I forgot that Jesus approved of self-castration by men. Have you? How do you explain it?

Question

KJV Matthew
19:10 His disciples say unto him, If the case of the man be
so with [his] wife, it is not good to marry.
19:11 But he said unto them, All [men] cannot receive this
saying, save [they] to whom it is given.
19:12 For there are some eunuchs, which were so born from
[their] mother's womb: and there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men: and there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake. He that is able to receive [it], let him receive [it].
+ + + + +
I thought I would give this later group their chance to answer.

Please don't try the ploy about priests vows.The celibacy thing doesn't fly because, Jewish Rabbis were not celebate. Also, Jesus in 19:12 begins by stating that some are born eunuchs. Males are not born Celibate, but some are born without testicles. This is the procedure that makes bulls into steers.

I hope you Christian answerers realize you are not going to be arguing with me, but denying the specific words of the Book you constantly vehemently defend as written through the inspiration and guidance of your God. I just found the words in the King James Bible and pasted them in the details.

How, can these words of Jesus be false and everything else true of The words of Jesus?

Sharkbait the NIV editors delibrately changed Eunuch ro marriage, but even they could not lie straight out, they put in a footnote guide to the actual words they changed. Here's a paste.

Footnotes:
Matthew 19:12 Or have made themselves eunuchs

This is infromation right off their website.
Again, I will say, you are arguing against the words of your own Holy Book.

Answer 1

It seems that the Christers have no answers.
Let an atheist try.
This is an excerpt from a book posted by its author
-----
26.4 Self-Castration

Is it to a man's spiritual advantage to castrate himself? Anyone familiar with the Old Testament, specifically Deuteronomy, would say no.

23:1 He that is wounded in the stones, or hath his privy member cut off, shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord. (King James Bible, Deuteronomy)

But Jesus has a different opinion:

19:11 But he said unto them, All men cannot receive this saying, save they to whom it is given. 19:12 For there are some eunuchs, which were so born from their mother's womb: and there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men: and there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it. (King James Bible, Matthew)

Most Christians ignore this verse or redefine "eunuch" to mean celibate. But the translation doesn't say "celibate." It says "eunuch." And the original Greek word says "eunuch" too. Besides, if we substitute "celibate" for "eunuch" then Jesus' words become: "For there are some celibate, which were so born from their mother's womb." Only some are born celibate from their mother's womb? Does this make sense? Aren't all infants born celibate? It boggles the mind to try to think otherwise.

Once we admit the verses say "eunuch" rather than "celibate," an obvious question arises: Might Jesus himself have been a eunuch? There's no definite answer to the question, of course, but if Jesus recommended self-castration then it's reasonable to wonder if he "practiced what he preached."

On purely emotional grounds, most Christians would say "No! Of course, Jesus wasn't self-castrated." A more reasoned argument against Jesus being a eunuch is that, being God, he had no compulsion to resort to such a drastic means to subdue his sexuality. A reply is that, as God, he had no need of praying or fasting either, yet the Bible says he did both. And even if Jesus himself wasn't castrated, wouldn't it be logical to suppose the Apostles were? Was self-castration a condition of being in the inner circle of Jesus? Is this why Jesus told his followers to leave their wives? Or did the Apostles ignore Jesus' suggestion about self-castration just as Christians do today?

And while it may be to a man's advantage to make himself a eunuch "for the sake of the kingdom of heaven," what about women? Is there any sexual self-mutilation they can do "for the sake of the kingdom of heaven"? Or are they already acceptable just as God designed them?

By the way, the male sex organ is not the only bodily part Jesus recommends amputating.

5:29 And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. 5:30 And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. (King James Bible, Matthew)

When I was in Catholic school, we were taught that dying with an unforgiven mortal sin meant eternal Hell. We were also taught that masturbation was a mortal sin. But none of my schoolmates took Matthew 5:30 seriously: they all had right hands.

***

Justin: You take a teaching about the proper control of the sex drive and mock it.

Arthur: I mock a foolish teaching about self-castration, which, by the way, was a prime teaching of the pagan god Attis. I wonder if Jesus actually said those words, or if some weird sexual self-mutilation practice became popular in some subculture of the Roman Empire, somehow got written ("redacted") into scripture and persists till today.

Justin: Nonsense. Scripture is from God.

Arthur: Then God says it's good to practice self-castration. So, how would you feel if your son became a eunuch "for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven"?

Justin: There's no chance of him doing such an absurd act because . . .

Arthur: Because he knows when not to take the Bible seriously.

© 2000 by Arthur Avalon. All Rights Reserved.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From:
TO JUSTIN, AGAINST CHRISTIANITY:
ON CHRISTIAN DELUSIONS, DECEPTIONS,
AND OUTRIGHT LIES
By Arthur Avalon
ISBN #: Softcover 0-7388-2517-4, 600 pages
Xlibris Corporation 1-888-795-4274 (1-888-7-XLIBRIS)

Home (www.ToJustin.com)
_____________________________
I hope you enjoy it.

Answer 2

The interpretation is not about self-castration but an explanation to vocation (single blessedness and celibacy).

God who is the prime author of life has given man the gift to procreate. There are some because of vocation decides to be single to serve the family and the community. Others decide to become celibate because of holy orders. Celibacy here is a form of self-giving and love to God when man decides to give up God's gift to procreate out of service to both God and Man.

Answer 3

I don't see what the problem is. Jesus said not everyone can receive the saying. Later on he says to let him who can receive it receive it. This says to me that it does not apply to everyone; however there are those who can and do benefit from castration.

Answer 4

Jesus was a jew, and at that time Jesus had to live by Jewish laws. Eunuchs were people set aside to serve God without the obstacles of Marriage, Sexuality and Fertility.

Answer 5

If you read before it (NIV Translation):

3Some Pharisees came to him to test him. They asked, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?"

4"Haven't you read," he replied, "that at the beginning the Creator 'made them male and female,'[a] 5and said, 'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh'[b]? 6So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate."

7"Why then," they asked, "did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?"

8Jesus replied, "Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning. 9I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, and marries another woman commits adultery."

10The disciples said to him, "If this is the situation between a husband and wife, it is better not to marry."

11Jesus replied, "Not everyone can accept this word, but only those to whom it has been given. 12For some are eunuchs because they were born that way; others were made that way by men; and others have renounced marriage[c]because of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it."

When he talks about the eunuchs, he means that since they cannot reproduce, this word is not for them. since Eunuchs are castrated by men as punishment, or castrate themselves because of their beliefs. He is simply saying that since eunuchs do not marry, they cannot be divorced. If you can accept that, accept it.

Answer 6

I am an atheist and I don't intend to answer it. If, however, there was a Jesus I would have some news for him.

Answer 7

Forget it dude, they will ignore what they don’t like and continue to peddle their dogshit.