The concept of stumbling block
His Holiness Pope Shenouda III explains the concept of “stumbling” and presents its spiritual and practical meaning: that stumbling is a cause that makes one person cause others to fall into sin or doubt or deviation from faith.
Forms of Stumbling
Stumbling appears in forms: teaching sin or facilitating it, tasting it, or presenting it as a virtue. Also intellectual stumbling in religion, ideas, and heresies that falsify truths.
Sources of Stumbling
Sources may be the devil (as the first cause in the fall of Adam and Eve), bad people in the environment, corrupt audio-visual media, misleading teachers, or bad examples from elders and leaders.
Great Responsibility of the Teacher and Example
The Scripture and the Apostle warn: whoever causes another to stumble receives a greater judgment. Bad example from elders affects more because it is imitated and accepted as a standard.
Sensitivity of Conscience and Intention
A person does not always bear blame if he is stumbled without intent; but we must consider the narrow and wide conscience: if your actions become a cause of another’s weakness you are responsible to avoid them.
Protecting Simplicity and Childhood
Children are easily stumbled because they imitate and believe. Therefore their environment must be protected and they must be taught purity of heart before appearances.
How Not to Cause Others to Stumble
Avoid sources of stumbling, hide virtues to prevent hypocrisy, conduct natural and humble worship behavior, and live in virtue for love of God not for show to people.
Spiritual Conclusion (Coptic Orthodox perspective)
The aim is to protect innocence, the Church, and the principles of faith from everything that turns people away from God: stumbling is a sin taken seriously, and it is resisted by good example, humility, and purity of heart and mind.
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