INTRODUCTION
In Sierra Leone, it is clear that, despite the efforts of family planning organizations such as the Planned Parenthood Association and Marie Stopes (named after Dr. Marie Stopes, a British woman scientist who advocated the separation of children), in rural areas, still does not know or does not pay attention to the effects of family planning. The culture of typical Sierra Leone is important. The rebel crisis (1991–2002) did not alleviate this problem. Most families resist efforts to limit the number of their descendants as a result of "the economic value of sons in rural areas and high mortality rates" (Lenski, 1970, p.485). Christian ethics, "a systematic explanation of the moral example and teaching of Jesus, applied to the full life of the individual in society and actualized by the power of the Spirit" (Burnett, 1961, p. 3), is distorted in the matter of family planning. The ethics of this voluntary restriction of human reproduction is a matter of debate. These problems should be considered as a problem not for generation, but for individual consideration, as well as for the pairs to solve themselves. The complexity of the problem could be seen in the fact that “all world religions support decent parenthood, but when it comes to methods, consensus often dissolves” (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1993, p.118),
DEFINITIONS
A clear understanding of God's will for the family begins after marriage. Family planning could simply be defined as “preventing pregnancy after sexual intervention” (Crystal, 1994, p. 89). In other words, it is “the control of fertilization, and this is carried out either by the absence or by using some means to prevent the meeting of the egg and sperm cells” (Hutton, 1967, p. 165). ” McGee (1980) did not deviate from the above definitions when the phrase was defined as growth rates through “encouraging individuals to limit family size” (Everybody Encyclopedia, 1978, p.95). used to refer to any method of restricting or regulating a population, such as infanticide, abortion, enforced celibacy, or what Malthus calls moral limitation. encouraged others, such as Francis Place, Richard Carlie and Robert Owen, to start popularizing a movement or campaign to spread family planning. rus, a collection of Egyptian medical texts dating from 1550 BC, records family planning methods. Classical writers, including Pliny Eder, Pediany Dioscorides, and Soran Efs, refer to contraception.
SOME METHODS OF FAMILY PLANNING
Before you comment on the point of view of the Bible, it is worth commenting on some methods of family planning. The “safe period” is the biological method of family planning and is the only sanctioned Roman Catholic church. The view is that there are several days in each monthly cycle during which a woman can be fertilized and then conceived. This rhythmic method, although attractive to the Roman Catholic Church, is erroneous because of the difficulties with ovulation over time and the variability of the length of the menstrual cycle. Interrupting Coitus involves removing the penis from the vagina before ejaculating. Previously, popularity, its effectiveness is clearly dependent on self-control by a man under any circumstances and often causes concern from both partners. Condom use was first described in the sixteenth century as a protection against syphilis; he consulted flax sheath. The modern condom is made of silicone latex with an elongated part or nipple at the end.
Other mechanical devices include shields, diaphragms, or caps inserted into the vagina through the cervix. Their effectiveness can be improved through the use of spermicidal agents. Intrauterine devices are empirically designed spring foreign bodies that are inserted by a trained person into the uterus. Made from inert plastic or metal, they do not prevent ovulation and are not spermicidal, but apparently act to prevent the penetration of the products of conception into the wall of the uterus. The most important development in the field of contraception was the introduction of birth control pills. It contains synthetic steroids, like the female hormones estrogen and progesterone, either together or only progesterone. Combined estrogen and progesterone pills are most effective and are taken for twenty-one days, followed by a seven-day interval during menstrual bleeding. Post-koital contraceptives (in the morning after the pill) contain synthetic estrogen-stilboestrol.
REASONS PROVIDED FOR FAMILY PLANNING
It is necessary to plan a family for several reasons. In some cases, it is absolutely necessary to use means to ensure that the pregnancy does not take place. Such is the case of a woman whose pelvis is so deformed that a child cannot pass through it at birth. When this condition is present, surgery is required to remove the child by cesarean section. A woman rarely has more than two children. Since abstinence is often not considered strong and healthy married women, measures should be taken to prevent a recurrence of pregnancy. There are other cases where it is extremely important that there are no subsequent pregnancies, for example, when there was some serious debilitating disease or where the mother had a problematic heart, kidney or lung disease. It would also be very wrong to have children if they are likely to inherit insanity (Hatton, 1967).
In addition, families view children as a financial burden for parents and the initial costs associated with the birth of a child. Lack of help in the family, lack of security and fear all conspire to prevent families from having children.
CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE
What then is the view on family planning in the light of the Holy Scriptures in a third world country, where people associate social status with the number of children in a family and where a catastrophe (civil war) has deprived the population of a significant part of its productive population. The reasons may indeed be compilations and arguments logical, but they do not establish their morality. We must have a clear understanding of the divine will of God with regard to ethical decisions in the field of marriage and family planning, as in all other areas of life. Let's just and within the reach of all the basic principles that relate to this intimate and yet social problem.
Paradoxically, the Bible does not give a clear or definite word for or against it. There is an amazing silence on this issue. The Scriptures speak unconditionally and unconditionally about theft, lies, adultery, fornication and drunkenness, but not directly against family planning. Some refer to the sin of Onan (Genesis 38: 9-10), but in fact his sin was a refusal to obey the law, which required him to give birth to a son in order to carry the name of a brother. Planned parenthood was not accepted at all. Genesis 1:28, where God told our first parents, “Be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth,” it was not the duty to produce many children as much as the promise of posterity.
God has no problem in formulating what he considers of paramount importance. There are guidelines and principles for each marriage and family responsibility. The Bible talks a lot about sex, the role of parents, parental responsibilities and morality, but was surprisingly silent about this. God could give a universal law for every family if He would, but He chose not to. Since there are many other factors to consider, such as age, fertility and ability, all families cannot be poured into the same shape. No, where the Bible indicates that every man and woman should give birth to the same number of children and does not teach that sex in marriage is only for the continuation of the race, and every intervention in it is sinful. The Bible categorically states that couples should have sex regularly to avoid temptations from the devil. The Scripture states that: “do not deceive one another, except with the consent of some time, so that you may fast and pray, and come together again so that Satan does not tempt you for your incontinence” (1 Cor. 7: 5 ).
When Scripture does not speak clearly and positively on a particular issue, it should then be determined on the basis of the principles of Scripture. They must be honestly applied by each of them with the desire to open and fulfill God's will for the individual family. The Bible does teach that one of the results of marriage is a continuation of the race, and that children are a blessing. Psalm 127: 3-5 says that “the children are the inheritance of the Lord, and the fruit of the womb is His reward. His full quiver, they can not be blamed, but they will talk to enemies at the gate. "
A quiver is a container, and the Bible does not indicate the size of each family. It can reasonably be said that the quiver of family A has a place for two children, and the family B needs family children to bring their quiver to the brim. Again and again, the Bible talks about couples who wanted children, prayed for them and were very happy about them. What parent did not recognize that children satisfy normal desire, bring deep joy and help parents grow and develop. The presence of children opens up a whole new world for a couple and can be a means of bringing them together and discovering the perfection found in no way. The family issue should be frankly discussed before marriage, and each married couple should want to have children.
For clarity, it should be noted that the family planning movement has never advocated child marriage, but only the proper distance between the children and the restriction outside the spring. They teach and continue to teach that children should be planned and that they should bless the union of a married couple. They did not advocate a selfish escape, but rather wise and practical plans for children.
It should be emphasized that the Bible does not say how many children a family should have. It would be impossible simply because people or even better couples marry in completely different eras. Some women never tolerate even one child because they are securely sterile. Others support injuries or surgery that limit their ability to bear children. God has no plan for every family. It is interesting to note in the Old Testament saints that, although some, like Jacob, have many families, others have smaller ones. Jacob had twelve, Job (before his test) had ten, and Joseph had only two. Moses' parents had three people, and Aaron had four sons. Michal had no one. The number of children in each family did not fit the set pattern. Each family situation is different, and each has its own resources and problems. Considering one family may not apply to another, and everyone must find the will and the desire of God in their personal situation. In fact, no one person or law can tell a couple how many children they need or how they should be located at a distance. This decision is in the area of Christian freedom. The researcher’s wife is now thirty-four years old, and we were married twelve years ago (she was twenty-two years old). Our first child was born in April 1997, a year after our wedding. Our second child followed in December 1998. If after a year and eight months they have divided these two children, it is assumed that my wife will have about fifteen children, if we cannot plan our family. Christians know their lives, including their sex lives, belong to God. Therefore, they should act with love rather than with selfishness. They must abide by the times and circumstances in which they live, and through the mind and the guidance of the Holy Spirit they can make responsible decisions.
It must be remembered that God carries parents for every child they have. Parenthood is a full responsibility, not just a biological process. We are responsible for the well-being and development of the child, his spiritual growth and upbringing, as well as his mental and social maturity. Having children is more than just giving birth to them. You can sin against children already born from others, and the preservation and maturation of life already existing have priority over life that does not exist. Too many children can ruin a marriage. In such cases, the whole family suffers. Children are dressed, undernourished, under living, educated and emotionally drained; and many of them are leaving society to support tax money. It is very important that the husband and wife know themselves and the number of acres they can give to the applicant. It should be noted that there is a remarkable difference between the reproducer and the parent. God encourages couples to have children, as well as to understand the obligations they make when they do it. Today, the biggest tragedy is not too large families, but parents who do not take responsibility for their children, which they have, regardless of the size of the family. Through Scripture, parents are taught to devote time and attention to each child. Parents admonish: “Prepare the child as he should go, and when he grows old he will not leave him” (Prov. 22: 6). They are taught to train their children carefully in Deuteronomy 6: 7-8: “Thoroughly teach your children, and you will speak of them when you sit in your house, and when you go on the road, and the serum rushes and when you get up and you will bind them with a sign on your hand, and they will be like sheets between your eyes. "
Teaching a child diligently requires not only time, but also understanding and patience. Patience is really necessary. Parents who leave the education of their children fully in schools are either wise or obedient. Those who shy away from these responsibilities add to the problem of moral pollution, which is more serious than environmental pollution. Perhaps nothing is more harmful to children than to feel that their parents want them to never be born. The Holy Scripture emphasizes the concept of responsible parenthood in I Timothy 5: 8. He categorically states that "... if someone provided it not for himself, but specifically for his own homes, he denied faith and worse than an atheist." Anxiety for a couple brings more children into the world than they can cherish spiritually, materially, emotionally and educatedly.
Many people believe in some form of family planning. Few people believe that a woman should bear all the children she can have from marriage to menopause. According to Roberson (1989), “overpopulation is one of the most pressing social problems in the modern world” (p.378). In China, for example, more than half of people ... are less than thirty years old, raising the ghost of a child boom without a parallel in the history of mankind ”(Makionis, 1992, p.364). Schaefer (1989) unconditionally eliminates the problem “The bomb of the population: neutralized or still ticking” (p.543) No one assumes that a woman should always be pregnant. All major religious groups agree on the need for responsible parenthood, but disagree with the permitted methods to achieve this goal. believe in planned parenthood, although they differ in technique. Some people and groups believe in the so-called rhythmic method, reliably safe period and believe that any suit of other means is questionable. But rhythm is also a family method. Even those who interrupt or abstain from sexual relations for fear of conception also practice birth control.
Family planning must be honestly met in Sierra Leone. Some speak anxiously about the method that is contrary to nature or interference with nature. No one denies that scientific contraceptives are an intervention in nature. Doesn't civilization abound in means of interfering with nature? Natural things would be for babies to drink milk that contains germs. Vaccination is an intervention in nature. The doctor uses an anesthetic for childbirth and surgery, the farmer degrades or emasculates his cattle - all this is contrary to nature. Man constantly interferes with nature. His very dignity is his godlike ability to control nature and serve it for the higher purposes of human enterprise. Of course, some of them will abuse these privileges and use them for selfish purposes, but this does not violate their proper use. The selfish and deliberate refusal to have children clearly violates the spirit of God's word. God gives wisdom to those who seek him (James 1: 5) and assures us of His guidance if we recognize Him in all our ways (Prov. 3: 6), and this certainly includes important areas such as sex and family planning. Поскольку Бог говорит через пророка, что Он знает Его во чреве (Иеремия 1: 5), разумно заключить, что аборт является греховным, потому что он отнимает человеческую жизнь.
CONCLUSION
Вопрос о контроле и планировании родительства в Сьерра-Леоне относится к сфере христианской свободы. Лично для каждой семьи, которая не может слепо следовать примеру другого, не судить другую пару за ее разное убеждение или решение. Несмотря на это, христианская свобода никогда не бывает абсолютной и никогда не означает безответственную лицензию. Добросовестный христианин всегда будет проявлять эту Свободу в страхе перед Богом и в пределах всего плана Бога, связывающего цель человека в жизни. Христианин посвятил всю свою жизнь - свою сексуальную жизнь - и свои творческие функции воле и славе Бога. Христианин относится ко всем этапам жизни слова апостола: «Итак, едите ли вы или пьете, или что вы делаете, делайте все во славу Божию» (1 Кор. 10:31).
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