In recent years there has been a lot of controversy surrounding the catholic church's views on contraception. To clarify this matter, we should look at on what grounds the church claims that contraception is not permissible.

The church uses the following Bible reference as means to back-up their false claim that contraception is wrong and that God condemns those who practice it. This is in fact a mis-interpretation taken by the church of what really happened, and is the real reason why Onan, Judah's second born was killed.

38:6 And Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, whose name [was] Tamar.
38:7 And Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the "I AM"; and the "I AM" slew him.
38:8 And Judah said unto Onan, Go in unto thy brother's wife, and marry her, and raise up seed to thy brother.
38:9 And Onan knew that the seed should not be his; and it came to pass, when he went in unto his brother's wife, that he spilled [it] on the ground, lest that he should give seed to his brother.
38:10 And the thing which he did displeased the "I AM": wherefore He slew him also.

In The Torah, which is the name given to God's Laws; Statutes; Judgments; Agricultural Policy; Economic Policy and Healthy Balanced Diet, which were handed down to Moses by God, on top of Mt. Horeb in Sinai and are the only Laws that apply on Earth in God's Eyes, it clearly states that the first born of each family is the beginning of the family's strength (Gen. 49:3; Deut. 21:17). It also states that when the first born of a family-line dies, or is unable to bare children, the next oldest brother is obliged to serve his wife in his place, so that the family line is not broken (as is explained in verse 38:8 above and is repeated in the Old Testiment Book of Ruth). So, in reality, the reason why God slew Onan was because of Onan's selfishness in not honouring his legal obligation to serve his older brother's wife in his place, not because he had spilled seed on the ground as an act of contraception as the catholic church has completely mis-interpreted it to be.

Because of the church's mis-interpretation of the above verses and their policy of not allowing contraception, for their own ends, the world is over-populated and problems have occurred at various times in history, which have caused food-shortages and other unnecessary suffering, such as the Great Famine of 1845-52 in Ireland, when millions of Irish people perished due to a lack of potatoes to feed the exploding population.