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To: gamarob1
Prove they weren't married.

I have cited 5 instances from Scripture in support of celibacy. Match them!

Where is clerical celibacy in the Bible?

Biblical evidence for the discipline of celibacy can be found in both the Old and the New Testaments. In the Old, Jeremiah was forbidden by God to take a wife in order to enable him to fulfill his ministry better. "The word of the Lord came to me: 'You shall not take a wife, nor shall you have sons or daughters in this place'" (Jer. 16:1-2).

Also in the Old Testament, God asked even married couples to practice celibacy on certain occasions. For example, Moses asked the Israelites to abstain from marital intimacy while he ascended Mount Sinai (Ex. 20:15), and Jewish tradition attests that he remained celibate for life following the command of Exodus 9:15 and Deuteronomy 5:28. The Lord also asked that the priests refrain from sexual relations with their wives during their time of service in the temple. In yet another example, the priests ordered King David and his people to abstain from marital relations on the occasion of eating the holy bread (1 Sam. 21:4).

In all these instances, there is a theme of abstaining from marital relations due to the presence of something very holy. It is not that the marital act is sinful, but that when one is in such proximity to God, it is right to offer him an undivided mind, heart, and body. If it was fitting under the Old Covenant to serve the temple, to approach God, and receive the holy bread with a consecrated body, it is no surprise that permanent celibacy is fitting for a Roman Catholic priest, since his priestly service is continual.

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus states, "Some are incapable of marriage because they were born so; some, because they were made so by others; some because they have renounced marriage for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Whoever can accept this ought to accept it" (19:12 NAB). This is an invitation from Christ to live as he did, and there can be nothing unacceptable in that.

Paul recognized the wisdom in this, and encouraged celibacy in order to free a man to be anxious about the things of the Lord and to serve him undividedly (1 Cor 7:8,32-35). In his words, "To the unmarried and the widows I say that it is well for them to remain single as I do. . . . I want you to be free from anxieties. The unmarried man is anxious about the affairs of the Lord, how to please the Lord; but the married man is anxious about worldly affairs, how to please his wife, and his interests are divided. And the unmarried woman or girl is anxious about the affairs of the Lord, how to be holy in body and spirit; but the married woman is anxious about worldly affairs, how to please her husband. I say this for your own benefit, not to lay any restraint upon you, but to promote good order and to secure your undivided devotion to the Lord. . . . he who marries his betrothed does well; and he who refrains from marriage will do better" (1 Cor. 7:8, 32-35, 38).

Furthermore, most of the ministers I see that have REAL FRUIT for Christ, are married.

Name them.

18 posted on 10/07/2005 6:12:42 PM PDT by NYer (“Socialism is the religion people get when they lose their religion")
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To: NYer
What are the odds that some where in Chicago, a priest is dedicated at least a decade of his Rosary to his favorite baseball team?

A relatively new join FR member seems to antagonize more than submit for discussion. I prayed some Hail Mary's.

Time proves God. If God weren't who He IS, then the Jews would have been obliterated by history.

If a celibate clergy meant dooming that religion, then why has the Roman Catholic Rite flourished?

Not everyone is meant to be everything life can make available. Not everyone can birth a child. Not everyone can be a US Marine. Thus, not everyone is meant to be a celibate priest. The anger for the celibate Roman Catholic priesthood is because of the Power of the Holy Eucharist, the courage rewarded with Grace for the vows taken by the priests, and the Victory on the Cross revisited every time the Mass is celebrated.

Today, men's reasonable thought calculates the actions Faith has brought. What keeps the enraged from embracing Universal Truth is their hardened hearts. The anxious shrilling fear emoted by anti-Catholic "Christians" in name is a demon (or demons) that sense time is nearing to an end. We know this to be so because the White Sox are doing so well this year. If that's not a sign of the end times, I don't know what is!
19 posted on 10/07/2005 6:35:47 PM PDT by SaltyJoe (A mother's sorrowful heart and personal sacrifice redeems her lost child's soul.)
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To: NYer

Just a friendly amendment: one ought to distinguish between continence and celibacy. Married people were asked by God in the examples you cited to practice continence on certain occasions; married priests in the early Church were expected to be continent but not celibate because they were married and thus could not be celibate. "Chastity" is not a substitute here because engaging in marital relations is itself a chaste act for married people (unless done out of pure lust, which would be unchaste, or done in any way that turns the partner[s] into mere objects of gratification--that would be unchaste). The point is that chastity can apply both to the continent, celibate, and married but what constitutes chastity varies depending on whether one is celibate or married lay person or married priest).


20 posted on 10/08/2005 7:46:20 AM PDT by Dionysiusdecordealcis
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