celibacy, priests & boylovers
Submitted by Ray on March 08 1999 at 07:30:29
In reply to Now I'm confused... Submitted by Ben on March 07 1999 at 08:58:13
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F.O.D. & Ben, Sorry for giving points in response to your questions that confuse instead of clarify your initial state of mind that lead you to ask the questions. And this post again is very much a counterpoint to the traditional Christian understanding of the value of celibacy rather than a clarification of your state of mind or answer to your immediate questions. What may seem to you as me dancing around the issue is really me dealing with similar issues from a different perspective -- in a sense, I'm trying to come to some understanding of what I would promote as a "Christian life." And I find myself opposing Paul and common "Christian wisdom" in several points and perspectives. First of all in a discussion of celibacy, what are we talking about. I think that a priest in the Roman Catholic Church may have a different working definition of the word than a faithful parishioner in the pew who grew up in a community where sexual issues were kept quiet, got married at an early age and learned about sex from his or her spouse. cel·i·ba·cy n. 1. Abstinence from sexual intercourse, especially by reason of religious vows. 2. The condition of being unmarried. (The American Heritage Talking Dictionary, version 4.0, copyright 1995 by Softkey International) I think there are instances of priests engaging in some "sex" for the sake of exploring their understanding of themselves and the world around them without breaking their vows of celibacy. For instance, is masturbation sex? I don't want to go further into that for now, just to make the point that the line between celibacy and not being celibate may not be so fine. At what point does intimacy and affection in a relationship become sex. And the whole point about being Christian boylovers, as I see it, is that, no matter how chaste, we want to provide more intimate and affectionate relationships for boys who may be missing out on that. My background is as a Lutheran Christian. For most of 1500 years, the Church had developed in the Western world with a celibate priesthood. Luther decided 500 years ago that a married priesthood was not inappropriate. The Catholic church still has celibacy as a necessary vow for those desiring priesthood, while, I think, Orthodox and most protestant denominations don't. Celibacy may be the position of choice for Christian boylovers for a variety of reasons, but I'm not sure I'd hold it up as the ideal. Which probably leaves both of you just as confused as ever about where I stand and what to do! Ray |