Wisdom from Luther on Marriage and Celibacy

Pastor Stuckwisch posted a very helpful quotation from Martin Luther on celibacy and marriage, and it may be of some encouragement to students.

 You may find it here in full length, or read the first few paragraphs below:

Dear boy, do not be at all ashamed that you desire a girl, or that a girl longs for a boy, but see to it that it leads to marriage, and not to fornication. Then there is nothing disgraceful about it — as little as eating and drinking is a disgrace. Celibacy is supposed to be a virtue, but it is a veritable miracle of God, just as if a person did not eat or drink. It is beyond the capacity of a healthy body, not to mention the incapability of sinful and depraved human nature.
There are not many virgins to whom God granted a long life; rather hurriedly He whisked them out of this world, like Cecilia, Agnes, Lucia, Agatha, and others like them.
I know full well how noble that treasure is, but also how difficult it is to preserve for any length of time. If in every town, there were five boys and five girls, all twenty years of age, completely pure, with no experience of natural discharge, then I would be right in saying that the state of Christianity was better than in the days of the Apostles and martyrs.

Source: Luther's Works (American Edition) v52, p273.

From the 'You get out of it what you put into it' files...

Thanks to Adriane Dorr for this quotation...

Why are you in college?  The rationale behind the quotation targets the underlying desire society has for the bachelor's degree, and puts in perspective two radically different ways of thinking about the things we believe we should have.

The rationale behind sharing this with you is not to make you wonder whether you belong in college or whether you should have your piece of the American dream via home-ownership, but rather to have you consider your own way of thinking about college, especially if you are a student right now or considering becoming one soon.

Before you go to college, know and be comfortable with your reasons for being there.  For the driven student who excels in self-discipline and determination, college is a great place to acquire the knowledge, experience, and connections that can leapfrog you into your future career.  For the lackadaisical student, however, it may not be for you right now.  There is no shame in seeking employment and saving for the future straight out of high school; there is no shame in taking responsibility for yourself and looking after your own obligations.  Such experience may well be the best incentive there is to go to college, apply yourself, and get a better job when you're done!

Have you ever been tempted...

Not a lot of traffic on the old blog this year...it's been a busy semester, but nothing like a time of stopping and starting again to get back on the wagon!

I'd like to begin by drawing your attention to a posting very relevant to the material I typically cover here.  This one has to do with academic honesty, and the simple advice I would echo is this: be honest!

People can cheat their way throughout so much of life - not just school - but in the end we all know the empty feeling that accompanies success at the expense of integrity.  Do your best, and do what is right!

Read more.