True Celibacy

A Letter exchange on Celibacy, Marriage, and Monks.

Proverbs 5:15-19

Drink waters out of thine own cistern, and

running waters out of thine own well.

Let thy fountains be dispersed abroad, and

rivers of waters in the streets.

Let them be only thine own, and

not strangers’ with thee.

Let thy fountain be blessed: and

rejoice with the wife of thy youth.

Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant roe;

let her breasts satisfy thee at all times; and

be thou ravished always with her love.

From the beginning of Scripture to the end, God promotes marriage, and sex in marriage. That is a hard truth, and one that has been very offensive over the years to various groups, but it is the truth.

The forms of contradiction to this truth have varied over the years. In modern days these attacks tend to come in the form of sodomy, transgenderism, child murder and sexless marriages. However an old form of attack on this truth is still prevalent: a false view of ‘celibacy’.

The other day I commented on Substack in response to a substacker who was praising the Biblicality of ‘monks’, asking in what way they could be more Biblical. I replied that the problem was they weren’t Biblical enough. That their lifestyle stood in opposition to God’s clear commands. A debate ensued and, then, the offer of a letter exchange, my opponent has written his first post and, voila, here we are.

Celibacy

So, the subject of this exchange is celibacy. And the first thing that I wish to make clear is that the word is used in at least two different ways. I do not wish to confuse them, Far from being synonyms, these two different uses at times seem almost contradictory!

The first meaning, and the one that I am not going to be addressing in this post, is the synonym for ‘unmarried’. In its broadest sense it merely means ‘unmarried’. In its specific sense it means someone who has committed themselves for a period of time to not being married. That is NOT the subject of this post.

Sex and Marriage

My second major point and major distinction would be to separate out the word ‘sex’ from the word ‘marriage’. Because the second core meaning of the word celibate is ‘to not have intimate relations’. And so as we drill down into the type of celibacy I’m going to be discussing here, we need to realise that it goes beyond the mere question of marriage. If we are going to examine the true nature of Biblical celibacy then at the bare minimum we are speaking of someone who is not having intimate relations, not merely that he is not married. The unmarried man who is bouncing from bed to bed can hardly be called ‘celibate’.

Sex and Lust

Matthew 5:28

But I say unto you, That

whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her

hath committed adultery with her already

in his heart.

I have finally arrived at the subject of this post. If we are going to use the word ‘celibacy’ in the context of the Christian faith, we must realise that it cannot mean merely not being married, not can it mean merely not having intimate relations… it must mean not struggling with lust. The man who is walking around with his imagination in hyperdrive, with issues of reading or watching, is not ‘celibate’.

The Definition of Eunuch

Matthew 19:8-12

He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but

from the beginning it was not so.

And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery.

His disciples say unto him, If the case of the man be so with his wife, it is not good to marry.

But he said unto them, All men cannot receive this saying, save they to whom it is given.

For there are some eunuchs, which were so born from their mother’s womb: and

there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men: and

there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven’s sake.

He that is able to receive it, let him receive it.

As a college educated, historically literate, Boomer, I always wonder how much ground work I need to lay when addressing certain subjects.¹ My audience will need to excuse me, and the squeamish may need to skip to the next section. But I am now going to define ‘eunuch’.

The first category of eunuch that Christ brings up is the eunuch from birth. This is a child who, because of a genetic defect or other defect in utero, was born without functioning organs of sexual activity (was that euphemistic enough?). As they grow the normal development does not occur, and so as a result they arrive at a man’s estate without a man’s (functional) equipment. Obviously the various temptations that are so prevalent for their peers do not exist for them or are greatly lessened.

The second category that Christ mentions are those people who have had the same effect violently affected upon them. In other words their organs of generation have been either partially or completely removed. They no longer exist.²³

The end result of this operation is the same, or almost the same, as the first. The man involved is incapable of effective intimate relations and, depending upon various factors, is incapable of desiring them.

And so when we come to the third category… when people in this third category are stated to be those people who have taken some sort of vow not to marry… I believe that this is a fundamental category error. The mere taking of a vow does not put one in the same category as someone who is incapable of desiring or accomplishing sexual relations.

Not a Biblical Word

Deuteronomy 22:28 -29

If a man find a damsel that is a virgin, which is not betrothed, and

lay hold on her, and

lie with her,

and they be found;

Then the man that lay with her shall give unto the damsel’s father fifty shekels of silver, and

she shall be his wife; because he hath humbled her,

he may not put her away all his days.

Before we finish our definition of Christian celibacy, we should note… that it is not a Biblical word. When a word is used in Scripture, we are obliged to defend its use and the definition that Scripture gives it. When a word isn’t used⁴ we have no such obligation. We only have to look at see what Scripture actually teaches and defend and define those principles.

So we should note that we are using the word ‘celibacy’ here to mean to host of things all grouped together, some of which are sins,⁵ and some are Biblical obligations.

Lust, Marriage, and Chastity

Song 4:1-7

Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair;

thou hast doves’ eyes within thy locks:

thy hair is as a flock of goats, that appear from mount Gilead.

Thy teeth are like a flock of sheep that are even shorn, which came up from the washing; whereof every one bear twins, and none is barren among them.

Thy lips are like a thread of scarlet, and

thy speech is comely:

thy temples are like a piece of a pomegranate within thy locks.

Thy neck is like the tower of David builded for an armoury, whereon there hang a thousand bucklers, all shields of mighty men.

Thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins, which feed among the lilies.

Until the day break, and the shadows flee away,

I will get me to the mountain of myrrh, and

to the hill of frankincense.

Thou art all fair, my love; there is no spot in thee.

Now in order to complete our definition of celibacy, I believe it is important that we note the thing which is not its opposite, but its completion. There is a point at which celibacy is to stop, and chastity is to begin, and if done properly, both are complementary, not contradictory. The wife who has been saving herself for her husband is, once married, to use that same energy to give herself to her husband. Virginity is not a perpetual good, it is a temporary one.

Thus the married wife, the married husband, are required to rejoice in each other, physically. They are required, in the proper sense, to lust. The breasts of the wife are to be a source of continual pleasure for the husband, as is the body of the husband.

Conclusion

I Corinthians 7:7-9

For

I would that all men were even as I myself. But

every man hath his proper gift of God,

one after this manner, and

another after that.

I say therefore to the unmarried and widows, It is good for them if they abide even as I.

But if they cannot contain,

let them marry: for

it is better to marry than to burn.

The discerning reader will notice that I have not, as yet, even touched on any of the issues that my worthy opponent raised in his post. Granted. I was not intending to. My goal in this post was to establish the basic definition of what we are talking about. To begin to establish why the lifestyle of the modern monk is so utterly unBiblical.

But that discussion cannot be held effectively while there is a confusion of definitions. While the merely unmarried man is claiming the title of ‘celibate’ we can have no coherent discussion of the value of celibacy. When people believe that there can be such a thing as a ‘vow of celibacy’ they can in no way discuss the Biblical value of marriage.

Scripture clearly teaches that God made them male and female. That together they were given the command to be fruitful and multiply, to take dominion over the Earth. That the Godly man will have a wife and children.

Celibacy, properly understood, is the foundation for marriage. Celibacy, falsely understood, is its contradiction and enemy.

Thank you for reading Von’s Substack. I would love it if you commented! I love hearing from readers, especially critical comments. I would love to start more letter exchanges, so if there’s a subject you’re interested in, get writing and tag me!

Being ‘restacked’ and mentioned in ‘notes’ is very important for lesser-known stacks so… feel free! I’m semi-retired and write as a ministry (and for fun) so you don’t need to feel guilty you aren’t paying for anything, but if you enjoy my writing (even if you dramatically disagree with it), then restack, please! Or mention me in one of your own posts.

If I don’t write you back it is almost certain that I didn’t see it, so please feel free to comment and link to your post. Or if you just think I would be interested in your post!

If you get lost, check out my ‘Table of Contents’ which I try to keep up to date.

Thanks again, God Bless, Soli Deo gloria,

Von

Links

Celibacy and Monasticism are Biblical

1. I was driving ambulance with a young person a few years ago and I found out that she literally did not know what the word ‘bastard’ meant. She thought it just meant ‘bad person I don’t like’.

2. I believe that we can safely put into this category those for whom this same effect has happened because of accident or disease.

3. I would also add that this kind of operation, except when done to save someone’s life, is categorically unBiblical and blasphemous.

4. Yes, I mean the Greek or Hebrew word, for which we have one or more English translations.

5. See I Cor 7:3-5 for one of the sins.