Jesus in his teaching on marriage identifies a group of men who will never marry, known as eunuchs. The Bible mentions eunuchs being made such by others this practice is not endorsed as Christian, or Jewish Deuteronomy 23: 1. It was considered an affront to God to destroy his creation. It was first used in Assyria 2,000 BC as a form of punishment for adultery, when the accused male was castrated and the offending wife’s face was mutilated. In early Mesopotamia Eunuchs were used in the women’s quarters as servants. Cyrus king of Persia created many eunuchs to serve in the kingdom as he believed that were more docile and loyal. In Isaiah 39: 7 Hezekiah is warned some of his sons will become keepers of the women under Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon (cp 2 Kings 20: 18.Eunuchs were employed in the women’s courts in Persia during the time of Queen Esther. Josephus (Ant xv.8.4; xvi. 8.1) reports King Herod employed Eunuch’s
.
1. Those who were born eunuchs from birth had no desire to marry a wife.
2. Those who are made eunuchs as they were to serve in foreign Queen’s courts.
3. Those who have chosen not to marry to serve God in a greater cause.

In NT times the Essene community took vows not to contaminate themselves by having sexual intercourse with women or men. The women in the community were virgins and if they desired children were artificially inseminated

Kipp

'Jospehus and Runner clinical studies have shown, that those who have extreme negative attitude to homosexuality, have personal issues in respect of their own sexuality.'

Really Kipp do those repulsed by paedophille and bestiality also have issues with their own sexuality or is just another one of your dogmas to be pulled out in an effort to demonise those who don't agree with you.

Runner exactly!
There is a role for single men who prefer not to marry. I have as my closest friend such a man. He before becoming a Christian had homosexual life. He loves the company of men but refrains from any form sexuality. I am a 72 yr old married man with children. He is 67 and loves children, as he has adopted a young family and given them a home.

Isa 56:1 The Covenant Extended to All Who Obey

Thus says the LORD:
Maintain justice, and do what is right, for soon my salvation will come and my deliverance be revealed.

Isa 56:2 Happy is the mortal who does this, the one who holds it fast, who keeps the Sabbath, not profaning it, and refrains from doing any evil.

Isa 56:3 Do not let the foreigner joined to the LORD say, "The LORD will surely separate me from his people"; and do not let the eunuch say, "I am just a dry tree."
Isa 56:4 For thus says the LORD: To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who choose the things that please me and hold fast my covenant,
Isa 56:5 I will give, in my house and within my walls, a monument and a name
better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off.

Isa 56:6 And the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD, to minister to him, to love the name of the LORD, and to be his servants, all who keep the Sabbath, and do not profane it, and hold fast my covenan

Dear Josephus,

You have highlighted one of the key issues in this whole debate - the passages in Genesis 1 and 2. These have been taken to validate one-man-one-woman marriage by many in the Church in recent decades. But it is just not there, is it?

This can be shown in a couple of ways. For a start, those texts are descriptive of what happened. Not setting out commandments for all time.

Yes, society started out with one man and one woman. But we cannot deduce from this description that variations on this – polygamy, same-sex unions or singleness – were ever against God’s will.

Yes, they were naked and unashamed. But we cannot deduce from this description that variations on this – wearing clothes for warmth or modesty – was ever against God’s will either.

Same with all the other descriptive clauses in these verses. That’s all they are – descriptors. Not the basis for exclusions and condemnations.

We cannot assert that God insists on one-man-one-woman unions from these passages any more than we can insist that God wants all Christians to be nudists, can we?

It seems to have happened subtly and gradually. Ministers quoted this poetic passage at weddings to indicate God approved marriage. Fair enough. Poetry at weddings is fine. Then gradually the passage seems to have acquired commandment status. But it is just not there in the text, is it?

Recognition of this error by many in the churches and synagogues today is one important component of the rediscovery that Scripture actually does approve polygamy, same-sex unions and singleness.

The other compelling evidence that this passage does not teach one-man-one-woman marriage is in what we know of the understanding the author(s) of Genesis had of sexual unions from later passages.

All the evidence is that Moses (or whoever assembled the Pentateuch) never believed for one moment in one-man-one-woman for life. And he (or they) would be most amused at anyone claiming that they did.

Will come back to that shortly.

Cheers, AA

Hi again Josephus,

Whoever wrote the first five books of the Bible simply could not have contemplated for one moment that marriage was intended to be only one-man-one-woman.

He (or they) recorded Lamech taking two wives without blinking. (Genesis 4:19)

The relationship between Abram, Sarai and Hagar is perfectly acceptable to God (Genesis 16:1-4). Abraham had concubines along with his second wife Keturah (Genesis 25:6).

In the next chapter God tells Isaac “Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.” With all those concubines? Apparently so.

Esau took two wives Judith and Bashemath (Genesis 26:34). And a bit later Esau married Mahalath, ”in addition to the wives he already had”.

In the story of Jacob marrying Leah and Rachel there is no hint anywhere that more than one wife was irregular (Genesis 29). Then Jacob sleeps with Rachel’s servant girl Bilhah “as a wife”. He sleeps also with Leah’s servant girl Zilpah.

“Leah's servant Zilpah bore Jacob a second son. Then Leah said, How happy I am! The women will call me happy. So she named him Asher.”

The whole kinky story is written with God’s complete approval:

“Then Leah said, God has rewarded me for giving my maidservant to my husband. So she named him Issachar.” (Genesis 30: 18)

When Leviticus prohibits threesomes with a woman and her daughter it does not prohibit all threesomes. (Leviticus 18:17)

Subsequent wives – or ‘rival wives’ – must not include your wife's sister while your wife is living (Leviticus 18:18).

The king must not acquire great numbers of horses nor take “many wives”, or his heart will be led astray (Deuteronomy 17:17).

Clearly, a modest number of horses and wives is approved.

Principles of fairness must apply when a man takes subsequent wives (Exodus 21:10) and inheritance rules apply when there are children from two wives (Deuteronomy 21:15).

These just would not be there if multiple partners were forbidden, would they?

So to claim the Adam and Eve story in Genesis 2 teaches monogamy is not just wrong. It is plainly ridiculous.

Cheers, AA

>>If you claim to be either then you believe the teachings of the Hebrew or Christian scripture or otherwise you cannot claim to be taking a position for either.<<

Alright then: how many of those Biblical quotes do you agree with?

Ones that promote immorality:

Psalm 137:9
(KJV)
9 Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones.

Matthew 10:34-36
(KJV)
34 Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.
35 For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.
36 And a man's foes shall be they of his own household.

Ephesians 6:5
(NIV)
5 Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ.

Luke 14:26
(NIV)
26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple.

Colossians 3:22
(NIV)
22 Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to curry their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord.

1 Peter 2:18
(NLT)
18 You who are slaves must accept the authority of your masters with all respect. Do what they tell you—not only if they are kind and reasonable, but even if they are cruel.

Ones that promote outdated views of marriage:

Luke 16:18
(NIV)
18 “Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery, and the man who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

Ephesians 5:22-24
(KJV)
22 Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.
23 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.

TBC