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To: newsgatherer
Yes, but to be a Christian group, should not one use the entire Bible, not just a few verses here and there?

Agreed ... so why are you limiting yourself to one verse?

Paul was not the first apostle to conclude that celibacy is, in some sense, "better" than marriage. After Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 19 on divorce and remarriage, the disciples exclaimed, "If such is the case between a man and his wife, it is better not to marry" (Matt 19:10). This remark prompted Jesus’ teaching on the value of celibacy "for the sake of the kingdom":

"Not all can accept this word, but only those to whom it is granted. 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 God. Whoever can accept this ought to accept it" (Matt. 19:11–12).

This sort of celibacy, "for the sake of the kingdom", is a gift, a call that is not granted to all, or even most people, but is granted to some. Other people are called to marriage.

Ultimately, the Catholic priesthood is modeled on the example set by our Lord, Jesus Christ. Jesus did not marry; He led a celibate life.

55 posted on 12/14/2004 6:26:47 AM PST by NYer ("Blessed be He who by His love has given life to all." - final prayer of St. Charbel)
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To: NYer
Ultimately, the Catholic priesthood is modeled on the example set by our Lord, Jesus Christ. Jesus did not marry; He led a celibate life.

In addition, violating those vows is not a new thing, and coddling those who do violate those vows is not a modern innovation. What is new is some people making excuses for those behaviors as being natural. The simple solution isn't to understand the reasoning but to excuse and dumb-down the standard.

If being natural were the moral criterion, we could point out that animals don't marry, and that we should mate with anyone who comes along, and it is only natural for people to beat each other to distribute the resources that are naturally scarce.

Perhaps we can model the behavior of animals at a watering hole, and permit only those who can elbow out others access to the benefits of modern living. That is natural.

Man and the experience of Faith causes us to rise above what is natural, and aspire to the "super"-natural. I don't mean we are fortune tellers, but I mean we go beyond the existence we understand now, and strive for something bigger and better. We understand that part of God's plan is that we live for the next world, because we understand our reward doesn't come from the feeling of satiation in the physical, but, by striving for the rewards of Heaven. A person who trades his heavenly reward for fleeting pleasure, sexual or otherwise, doesn't understand this fundamental reality.
73 posted on 12/14/2004 8:01:33 AM PST by Dominick ("Freedom consists not in doing what we like, but in having the right to do what we ought." - JP II)
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