Hungarian Church Press, 1968 (20. évfolyam, 2. szám)
1968-06-01 / 2. szám
HOP Voi iOLSpeeial Number 1968 No 2-•••87 ~— (07791) also the guarantee cf their fellowship- The two together constitute "the man" whom God created is nie^qpggg and after his likeness« The Bible,therefore, distinguishes in marriage/ine personal fellowship of the partners and the precreation of child ven although the two are not separated from each other» It is by viewing the 'two together that we may perceive the ri^at meaning of the personal fellowship and of the fertility of marriage* Both are gifts with God’s blessing on them It is with the birth of the child that the personal fellowship of the married partners re transformed into a family« By considering the child, as the blessing of God bestowed upon the marriage, we make our transition £> from the field of marriage ethics into the field of fan ily ethics* By entering this field, we envisage sore very important tasks which the Church has to carry out in our society« It is a lamentable fact that "Hungary, as far as the natural growth of the population is concerned, occupies the last place in'world statistics"* But we must note that this fact in Hungarian "privilege" and not something connected with the socialist systern For the socialist countries do not follow the Hungarian example* Moreover, while we are grappling with this most serious problem of family ethics, in other places of the wear Id we note the indications of the so-called "population explosion", and it is in the latter context that the problem of "family planning" is raised. The question of family planning* includes the problem of voluntary childlessness, the one—child system, the means and methods of contraception and the problem of abortion« Before discussing these problems in detail, we must make two summary statements« First the Bible does not consider procreo - tion as the justification of marital sex life, far sex life is in no need to be sanctioned in this manner« The child is tho fruit, the consequence, the blessing of marriage- Neither does the Bible speak, about the measure of this blessing, the number of children, only about the purpose, the end of procreation« b) The Churches and the Questions of Procreation Vire ore here concerned about the Reformation and Reman Catholic teaching about this matter* According to the Reformation, tin child is the fruit and not the basis of marriage* It is in the institution of marriage that God makes provision for the propagation of mankind* Our fathers, the Reformers, maintained that those works vtrich are done by parents in true faith •by way of domestic duties are iu God’s sight holy and truly good works (Sehend Helvetic Confession, chapter XSIX)« So it is also in the case of begettii am bearing children, but, in this matter, man is not creator, neither co-creator with God cr his helper; he is only the instrument of God’s providence* The churches of the Reformation are at one in maintaining that the child is the gift of God’s grace* The problem arises when the married partners do not
