1. Origen Castrated Himself Because He Believed That Jesus Christ Was a Eunuch
Born in the year 184, Origen was a Christian teacher, scholar, and theologian living in the ancient city of Alexandria. He was considered to be a genius, because of his philosophical revelations about the Bible. He was a vegetarian, never drank alcohol, and generally tried to live a very clean and pious lifestyle. There is a line in the Bible Matthew 19:12 that says; “There are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven.”
According to a fellow scholar named Eusebius, Origen read this line and believed that Jesus had castrated himself in order to abstain from having sex and be as clean and holy as humanly possible. After all, there is no evidence that Jesus had a wife or children. So, in a way, it actually makes a lot of sense. Apparently, Origen paid a surgeon to perform the surgery. Other versions of the story depict Origen doing this castration to himself with a knife. However, some historians believe that there is no actual basis for this theory, and that Eusebius may have made it all up to mock Origen, since they were academic rivals.
Where did we find this stuff? Here are our sources:
Famous and Powerful Eunuchs of the Ancient World. Valdar. Ancient Origins. 2016.
Cai Lun The Inventor of Paper. YouTube. 2010.