Can a Man’s Out of Control Sexuality Be Controlled by Castration? Or Does He Need the Cross?

This week in Mass District Court, the defense attorney for a convicted child molester asked the judge if his client could undergo castration in the hope of reducing the sentence from one hundred years to fifteen. According to the defense attorney, “He would lose his desire and sexual function, which would have some mitigating effect.”

“Some mitigating effect” and the reality that the man will continue to have hands as well as power may not be enough for the judge, let alone the thirteen families whose lives have been devastated by this man. As the news flashed across the TV screen, Jesus’ words about cutting off our hands if they cause us to sin came to mind, quickly followed by the question, How radical do we need to be to avoid sin?

I tend to be a literalist when it comes to Scripture, but I don’t actually think Jesus was advocating amputation. If He had been, I imagine there would be evidence of primitive–and gruesome–surgery done to the many sinners whom Christ loved and ministered to. I do think Jesus used such graphic and startling imagery to get his point across that sin is consequential and we should soberly consider what measures we need to take in order to stop ourselves from sinning.

If you have ever struggled with habitual sin, you well know that the desire to stop sinning and the ability to actually stop are two very different things. Short of mutilating ourselves, how exactly can we change?

In Reverend Billy Graham’s final televised message, he emphasized, “The cross confronts us but it’s a confrontation that’s well worth it.” These encounters–for it’s not just a one time affair–are meant to be violent collisions which re-arrange our internal landscape and impact our behavior.

Based on the through line of the Bible, God actually expects profound, radical change from us once we decide to follow Him. Hebrews 10:0 reads, “Be holy as I am holy.” Sacred and consecrated are both synonyms for holy. Holy doesn’t happen to us. We become holy during the course of our lives as we intentionally confess our sins to one another, partner with God and whole enough others to understand what motivates our unholy alliances and choices, do the hard work of turning from sin and addictions, and integrate our spirituality into every component of our lives. This is impossible without the same resurrection power which raised Christ from the grave.

Though holy transformation conforms us into the image of Christ, it looks different for each of us. The narcissist stops talking incessantly about himself and begins to listen. The fearful one stops lying and begins to allow others to see her. The desperate one in the middle of an abusive relationship miraculously finds the courage to get out. That’s the power of the gospel and that sort of transformation is not meant to be the exception but the rule for those of us who follow Christ.*

That convicted child molester John Burbine needs to subdue his out of control sexuality is a given. But the only way he will ultimately be able to accomplish this goal, is the only way any of us will be able to radically change. Not by severing body party but by choosing to collide with the cross and then committing to press in for the long haul. Though I have little sympathy for Burbine, I do hope he answers Jesus’ invitation and accepts the one true antidote for his brokenness.

*This is not to say that change comes solely through divine intervention. Some of us will need years of 12 step groups, therapy, prescribed medication, and other forms of intervention. And even then, our “healing” might look very different than what we hoped for or expected.