173 books
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125 voters
Celibacy
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People often ask if it is difficult to be a celibate monk or nun, but to practice mindfulness as a monastic is in many ways easier than to practice as a layperson. To refrain from sexual activity altogether is much easier than to have a healthy sexual relationship.
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― Fidelity: How to Create a Loving Relationship That Lasts
― Fidelity: How to Create a Loving Relationship That Lasts
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Christians like Justin Martyr, one of the fathers of the church, shared such aspirations for self-mastery. Justin wholeheartedly admired Christians who practiced renunciation and celibacy; he even singled out for special praise a young convert in Alexandria who had petitioned Felix, the governor,asking that permission might be given to a surgeon to castrate him. For the surgeons had said they were forbidden to do this without the governor’s permission. And when Felix absolutely refused to sign s
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― The Origin of Satan: How Christians Demonized Jews, Pagans and Heretics
― The Origin of Satan: How Christians Demonized Jews, Pagans and Heretics
