Continence. 1. self-restraint; moderation 2. self-restraint in sexual activity; especially total abstinence
In the pre-Christian Roman Empire, an important ideal for men in upper-class Roman society was sexual continence. It was not an ideal of total abstinence, but very much one of moderation.
The buildup of passionate, sexual energy and power naturally demanded release, and release temporarily diminished and depleted this reservoir of masculine power.
Moderation in releasing it was necessary, not because of any disparagement of sexual activity as such but because of the danger of excessively weakening oneself by indulging in it too frequently.
In Jewish culture, at the same time, there also was no disparagement of sexual activity as such, but, like many normal and even necessary human functions and activities, it could make a man temporarily ritually impure.
Temporary sexual abstinence was required for the performing of many religious rites and was also seen as an ideal for strengthen those engaged in fighting for good causes.
In the pre-Christian period, some small communities of Jews of strict observance seem to have idealized total abstinence. However, again, not because of any disparagement of sexual activity as such, but because of the need of no distraction or weakening in one’s whole-hearted commitment to serving God.
The Gospels have little to say about sexual continence except for Jesus’ comment about “. . . eunuchs who made themselves so for the sake of the kingdom of Heaven. Let anyone accept this who can.”
This is not about sexual activity as such but about abstaining from marriage and family as distractions from one’s whole-hearted commitment to the kingdom of Heaven.
Paul, the educated rabbi and Roman citizen, had a lot to say about these matters, probably influenced by cultural traditions and reflecting his own life experience.
For him, continence is more than moderating a man’s energies and power or preparing him for an immediate ritual activity or for fighting for a religious cause.
The tension between some human drives and activities is not only a matter of strengthening vs. weakening or ritual purity vs. impurity. In Paul’s moral judgement, it also is a matter of higher or lower, good or bad, and righteous or sinful.
With the passage of time, the expansion of Christianity, and the influence of a variety of changing cultures, many Christian attitudes about sexual continence became more than either a practical, religious, or moral ideal.
Gradually permanent total abstinence became a regulation, demand, or canonical legal obligation for certain classes of Christians: monks, nuns, religious brothers, religious sisters, and bishops—and, in the Western (Latin) church, priests.
The Reformation led to a rejection of this demand for permanent total abstinence for clergy. Currently, gradually changing the Latin discipline is being cautiously explored.
It is very much influenced by the attitudes, values, and practices of contemporary post-Freudian societies. Besides a disciplinary change, it also involves a reassessment of the philosophies, theologies, and cultural practices that shaped the life of the Church.
We need some classic Roman moderation, not because of any disparagement of change as such but because too much too soon may excessively weaken the Church.
20 October 2019