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Notes -
There were those who made themselves eunuchs for Christ. Not really that popular any more, for some reason.
Okay, the context for that quote is Jesus saying "Divorce is a no-no"; Matthew 19:
Now, who or what were the "eunuchs who have made themselves so for the sake of the kingdom"? Because this is during the ministry of Christ when He is still alive, and before Christianity became differentiated from Judaism. So does He mean literal 'guys who chopped off their balls' or 'guys who are living celibate lives without marriage or sex so they won't be distracted from the mission'?
I don't think I've ever seen exegesis of this passage, and I should go look it up. Off the top of my head, the only case of an early Christian doing literal castration was Origen, and he's considered A Bit Odd.
Though seemingly there were pro- and anti- sides on this!
Justin Martyr, First Apology, AD 155-157:
But by the fourth century, there was a problem; seemingly an ascetical cult which practiced castration had grown up and become influential:
My understanding is that he meant the former, since the language they were speaking definitely distinguished between the two. Indeed, in context it makes no sense. Why would he say 'eunuchs made by men' (clearly meaning castrated men) only to immediately say 'eunuchs by choice', only this time using the word metaphorically and not literally?
Well, I find the distinction interesting because if you're volunteering to have your balls chopped off, you are still being made a eunuch by men. Now, there is indeed the difference between "castrated as a child/taken as a prisoner or slave and castrated", and "volunteered to be castrated", I recognise that, but there is also some possibility of "voluntarily abstaining from sex, by choice, as if one is a eunuch".
The entire discussion is in the context of marriage, and how it's hard to abstain from sex, which is why those who do so by choice do it "for the sake of the kingdom".
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