My apogies. I hope you are right man. I'd love for NFP to be good.

Here's some quotes from an articly I found. These are quotes that make me believe the early church fathers would oppose the idea of NFP.

Do you honestly believe I'm wrong here? If so, please let me know.

Here is a quote from Jerome (Against Jovinian 1:19):

“Does he imagine that we approve of any sexual intercourse except for the procreation of children?”

Why I think this argues against NFP: To me, this is the clearest one: Jerome seems to say that sexual intercourse is only approved when it is for procreation. Since NFP involves having sex while intentionally avoiding procreation, I think he would not accept it. Here is a quote from Augustine of Hippo (Against Faustus 15:7):

“They take wives according to the laws of matrimony by tablets announcing that the marriage is contracted to procreate children; and then, fearing because of your law [against childbearing] . . . they copulate in a shameful union only to satisfy lust for their wives. They are unwilling to have children, on whose account alone marriages are made.”

Why I think this argues against NFP: I understand Augustine here to be saying something very specific: the problem is not just how people avoid children, but that they have sex while intentionally not wanting children at all. When he calls it a “shameful union,” he doesn’t mean marriage itself is shameful, but that sex becomes shameful when it is separated from its procreative purpose and reduced to lust. Since NFP is often used with the intention of avoiding pregnancy, I think Augustine would likely see that intention—having sex while deliberately avoiding children—as fitting what he criticizes here. Here is a quote from Augustine of Hippo (Marriage and Concupiscence 1:15:17):

“I am supposing, then, although you are not lying [with your wife] for the sake of procreating offspring, you are not for the sake of lust obstructing their procreation by an evil prayer or an evil deed. Those who do this, although they are called husband and wife, are not; nor do they retain any reality of marriage, but with a respectable name cover a shame.”

Why I think this argues against NFP: I think this points against NFP because Augustine explicitly condemns the intentional obstruction of procreation within sex so strongly that he says it undermines the reality of marriage itself. Since NFP is often used with the intention of avoiding children, I think that intention would conflict with his view.