Marriage, Celibacy, And The Hierarchy Of Merit In The Jovinian Controversy -- By: C. Michael Wren

Journal: Journal of Discipleship and Family Ministry
Volume: JDFM 03:1 (Fall 2012)
Article: Marriage, Celibacy, And The Hierarchy Of Merit In The Jovinian Controversy
Author: C. Michael Wren


Marriage, Celibacy, And The Hierarchy Of Merit In The Jovinian Controversy

C. Michael Wren

C. Michael Wren, Jr., (Ph.D., The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) is senior pastor of New Life Baptist Church in Greencastle, Indiana. He has taught church history at the North Georgia campus of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and Christian studies at Truett-McConnell College. He is the author of articles in the field of church history for Tennessee Baptist History as well as a chapter in Trained in the Fear of God (edited by Randy Stinson and Timothy Paul Jones). Michael lives in Greencastle with his wife, Angela, and his children, William and Anna. He enjoys hiking, drinking Coca-Cola, and watching University of Georgia athletics.

Discussions in the early church regarding the doctrine of the Trinity, the relationship of the deity and humanity of Christ, the doctrine of predestination, and the consequences of Adam’s sin are widely-known and well documented. The church fathers did not, however, neglect the institution of marriage or ignore its place in the life of the church. Marriage and sexuality had been a subject of importance for secular philosophers, Jewish rabbis, and Jewish ascetic groups like the Essenes for centuries. Though some maintained the importance of marriage, others taught the need to abstain from sex in order to pursue more spiritual or philosophical endeavors. In the second century, heretical groups such as the Gnostics, Marcionites, and Encratites emerged, denying the goodness of human sexuality and demanding celibacy from believers. In response, second century apologists defended the goodness of marriage. However, several factors helped popularize sexual renunciation as a path toward greater spirituality. Extra-canonical writings such as The Acts of Paul and Thecla and The Acts of Thomas gained a wide readership and glorified celibacy. The third century Alexandrian theologian Origen taught that asceticism was essential to the process of sanctification for believers, and he greatly influenced many of the early hermits who retreated into the deserts of Egypt. Athanasius’ Life of Antony helped promote their sacrifices and struggles to Christians in the East and West throughout the third and fourth centuries.1

Despite the growing popularity of the ascetic movement, however, not everyone believed that sanctification needed to involve sexual renunciation. Although by the end of the fourth century celibacy was viewed by many as a superior path to favor with God, not everyone agreed. One Roman churchman, a monk named Jovinian, challenged this emerging consensus and articulated the belief that marriage and celibacy were equal in God’s sight. He critiqued not ...

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