Sarah
01-01-2005, 07:22 PM
One common misunderstanding (evidenced by the way people speak, e.g. "He broke his vow and married") is that celibacy is a vow taken by ordained priests of the Latin Church. Celibacy is not a vow. In Roman Catholic theology, a vow is a promise made directly to God. Celibacy is an obligation imposed by the institutional Church. We notice the use of "obligation" words in the most recent Code of Canon Law where no reference is made to celibacy as a vow:
“Clerics are obliged to observe perfect and perpetual continence for the sake of the kingdom of heaven and, therefore, are obliged to observe celibacy." (canon 277)
And, again:
"...loss of clerical state does not entail a dispensation from the obligation of celibacy." (canon 291) (Code of Canon Law: 1983. pp. 97 & 103)
To return to the question before us: is there anything in the preaching of Jesus that would support MANDATORY celibacy? We answer with a definite no! His qualifying remark makes that clear: "Let anyone accept this who can." (Mt. 19:12).
WAS JESUS HIMSELF CELIBATE?
Roman Catholic theologian Joan Timmerman, speaking of that presumption writes: " ... the tradition of Jesus' celibacy derives from later devotional rather than biblical or theological sources authoritative in the early communities. Timmerman concludes: "Scholars also point out the obvious, that to argue from omission is weak. On both sides, those who assume Jesus' celibacy and those who argue for a more conventional lifestyle for his time, all that can be gathered is supposition, not fact."
Iranaeus (d. 202) held that Adam and Eve were banished from Eden for copulating, and that Jesus redeemed the world by not copulating. (St. Iranaeus, "Against Heresies" 5, 19, 1)
These early theologians found support in various Greek philosophies (Stoicism, Gnosticism, Manichaeism) that regarded the (pure) soul as a prisoner of the (vile) body. Body negative philosophies, coupled with sex negative theologies, created a climate of thought that made the marriage of Jesus unthinkable. The Gospel of Phillip from the second century, which refers to Magdalen as the spouse of Jesus, is dismissed as apocryphal.
We can only conclude that those who hold that Jesus lived the celibate life are going on a presumption with no facts to substantiate that position. On the other hand, those who propose that Jesus was non celibate are also reliant on presumption. So, to present Jesus as a model for celibates is to go beyond what the facts allow. We agree with Joan Timmerman that the celibacy or non celibacy of Jesus is a matter of "supposition, not fact."
CHURCH FATHERS
ST. JEROME (331-419) was the most ardent advocate of celibacy. Henry Charles Lea surmises that Jerome, who was familiar with Buddhism, may have been influenced by its religious folklore, especially by the story of Maya and her husband taking a vow of chastity so that she might give birth to the Buddha in purity. Jerome, according to the same author, regarded Peter as a lesser saint that John because Peter was married and John wasn't. (Lea, 1966. p. 26 ff). Jerome considered marriage an invention of Satan and encouraged married couples who converted to Christianity to renounce their marriage vows: "How many there are who, by consent between themselves, cancel the debt of their marriage, eunuchs of their own accord through the desire of the kingdom of heaven." (Goldberg, 1958. p.186).
ST. AUGUSTINE (354-430 AD), after living a robust sexual life, became a strong advocate of celibacy. "Augustine imbibed the dualistic metaphysics of Gnosticism, splitting body and spirit, this world and the other world. Sex was always tainted, even in marriage, because the sin of Adam was passed on by intercourse and conception. Concupiscence was a punishment for the Fall. The only way to redeem oneself was through abstinence (Feuerstein, 1989, p.89). In order to be true to his own logic, Augustine had to be an advocate of celibacy since he considered an erect penis a visible sign of man's inner revolt against God, and the ordained must stand humbly before their God at all times. Interpreting Augustine's thought, Foucault writes: "...sex in erection is the image of man revolted against God. The arrogance of sex is the punishment and consequence of the arrogance of man." (Foucault, 1985)
When the teachings of Jerome and Augustine became the dominant sexual ethic of the Western Church, the foundation was laid for the introduction of MANDATORY celibacy.
Excerpted from: MANDATORY CELIBACY AND SEXUAL ETHICS IN THE LATIN RITE OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH (http://www.ejhs.org/volume2/walsh/walsh1.htm)
..
"And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth." - Genesis 1:28
"and may you live to see your children's children." - Psalm 128:6
"And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder." - Matthew 19:4-6
"Now about virgins: I have no command from the Lord, but I give a judgment as one who by the Lord's mercy is trustworthy." - 1 Corinthians 7:25
“Clerics are obliged to observe perfect and perpetual continence for the sake of the kingdom of heaven and, therefore, are obliged to observe celibacy." (canon 277)
And, again:
"...loss of clerical state does not entail a dispensation from the obligation of celibacy." (canon 291) (Code of Canon Law: 1983. pp. 97 & 103)
To return to the question before us: is there anything in the preaching of Jesus that would support MANDATORY celibacy? We answer with a definite no! His qualifying remark makes that clear: "Let anyone accept this who can." (Mt. 19:12).
WAS JESUS HIMSELF CELIBATE?
Roman Catholic theologian Joan Timmerman, speaking of that presumption writes: " ... the tradition of Jesus' celibacy derives from later devotional rather than biblical or theological sources authoritative in the early communities. Timmerman concludes: "Scholars also point out the obvious, that to argue from omission is weak. On both sides, those who assume Jesus' celibacy and those who argue for a more conventional lifestyle for his time, all that can be gathered is supposition, not fact."
Iranaeus (d. 202) held that Adam and Eve were banished from Eden for copulating, and that Jesus redeemed the world by not copulating. (St. Iranaeus, "Against Heresies" 5, 19, 1)
These early theologians found support in various Greek philosophies (Stoicism, Gnosticism, Manichaeism) that regarded the (pure) soul as a prisoner of the (vile) body. Body negative philosophies, coupled with sex negative theologies, created a climate of thought that made the marriage of Jesus unthinkable. The Gospel of Phillip from the second century, which refers to Magdalen as the spouse of Jesus, is dismissed as apocryphal.
We can only conclude that those who hold that Jesus lived the celibate life are going on a presumption with no facts to substantiate that position. On the other hand, those who propose that Jesus was non celibate are also reliant on presumption. So, to present Jesus as a model for celibates is to go beyond what the facts allow. We agree with Joan Timmerman that the celibacy or non celibacy of Jesus is a matter of "supposition, not fact."
CHURCH FATHERS
ST. JEROME (331-419) was the most ardent advocate of celibacy. Henry Charles Lea surmises that Jerome, who was familiar with Buddhism, may have been influenced by its religious folklore, especially by the story of Maya and her husband taking a vow of chastity so that she might give birth to the Buddha in purity. Jerome, according to the same author, regarded Peter as a lesser saint that John because Peter was married and John wasn't. (Lea, 1966. p. 26 ff). Jerome considered marriage an invention of Satan and encouraged married couples who converted to Christianity to renounce their marriage vows: "How many there are who, by consent between themselves, cancel the debt of their marriage, eunuchs of their own accord through the desire of the kingdom of heaven." (Goldberg, 1958. p.186).
ST. AUGUSTINE (354-430 AD), after living a robust sexual life, became a strong advocate of celibacy. "Augustine imbibed the dualistic metaphysics of Gnosticism, splitting body and spirit, this world and the other world. Sex was always tainted, even in marriage, because the sin of Adam was passed on by intercourse and conception. Concupiscence was a punishment for the Fall. The only way to redeem oneself was through abstinence (Feuerstein, 1989, p.89). In order to be true to his own logic, Augustine had to be an advocate of celibacy since he considered an erect penis a visible sign of man's inner revolt against God, and the ordained must stand humbly before their God at all times. Interpreting Augustine's thought, Foucault writes: "...sex in erection is the image of man revolted against God. The arrogance of sex is the punishment and consequence of the arrogance of man." (Foucault, 1985)
When the teachings of Jerome and Augustine became the dominant sexual ethic of the Western Church, the foundation was laid for the introduction of MANDATORY celibacy.
Excerpted from: MANDATORY CELIBACY AND SEXUAL ETHICS IN THE LATIN RITE OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH (http://www.ejhs.org/volume2/walsh/walsh1.htm)
..
"And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth." - Genesis 1:28
"and may you live to see your children's children." - Psalm 128:6
"And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder." - Matthew 19:4-6
"Now about virgins: I have no command from the Lord, but I give a judgment as one who by the Lord's mercy is trustworthy." - 1 Corinthians 7:25