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Ask Pr. Sophie
Abstract: Pr. Sophie sorts out chastity, abstinence, and celibacy.
Pr. Sophie Fortresson, our resident expert on all matters of theology, Lutheran etiquette, and social protocol, answers questions submitted by our readers and occasionally simply volunteers advice when no question has been asked. Send your questions to pr_sophie@lutheranconfessions.com.
Dear Pr. Sophie,
I just re-read Vision and Expectations (V&E), and I'm confused. Can you tell me what the difference is between "celibacy" and "abstinence"and "chastity"?
Confused and Curious,
Norman, OK
Dear Confused and Curious,
That's a very discerning question that just screams for a didactic reply. Pr. Sophie will try to keep her inner didact under control, and she wonders if perhaps sometime in the past you attended a Roman Catholic school.
Celibacy is the state of being unmarried. Abstinence is forbearance from indulging some appetite or craving. Sexual abstinence is refraining from sexual behavior, particularly sexual intercourse. Chastity can be a synonym for sexual abstinence, but often simply means "morally pure."
Pr. Sophie thinks you must be concerned about the following statement in Vision and Expectations:
Single ordained ministers are expected to live a chaste life. Married ordained ministers are expected to live in fidelity to their spouses, giving expression to sexual intimacy within a marriage relationship that is mutual, chaste, and faithful. Ordained ministers who are homosexual in their self-understanding are expected to abstain from homosexual sexual relationships.
The problematic word here is chastity: the chaste life of married clergy includes "expressions of sexual intimacy," but nothng is said about whether unmarried clergy (who are also expected to be chaste) must be abstinent, and for homosexual clergy the abstinence requirement is simply asserted with no mention of chastity at all, as though the authors of V&E weren't quite confident that homosexual people were capable of chastity even in abstinence.
This is a mess, and it just goes to show what kinds of things can happen when you make policy without the benefit of a social statement.
However, Pr. Sophie thinks that V&E really has less to do with chastity than it has to do with power and control. Unless the eventual Sexuality Social Statement devotes more attention than anyone expects to Tops and Bottoms, it's unlikely to address the real issue.
