Asexuality

Asexuality is the sexual orientation of those who do not feel sexual attraction to people of either gender. It is distinct from antisexualism, opposition to sexual behavior and sexuality. Some people, whether due to age or other biological causes, experience such low libido that they could be considered, for all practical purposes, asexual. On the other hand, it is possible to have libido without attraction, which accounts for why some asexual people engage in sexual self-stimulation.

Implications of low-libido asexuality for Christians

For those who have already decided to be celibate, a low sex drive could be rather convenient. Sexual appetites serve no Godly purpose in those who are unmarried and have no intent to become married, except as an exercise in building faith by asking God to take away those desires and having the petition be granted. Sexual desires can also pose problems for those who are married but whose spouses request or require temporary or permanent sexual abstinence, whether due to menstruation, disability, long-term military deployment, giving oneself to a period of fasting and prayer, or other circumstances.

In Matthew 19, Jesus responds to his disciples' statement that "it is not good to marry" by saying, "All men cannot receive this saying, save they to whom it is given. For there are some eunuchs, which were so born from their mother's womb: and there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men: and there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it." Paul also states in 1 Corinthians 7 that "I would that all men were even as I myself", "I say therefore to the unmarried and widows, it is good for them if they abide even as I" and that the unmarried are better able to focus on pleasing the Lord without being distracted by those things of the world that are necessary to please one's spouse.

Those with little desire for sex may be in a good position to serve the Lord because they are able to remain single without falling into sinful thoughts that result from sexual frustration. However, those who do find that they must marry in order to avoid burning with lustful thoughts or succumbing to temptation to fornicate do not commit any sin by marrying; Paul notes, "every man hath his proper gift of God, one after this manner, and another after that."

Some youthful asexual Christians may be dismayed by others' suspicion of their lack of romantic interest in the opposite sex as implying that they are closeted homosexuals. This type of willfully hateful slander is ironic indeed coming, as it often does, from leftists who claim to be tolerant of homosexuality and yet use accusations of it as a form of derision and disparagement against those unmarried persons who choose to remain chaste. This type of inconsistency is typical of hypocritical ideologies that are willing to discard principles of logic whenever they are inconvenient. To avoid the cognitive dissonance that would result from making an explicitly disparaging comment, these unbelievers will typically mask their ridicule in plausible deniability by relying on snide innuendo.

Asexual Christians would do well to disregard such ignorant behavior and remember the admonition of Paul to the young pastor Timothy to "be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work. Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart." The ability to serve the Lord unimpeded by sexual desires can be regarded as a gift rather than a burden. It is not for man to question why he lacks as strong a sexual desire as other men; as Romans 9:20 asks, "Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?"

Asexual movement

The asexual movement is mostly organized by the Asexual Visibility & Education Network, which is allied with the homosexual and gender-confused (LGBT) community. Their viewpoint is that the same logic by which non-heterosexuality should be accepted also demands that asexuality be accepted. This ignores the fact that the Bible condemns homosexual (gay and lesbian) sexual desires but does not condemn asexuality (so long as it is not a form that substitutes sexual self-stimulation for sexual relations between man and wife).

Although asexual Christians exist, there is no need for them to organize and agitate for their rights. Bible-believing Christians and society in general already accept as a legitimate option a celibate lifestyle that is abstinent from sexual self-stimulation, because it does not offend public morality and it causes no social problems, unlike fornication and "those things which are not convenient", viz., sexual acts that are against nature.

See also

• Asexual