Note: Before reading the following arguments, please understand that they are not what I believe. On Wednesdays, I deliberately argue for wrong ideas, challenging my listeners to call and defend the obvious right answer, which is usually far harder than one would expect. This is a summary of what Wacky Andrew will be arguing, not a representation of what real Andrew believes.
--Renounce marriage for the kingdom of heaven is an endorsement of the value of marriage.
--Forbidding marriage is one thing, freely taking a vow of chastity is another.
--Celibacy is often defined in terms of what it gives up instead of what it embraces.
--Earthly marriages are not eternal. (Luke 20:35)
--Going straight to marriage to Christ is skipping the temporal sign and embracing the eternal directly.
--Better to marry than to burn, but better to not burn at all.
--Jeremiah was told not to marry. (Jer 16:1-2)
--The strain that being married puts on the family is tremendous. Why do you think that “pastor’s kids” have such a reputation. It’s precisely because true pastors cannot effectively do all the things required of a leader of God’s people and of a leader of a Godly family.
--Which ministry is more needed: married to counsel marrieds or celibate to counsel non-marrieds?
--Jesus was never married.
--John the Baptist was never married.
--Singleness simplifies life to sharpen its focus. Families and wives are a distraction.
--Makes sure you only get serious applicants to the pastorate.
--Celibacy combined with a vow of poverty makes ministers cheaper to afford, which helps the economics of the church (how much of the tithe goes to salary!) and also again makes sure that only the most serious go into the pastorate.
--What better way to remind everyone that as good a thing as marriage is, it’s not the ultimate thing but only a pointer toward that ultimate thing?
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