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Q&A Home > B > Birth Control I have read your honorable response on birth control; I was more than surprised of that answer 'In the Q & A section'. How can the whole church, if this response really represents any kind of a Coptic Christian Orthodox view, be of any value? I really feel burdened to give any logical response, yet I will push myself to write:
- As humans, we get married to constitute a family.
- We practice sex for this purpose, "to bring forth children". Using the same analogy, we eat for biological reasons to survive. We go to work to provide ourselves with food and shelter, etc. Therefore we do not eat for eating, nor do we work for working, and certainly we do not have sex just for having sex.
Those who treat their partners as a substance for their sexual appetites are not Christians, but if I can even go further and say that they are not humans at all. Most regretful I am because I was going to join the church based solely on its decree of faith:
- Christology; Christ is of one center humanity & divinity united
- Procession of the Holy ghost
- No purgatory
The response posted on the Diocese Q/A page regarding the Coptic Orthodox Church view of contraceptives is fair and spiritually sound. As a church, we are adamant about pro-life, without any hesitation or compromise. However, we have an obligation to instruct people to behave with caution and prudence. You give the example of food to satisfy hunger. Most people overeat and obesity is on the rise in many countries. Is it not incumbent on the part of the medical community, the food industry, and even the government's Department of Health to warn people of the dangers of excess food consumption and the health and economic fall-out due to ignorance and lack of control? Do these industries not have a moral obligation to provide some alternatives? Do you not choose what to eat, when to eat, and how to eat? Therefore, teaching responsible behavior is important, especially on a spiritual level.
Sexuality is a desire, not necessarily a need, for we know that many people can live their whole lives as celibates. God provided for sexual activity to include pleasure so to encourage love and unity with sanctity between the married couple, and not only for the sole purpose to reproduce offspring. Children are the greatest blessing. However, some people have a more demanding sexual appetite and lack prudence when it comes to these matters. There is no fault with educating people on the spiritual and religious application of conception and the proper use of contraceptives. The Coptic Orthodox Church encourages abstinence from sexual activity to observe the days of Fasting the night before partaking of the Holy Eucharist and the other Sacraments. These days of abstinence consist of approximately 2/3 out of the year, if properly practiced.
If a couple is unable to provide for a child at particular time in their marital life, whether it is due to their own health, the potential health of a child, or severe economic reasons, they have some options in preventing the possibility of fertilization, but never to interfere with conception, once it occurs. By providing these few exceptions, potential parents may consider the few options they have in a more careful manner and discuss their choices with their physician and confession father(s) within the scope of the teachings of the Coptic Orthodox Church and our advocacy for life.
I think if you consider the guidelines the Church is providing, you will see that it is fair, just, and not in violation of God's will.
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