(Reflecting on a post by John Pavlovitz reposted below)
It’s amazing how people can be so obsessed over culture war issues that the gospels never even mention … except of course Jesus’ reminder that there are people who are born queer:
“For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth.”
Matthew 19:12a
(A couple of people questioned my scholarship and one said “eunuch” refers to either someone who is castrated or who is “unmarried or impotent.” My responses are below.)
A eunuch in Jesus’ time could refer to a man who had been castrated to serve in positions of trust (such as a harem attendant or royal official) but also could refer to a man who lacked sexual desire for women or had ambiguous sexual characteristics. This is supported by the text itself, otherwise Jesus saying some are “Eunuchs from birth” makes no sense especially when you read the rest of the text around it.
Yes, I am using the word queer properly. Most of your scholarship is accurate, except the idea that the word eunuch here refers to either castrated or “unmarried or impotent” men. This fails to consider that they were guards of the royal harem, so that is whitewashed linguistics. They would have to be completely disinterested in women, otherwise they could not be trusted with this task. “Unmarried” men is who they were protecting the harem from! Assuming they are “unmarried or impotent” doesn’t cut it because Jesus is saying some people are born that way. All people are born unmarried, not some, and impotence develops and is not a term used for a condition from birth. The only explanation, then, of what Jesus is saying (since you can’t be born castrated) is that some men are disinterested in women from birth. Hence, queer in some way. I stand by my scholarship.
The original article from John Pavlovitz is below:
https://johnpavlovitz.substack.com/p/dear-phobic-christians-love-lgbtq