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RE: Asexuality ( Is there such a thing?) - 10/12/2009 6:49:40 AM
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GrahamCracker
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Eunuchs are spoken of in the Bible. Jesus mentions them. There were men who were castrated just like steers and other animals. Some people believe Daniel was castrated. Do a word search in the gospels for eunuchs. There is also a eunuch mentioned as meeting Philip in the book of Acts.
Insofar as people with all of their sexual organs intact: I have never met any but it would not surprise me if there are such people. It would be unnatural because God created people with the ability and desire to experience sex and to reproduce. Likely, such people would have some physical problem like low hormone levels or psychological trauma.
< Message edited by GrahamCracker -- 10/12/2009 6:58:11 AM >
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RE: Asexuality ( Is there such a thing?) - 10/12/2009 3:02:16 PM
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doinkdom
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quote:
ORIGINAL: Luxurious_Ivy
I am curious as to what Christians think about this. Sorry if I didn't make myself really clear  Do you guys think there is such a thing as asexuality in humans?
I believe that a few people have the gift of celibacy. And as GrahamCracker mentioned, there are Eunichs.
As for the rest...I'd have a difficult time believing it.
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RE: Asexuality ( Is there such a thing?) - 10/12/2009 3:48:10 PM
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drmark
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quote:
I believe that a few people have the gift of celibacy. The "gift" of celibacy? Do you have Scripture which defines celibacy as a gift? Celibacy is the state of remaining unmarried and originates from the Latin "cælibatus" meaning "unmarried". Abstaining from sexual relations is a more recent additional definition, but even that may have nothing to do with one's "sex drive" as described in the OP.
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RE: Asexuality ( Is there such a thing?) - 10/12/2009 4:04:40 PM
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dnp200450
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quote:
I am curious as to what Christians think about this. Sorry if I didn't make myself really clear Do you guys think there is such a thing as asexuality in humans?
Yes, it most definitely exists in human beings. It can be due to many reason. Here are a few, some of which were mentioned already:
A) Hormones levels-Low and/or imbalanced
B) Neurological Conditions
C) Medication (antidepressants, anti-cancer drugs, etc.)
D) Psychological trauma
E) Sexual Aversion
(E) Sexual Aversion maybe the hardest to understand. It is very similar to how an anorexic/bulimic sees food. The body has a natural desire for food but an anorexic can look at the food as being disgusting and effectively override the urge to eat. If fact they no longer like food and have to be retrained to eat properly again.
Likewise a person can be brought up to view human sexuality in a very negative light. They may view sexual attractions, desire and thoughts as being temptations, lust and sin. Especially if they are single. Feelings that cause shame and guilt can generate very strong negative association that can ultimately turn in to aversion. The person can stay sexually averted for a lifetime. Anorexia and/or bulimia can kill a person. While sexual aversion may have little or no side effects. A person can easily live a lifetime without sex contact. They can't last long without food or water.
< Message edited by dnp200450 -- 10/12/2009 4:48:16 PM >
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RE: Asexuality ( Is there such a thing?) - 10/12/2009 4:41:35 PM
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GrahamCracker
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quote:
ORIGINAL: drmark
quote:
I believe that a few people have the gift of celibacy. The "gift" of celibacy? Do you have Scripture which defines celibacy as a gift? Celibacy is the state of remaining unmarried and originates from the Latin "cælibatus" meaning "unmarried". Abstaining from sexual relations is a more recent additional definition, but even that may have nothing to do with one's "sex drive" as described in the OP.
I believe doinkdom is referring to Matthew 19:10-12 (NASB).
The disciples said to Him, "If the relationship of the man with his wife is like this, it is better not to marry."
But He said to them, "Not all men can accept this statement, but only those to whom it has been given.
"For there are eunuchs who were born that way from their mother's womb; and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men; and there are also eunuchs who made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. He who is able to accept this, let him accept it."
One interpretive option is to take this so-called "gift" as referring to those who can resist natural impulses. It is not impossible but very difficult. But I would think that Jesus is referring to those who are both willing and able to resist natural sexual drives. I don't think it refers to any who are demanded, but we aren't told that either. IOW, I don't know of any scripture which makes such a demand to anyone to remain unmarried, except of course probably physical eunuchs. I suppose it is possible that Jesus is referring to some who voluntarily submit to castration or who castrate themselves. I do not know about the custom of the times. I mention it only because Jesus' words are unclear as to how men make themselves eunuchs.
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RE: Asexuality ( Is there such a thing?) - 10/12/2009 5:11:33 PM
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navyblueret
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An Eunuch, from Birth (Matt 19:12), may well be of the Asexual ilk, which indicates that the person would never seek sex, nor sire children. If this be the case, then there are people of this mentality. Just a thought.
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RE: Asexuality ( Is there such a thing?) - 10/12/2009 5:17:10 PM
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doinkdom
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Eunichs mentioned in scripture would be the exception to my previous post since some of them were "born" that way.
Eunichs were not a huge population and when you look among that group, you pull out the few who were "born" that way, it just doesn't seem to be enough to even show up statistically.
Interesting...
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Thanksgiving dinners take eighteen hours to prepare.
They are consumed in twelve minutes.
Half-times take twelve minutes.
This is not coincidence.
~Erma Bombeck
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RE: Asexuality ( Is there such a thing?) - 10/12/2009 5:22:45 PM
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GrahamCracker
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quote:
ORIGINAL doinkdom
whoops...forgot to dot that "i" and cross that "t."
Yes, I was referring to those verses GrahamCracker mentioned.
And from what I can tell thus far...asexuality seems to be more in the realm of behavior modification than being "born" that way.
quote:
ORIGINAL navyblueret
An Eunuch, from Birth (Matt 19:12), may well be of the Asexual ilk, which indicates that the person would never seek sex, nor sire children. If this be the case, then there are people of this mentality. Just a thought.
In Messiah. Arley
It seems to me, whether they voluntarily rejected their natural sexual impulses, or were subjected to behavior modification, or were castrated; those would fall into categories of people who made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of God or were made eunuchs by men, just as Jesus spoke.
It seems to me also, they are allowed to do so either voluntarily or not. But they apparently existed in some form and still do, I guess.
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RE: Asexuality ( Is there such a thing?) - 10/12/2009 5:23:09 PM
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rlj
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Would a hermaphrodite fit this description?
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RE: Asexuality ( Is there such a thing?) - 10/12/2009 5:24:49 PM
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GrahamCracker
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quote:
ORIGINAL: rlj
Would a hermaphrodite fit this description?
Probably. Hermaphrodites, to my knowledge are normally sterile. I don't have a clue regarding their natural sexual impulses.
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RE: Asexuality ( Is there such a thing?) - 10/12/2009 7:36:50 PM
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drmark
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quote:
I believe doinkdom is referring to Matthew 19:10-12 (NASB). Thank you for that clarification. As I read the passage, I see it is the calling to celibacy that is the gift, not celibacy itself.
quote:
Would a hermaphrodite fit this description? What little research I have seen on true hermaphrodites suggests they have essentially normal heterosexual drives consistent with their anatomic features and social upbringing.
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RE: Asexuality ( Is there such a thing?) - 10/13/2009 12:44:58 AM
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Luxurious_Ivy
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Thanks for the insights guys!! There's this person on another forum who I've been chatting with. First of all I don't think she really is an asexual person because she claims that she fell in love with someone before. The she got jealous when the person she liked got a girlfriend. For her, being sexually attracted to someone is different from falling in love with them. So I believe that this "asexual" person just falls in love with the personality/attitude and disregards physical features. I'm gonna need some opinions on this 
But I also believe that there are people who just brand themselves as "asexual" either because they've given up on love or wanna try to be different.
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RE: Asexuality ( Is there such a thing?) - 10/13/2009 5:44:18 PM
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dnp200450
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quote:
ORIGINAL: Luxurious_Ivy
Thanks for the insights guys!! There's this person on another forum who I've been chatting with. First of all I don't think she really is an asexual person because she claims that she fell in love with someone before. The she got jealous when the person she liked got a girlfriend. For her, being sexually attracted to someone is different from falling in love with them. So I believe that this "asexual" person just falls in love with the personality/attitude and disregards physical features. I'm gonna need some opinions on this
But I also believe that there are people who just brand themselves as "asexual" either because they've given up on love or wanna try to be different.
There are people that fall for someone without a sexual component. I knew a woman like that a few years ago. She would fall for a man or woman but was completely non-physical. So I guess she was not really bi-sexual in the strictest sense. She would become very jealous as well. A person can fall for an personality/attitude without sexual attraction. The problem is the person they are attracted too might not feel the same way. Especially in the long run!
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RE: Asexuality ( Is there such a thing?) - 10/16/2009 12:57:59 PM
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DaveW
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quote:
ORIGINAL: GrahamCrackerquote:
ORIGINAL: rlj
Would a hermaphrodite fit this description? Probably. Hermaphrodites, to my knowledge are normally sterile. I don't have a clue regarding their natural sexual impulses. No, not all hermaphrodites are sterile. Many (especially the chirmera ones) have both a functioning teste and an ovary meaning they could impregnate themselves. (I do not know if that has ever been recorded as actually happening)
And yes, they have normal sexual impulses as long as their testosterone levels are in the proper range.
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RE: Asexuality ( Is there such a thing?) - 10/16/2009 4:49:10 PM
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GrahamCracker
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quote:
ORIGINAL: DaveW
quote:
ORIGINAL: GrahamCrackerquote:
ORIGINAL: rlj
Would a hermaphrodite fit this description? Probably. Hermaphrodites, to my knowledge are normally sterile. I don't have a clue regarding their natural sexual impulses. No, not all hermaphrodites are sterile. Many (especially the chirmera ones) have both a functioning teste and an ovary meaning they could impregnate themselves. (I do not know if that has ever been recorded as actually happening)
And yes, they have normal sexual impulses as long as their testosterone levels are in the proper range.
Dave,
I could accept fertility of hermaphrodites of either gender but to my knowledge not fertile sexual organs of both. As I said, in my reading it was complicated because some sexual organs are so deformed that they are barely perceptible except to a physician. If you say they can be theoretically (or for all intents and purposes) fertile, I accept that. The matter was not perfectly clear in my reading.
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RE: Asexuality ( Is there such a thing?) - 10/18/2009 11:06:56 AM
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DaveW
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It depends on WHY and how the person ended up intersexed.
In the case of a chimeraype hermaphrodite, embrios of a set of twins, male and female, fused into one body. They have 2 different sets of DNA, that of siblings. In these cases it frequently the case that there is one functioning teste from the male part and a functioning ovary from the female part.
But again, this is only one of several types of hermaphrodism.
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RE: Asexuality ( Is there such a thing?) - 10/24/2009 9:09:43 PM
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Reform_Dave
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There are people who are indeed asexual, without attraction to men or women. One famous one that comes to mind would be Michael Jackson (yeah, i know he's dead). I do not believe he was a pedophile, he was weird for sure, but i think he was emotionally stalled in some kind of childhood state and he wanted to be around "other" kids.
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