Celibacy Definition
Celibacy is defined as “the state of abstaining from marriage and sexual relations.” A contextual example of the word is “his brother's priestly vow of celibacy."
According to Wikipedia, celibacy is the state of voluntarily being unmarried, sexually abstinent, or both, usually for religious reasons. Often applied in terms of refraining from sexual relations. It is often in relation to the role of a religious cleric or adherent. In its conventional sense, the word celibacy is used only to those for whom the unmarried state is the result of a sacred vow, act of self-denial, or religious conviction. In a broader sense, it is commonly understood to only mean abstinence from sexual activity.
Celibate is defined with two senses by Merriam-Webster:
a: not engaging in or characterized by sexual intercourse
b: abstaining from marriage and sex especially because of a religious vow
Celibacy in the Bible
1 Corinthians 7:25-40 speaks on the matters of marriage and celibacy:
“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. Because of the present crisis, I think that it is good for a man to remain as he is. Are you pledged to a woman? Do not seek to be released. Are you free from such a commitment? Do not look for a wife. But if you do marry, you have not sinned; and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. But those who marry will face many troubles in this life, and I want to spare you this. What I mean, brothers and sisters, is that the time is short. From now on those who have wives should live as if they do not; those who mourn, as if they did not; those who are happy, as if they were not; those who buy something, as if it were not theirs to keep; those who use the things of the world, as if not engrossed in them. For this world in its present form is passing away. I would like you to be free from concern. An unmarried man is concerned about the Lord’s affairs—how he can please the Lord. But a married man is concerned about the affairs of this world—how he can please his wife— and his interests are divided. An unmarried woman or virgin is concerned about the Lord’s affairs: Her aim is to be devoted to the Lord in both body and spirit. But a married woman is concerned about the affairs of this world—how she can please her husband. I am saying this for your own good, not to restrict you, but that you may live in a right way in undivided devotion to the Lord. If anyone is worried that he might not be acting honorably toward the virgin he is engaged to, and if his passions are too strong and he feels he ought to marry, he should do as he wants. He is not sinning. They should get married. But the man who has settled the matter in his own mind, who is under no compulsion but has control over his own will, and who has made up his mind not to marry the virgin—this man also does the right thing. So then, he who marries the virgin does right, but he who does not marry her does better. A woman is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes, but he must belong to the Lord. In my judgment, she is happier if she stays as she is—and I think that I too have the Spirit of God.”
Vow of Celibacy
Learnreligions.com summarizes the “vow of celibacy” and celibacy in religion:
"Celibacy is generally recognized as a voluntary choice to remain unmarried or engage in any form of sexual activity, usually in order to fulfill a religious vow. In this sense, one can accurately be said to be practicing sexual abstinence as a condition of his or her vow of celibacy."
"In the context of religion, celibacy is practiced in different ways. Most familiar of these is the mandatory celibacy of male and female members of the active clergy and monastic devotees. While most female religious celibates today are Catholic nuns living in residential cloisters, there have been notable solitary celibate female figures, such as the anchoress — a female hermit — Dame Julian of Norwich, born in 1342. In addition, religious celibacy is sometimes practiced by laypersons or clergy members in a faith not requiring it out of devotion or to allow them to perform certain religious services."
Bible Verses related to Celibacy
1 Corinthians 7:7-9 ESV - I wish that all were as I myself am. But each has his own gift from God, one of one kind and one of another. To the unmarried and the widows I say that it is good for them to remain single as I am. But if they cannot exercise self-control, they should marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion.
1 Corinthians 7:2 ESV - But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband.
1 Corinthians 6:18-20 ESV - Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.
1 Timothy 3:2 ESV - Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach,
Matthew 19:10-12 ESV - The disciples said to him, “If such is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry.” But he said to them, “Not everyone can receive this saying, but only those to whom it is given. For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let the one who is able to receive this receive it.”
1 Timothy 4:1-3 ESV - Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared, who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.
1 Corinthians 9:5 ESV - Do we not have the right to take along a believing wife, as do the other apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas?
1 Corinthians 10:13 ESV - No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
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