“For there are some eunuchs who were that way from birth, and some who were made eunuchs by others, and some who became eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. The one who is able to accept this should accept it.” Matthew 19.12
I’ve always assumed that “made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven” was metaphorical rather than literal language and that Origen was sadly misguided in his understanding of that text. But just because we don’t want something to be literal doesn’t mean we should just assume it isn’t. Throughout history there have always been some Christians who understood this text as a literal command to physically castrate themselves — is there a possibility that they’ve been right? (more…)