcel or even Aphrodite? Why don't you throw us a Steve or even a nerdy little Francis?

I mean if you're gonna lead such a blessedly fertile life, wouldn't a little beginning consonant variation be a tad more interesting? Or even a bit helpful? Give Mama Duggar a break when she whales the counter with a wooden spoon, searching for one of the 18 "J" names to match the kid who's smacking his brother upside the head with a fishstick ...

But really, if you stumble on this site, oh Duggar Brood, I'd be honored and I heartily congratulate you on Jordyn. She's just beautiful. And with your "openness to life," you put us Roman Catholics to shame.

That being said, I'm not claiming that Roman Catholics, such as myself, are necessarily called to such a radically abundant family life. However, all of us who claim union with Rome, are in fact, obliged to seek out and obey Church teaching. And such teaching has always forbade contraception. Always. Of course there are certain allowances for marital continence (Natural Family Planning), however, "kids are simply a pain" has never been one of them.

Now the above paragraph prickles my skin as I am a convert to the Catholic Faith and the largest obstacle I had when considering the Church was its stance against contraception. I think this was for several reasons, but the biggest one was that I had never been challenged to consider contraception as a moral issue. I was raised mostly in Evangelical Protestant circles where people never even discussed the moral implications of contraception yet took major stances on the following:

1. What One Drank: Or didn't -- and that was beer, wine & of course the harder stuff -- whole long, red-faced sermons on this subject; I mean "church splits" galore.

2. How One Spent: A "tithe" was the rule; even though there is literally one Old Testament verse on the subject having to do with a "storehouse." By the way, what the heck is a "storehouse?"

3. Holidays: Of course Halloween was a hot topic but lots of folk even took issue with Christmas trees ... Christmas trees!

Now, I ask you, isn't it odd that alcohol, money -- even trick or treating and Christmas trees -- are moral issues but contraception -- which leads to the not making of life itself -- is a moot point? [insert here that photo of monkey see no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil cause that's the best way to describe how my Baptist college dealt with the issue of birth control in our Faith and Family Seminar -- it was not on the agenda].

My point: For the sake of your own humanity and happiness, consider your sexuality; your ability to procreate; your choice to do so or not to do so in the light of moral reasoning. I have found that in doing so God has blessed me with great mercy, grace ... and more children. I have also found, however, that because of the Church's allowance for Natural Family Planning I do not face a future where my fertility frightens me. Rather, one where I can avoid pregnancies if necessary [This is obviously a complicated moral issue; to read more about it, visit One More Soul at the bottom of the page.]

Certainly, we're not all called to have families the size of Dang! Duggar dimensions. However, if you claim the identity of "Christian" and you realize this identity places certain demands on your wallet (aren't there like a million "Christian" financial seminars?), what you eat (Creation Diet or Weigh Down?), what you listen to (Christian Rock Festival, anyone?), wouldn't it be reasonable that God should care about the area in which you are most like Him -- your ability to make life itself?

At least Jim Bob and Michelle concur with this lonely Catholic. And to them I raise my glass and just one more suggestion for Baby 19. Like I said, the "J" thing must be tiresome ... Not to mention, you're due for a dude so howbout it? ... "Dude Duggar" ... Dang! ... Wait, I like the Dang! too; On second thought, make that Dang! Dude Duggar ... Dang!

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Visit One More Soul to learn about the Catholic Church's stance on contraception, birth control and the blessing of children.