The Christian faith`s teaching and guidance on sexuality and sexual activities
The Christian faith`s teaching and guidance on sexuality and sexual activities |
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Key Words: commitment; partnership; humanity; compassion, God`s gifts; responsibility.
Introduction
I have to say at the start that there is a great variety of opinion within the Christian Church! So what I am going to say here is very much how I see these issues, but at the same time, I am grateful to my own Christian up-bringing for enabling me to express my beliefs in these areas.
When we are dealing with human activity at any level we have to realise that a human being is not `divided` into body, mind and spirit. All these areas of our activity are parts of a whole, and all are vital ingredients to that `whole`. Christians believe that God has created us and all the world, and has given us gifts to use through our lives here on earth. Our wholeness and unity of being come from God; we have received our human-ness from Him, and we are living within this human-ness in a material world.
Sexuality, pregnancy and abortion
One of God`s gifts to us within this human-ness is the gift of sexuality, which has been given to us all to express with joy and sensitivity. In our western culture, derived in a great part from Christian origins, using our sexuality is best done on a one-to-one basis, with a strong commitment towards the person with whom we are engaging at this deepest of levels. Probably the best way of ensuring that this reaches its true fulfilment is for two people to commit themselves to each other in a lifelong partnership. Usually this means marriage between heterosexuals. Sometimes it might mean a committed same-sex partnership, where two people are completely devoted to one another in deep friendship.
Some may well say that the Bible, which is the main source-book for the Christian Faith, explicitly objects to any kind of same-sex relationships, and certainly St Paul does make statements against them. However, the message contained in the Bible ought not to be treated as though it were applicable precisely as it stands to all times and cultures, but rather understood within its `setting-in-life` as the message it contains unfolds. Precision thinking is much less effective than an application of general principles such as real commitment and deep understanding and caring sensitivity in all human relationships.
Whatever human beings are doing as they share together their sexuality, they will only realise their true potential if they have a real regard for one another in the relationship. Christians believe that each and every person is `made in God`s image`, that the divine mark is place upon each human being, and therefore we must always respect each other. Causing unwanted pregnancies which might in turn lead to abortions can destroy any trust and confidence which might have existed, especially within potential mothers.
Abortion is an issue about which so many people become angry, whether they are in favour of the process or against it! But it remains an option for people and must be treated as such in certain cases. It is not always wrong of itself. How we can tackle this in Christian terms is well expressed in a book from the 1970`s by a Christian gynaecologist, R F R Gardner. He writes: In the field of abortion, Christians are called upon to do God`s will, to be compassionate. Before they can decide what, in this particular instance is the compassionate decision, they must weigh up all the factors. (Abortion: The Personal Dilemma; The Paternoster Press, 1972; page 140). In a very sensitive way, the writer understands why it is sometimes right to abort a foetus.
Contraception and infertility
However, it is very important and fulfilling for people to engage in sexual intercourse, for this gift is God-given. To avoid the possibility of conceiving children, it is best to take some form of precaution and use contraceptives, especially in a world situation where population growth has become exponential. Official Roman Catholic teaching would differ at this point, but the Protestant consensus has been well expressed in an article on procreation first published in 1967, but which has had many reprints since that date. The article reads:
Husbands and wives are free to use the gifts of science to promote or defer conception, provided the means are mutually acceptable, injurious to neither spouse nor to new life, and sufficiently effective to meet the needs of the couple (A Dictionary of Christian Ethics, ed. John MacQuarrie, SCM Press, Page 275).
In the case of people who have difficulty in having children, then for some it is certainly possible to take part in IVF (in-vitro fertilisation) programmes, as long as this is entered upon with a sufficiently responsible commitment by both partners. It has been said that the IVF process is wrong of itself because it is a process which interferes with nature as God has created it, but the discovery of the process has also been brought about by human beings working with God-given gifts. In a fairly recent book Anthony Dyson has placed the issues around IVF within the context of responsibility. He has written: Responsible action refers -- to action which does not take place for the most part in systematic and uniform patterns, but rather in a diversity of contexts and often in unexpected conditions. Responsible action does not come to situations with complete answers. (The Ethics of IVF; Mowbray,1995; page 71).
Marriage
It is interesting to see how the emphasis has shifted in respect of the reasons for two people being married, from the seventeenth century to the present time. In the 1662 Book of Common Prayer, in the introduction to the Marriage Service, the chief reason for people being married is the procreation of children, with two subsidiary reasons following, namely the avoidance of fornication and "mutual society, help, and comfort". In the Alternative Service Book, which was produced in 1980, the order of priority if different. Marriage is a gift of God, and is given so that, in the first place husband and wife might live together faithfully, helping one another in companionship; in the second place so that they might enjoy sexual intercourse for its own sake as a strengthening and a deepening of their relationship; and, only in the third place, that children might ensue from their coming together. (The two service books mentioned here are the service books of the Church of England).
Conclusion
To conclude, I would say that, as a Christian, the hallmarks for me in all these vital areas of engaging in our sexuality are sensitivity, mutual respect, responsibility and commitment. These together with an understanding that within all our human relationships we are given the possibilities of meeting the Father God who gave us life and who comes within our human sphere in the person of Jesus Christ. I often think of the wholeness of human life under God when I am taking a wedding, and I listen to the bride and groom say to one another as they are exchanging rings: With my body I honour you -- (The Marriage Service from The Alternative Services Book, 1980; Oxford University Press; page 292). The honouring of one another is an essential ingredient in all relationships between human beings.
References and further reading
(4 & 5 are Church of England Service books).
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