
1
Corinthians 7
This is Paul’s argument for celibacy. The Catholic Church is widely criticized for
its continued adherence to it.
But celibacy is a widely practiced
discipline among many faiths and philosophers.
Buddhist monks are generally celibate.
Hindu priests are generally celibate.
The monks of some branches of Taoism are celibate. Henry David Thoreau was celibate – but maybe
not voluntarily. The Dalai Lama is celibate. Mahatma Gandhi was celibate (to a
fault). Epicurus and Lucretius were celibate. Judaism has the tradition of the Nazarite – men
who took vows of celibacy and did not cut their hair or drink alcohol for a
period of time. Samson was a Nazarite and
John the Baptist may have been one too. And, of course, salacious rumor aside,
it appears Jesus was celibate but clearly had not taken the Nazarite vow (he
drank alcohol fairly regularly by his own account). Only Islam (other than Sufism) and some
confessions within Protestantism have no tradition of it, placing more emphasis on other disciplines.
Why is celibacy so ubiquitous?
Every tradition, whether religious or
not, that seeks to understand the well-lived life concludes that
self-discipline and self-denial are important parts of it - including celibacy for the most committed individuals. Self-discipline and self-denial are part of a ‘whole’
life. Of course, ‘whole’ and ‘holy’ come
from the same German root. Paul’s argument sounds a little prudish to modern ears,
but it is in keeping with the conclusion of many thinkers across a broad spectrum of traditions.
Image:
St. Paul at his Desk, Rembrandt (1633).