Natural Family Planning & Beauty

Thomas Peters posted links to an interesting critique of Natural Family Planning on his American Papist blog. The series from The Contrarians' Review sets up a story wherein two newlyweds are about to engage in the marital act, surrounded by serenity, beauty and love when the young groom asks his bride, "By any chance, did you bring the thermometer?" Peters asks us to ponder the story and the introduction to the series that follows:

What are your thoughts about his "thermometer conondrum"?

I think Natural Family Planning is a very good thing, when used for appropriate reasons. I think people also tend to forget that NFP is quite often used for the purpose of achieving pregnancy, and not only avoiding it.

Is the author, Ted Turner, demanding too much of NFP anthropologically, do you think?

In my opinion, the un-aesthetic story sets up a very false situation by inserting the tools of NFP in a situation that would normally involve artificial contraception. Perhaps this was the author's point - we'll have to follow the series to find out. One can certainly envision the young groom breaking the magic of the moment with the question, "Did you bring the condoms?" or, "Have you been taking your birth control pills?" However, practitioners of NFP would be forearmed with knowledge of the woman's fertility cycle. They would enter this scene of beauty and love knowing whether or not the woman was fertile and having already made the decision whether or not to try to achieve pregnancy. Such knowledge and mutual respect adds to the "aesthetics" of this scene, especially in the spiritual sense of which the author speaks.

My wife and I have found that our own practice of NFP added a great element of beauty to our marital lives. NFP brings our lives into a rhythm based on my wife's cycle. This rhythm of periodic abstinence and periods of sexual union meant that I as the husband don't have to guess whether or not my wife will have a "headache" each night. It brings our desire for each other into sync so that we both enjoy times of union and times of rest together. This rhythm is especially beautiful when we are more conscious of using periods of abstinence to spend time together, to communicate (increase intimacy), and to show our loves through a variety of non-sexual ways.

Peters asks whether author Ted Turner demands too much of NFP anthropologically. I'm not sure I quite understand the point of Turner's essay. However, my first impulse is to say that he does not expect enough of NFP anthropologically. He misses the beauty that is created when the powers of human nature are fully applied to our sexuality and our relationships.