“Some men are exempted from such an expectation ... and are led, by God, to live unmarried lives. So states Jesus Himself”
I would disagree with interpreting those verses as endorsing the practice. Just prior to that he re-iterates the command to marry given in the Garden of Eden. His disciples said it would be easier for a man to just not marry, and Christ his teachings would be hard for some to take. He recognizes that some are born eunuchs, and that some make themselves eunuchs for religious reasons, but I don’t see his remarks as endorsing celibacy (or self mutilation).
“In all the writings of the scriptures ... there is no mention of Christ possibly being married ... or of any theoretical children...Circumstantial though the case may be ... the scriptures support the conclusion that Christ was not married.”
No, that is a logical fallacy. Absence of proof means nothing, especially where it is very common for wives and children to go unmentioned or unnamed in scripture when they don’t play a role in some event.
The scriptures are not conclusive on the subject either way, and both sides can find things that imply the possibility of their view being correct. Who is right is unknown and will be unknown for some time. In the end, does it really matter as long as we accept Christ as our Savior and do our best to follow him?
Some men are exempted from such an expectation ... and are led, by God, to live unmarried lives. So states Jesus Himself ...
I would disagree with interpreting those verses as endorsing the practice. Just prior to that he re-iterates the command to marry given in the Garden of Eden. His disciples said it would be easier for a man to just not marry, and Christ his teachings would be hard for some to take. He recognizes that some are born eunuchs, and that some make themselves eunuchs for religious reasons, but I don’t see his remarks as endorsing celibacy (or self mutilation).Matthew 19:12 For there are different reasons why men cannot marry: some, because they were born that way; others, because men made them that way; and others do not marry for the sake of the Kingdom of heaven. Let him who can accept this teaching do so."It is here that Jesus exhorts those that are called (by God) to the single life ... to accept that teaching (calling).
Circumstantial though the case may be ... the scriptures support the conclusion that Christ was not married.
No, that is a logical fallacy. Absence of proof means nothing, especially where it is very common for wives and children to go unmentioned or unnamed in scripture when they don’t play a role in some event.
The scriptures are not conclusive on the subject either way, and both sides can find things that imply the possibility of their view being correct. Who is right is unknown and will be unknown for some time. In the end, does it really matter as long as we accept Christ as our Savior and do our best to follow him?
The life that Christ lived, as described in the New Testament, was that of a single man. Nothing that we see about Christ's life in the scriptures ... is incongruent wih His being single.
One must extrapolate beyond what is testified to in the scriptures ... to even suppose that Jesus was married.
I don't think that we ought to do that.