Christianity, Celibacy and "The Ring Thing"

Saving Grace (must register to read)

About time someone said sense about celibacy. And not "How Hard It Is Not To F%ck In Today's Society."

Thing is, I remember when I was a practicing Fundamentalist Christian. I was celibate. Not necessarily by choice, but I wasn't exactly hurting, either. I desired sex and connection, but I can't say that my life was missing things because I didn't get naked and swap body fluids with the girls around me. In short, I was celibate, and probably blessed by it.

Probably the one thing missing from this is the idea (pointed out by the story) that maybe Celibacy is a blessing. A blessing in that you're allowed to live a leaner life, unencumbered by spousal and parental duties, with more of your attention able to be turned to God. No distractions, no worry about whether you're about to raise children that would have been better destroyed in the womb (God Forbid(tm)!), less of a need to focus on money and things, more an ability to focus on the important things in life.

It's actually one thing I miss from those days. What with all the other stuff I pay attention to nowadays, I look towards the older days when I readily rode my bike across town to do church activities. And we're talking about across Flint, Michigan. Across the northern part, the poor black part, by the olde Buick Factory and across neighborhoods that probably don't exist (certainly a large part of the neighborhood just north of downtown doesn't exist anymore except as fields viewable from Saginaw Street).

And "The Ring Thing?" It can't work. That ring is a reminder that you're not supposed to F%CK. And guess what: enough reminders that you're not supposed to F%CK will lead to F%CKING, with lots of pre-F%cking activities beforehand. Remove the ring and instead meet once or twice a week with like-minded people and you'll find your celibacy more than a vow made in the heat of the moment (with all the arousal THAT implies).