Question About 1 Timothy

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shoewindow3000

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1 Timothy, 4:1-5 reads:

The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron.** They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth.** For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, 5because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer.

The part that is highlighted, doesn’t that contradict what the Church teaches?

I am confused by this and would appreciate any knowledge.
 
Here is one commentary accompanying the Douay-Rheims translation:

“Forbidding to marry, to abstain from meats”… He speaks of the Gnostics, the Marcionites, the Eneratites, the Manicheans, and other ancient heretics, who absolutely condemned marriage, and the use of all kind of meat; because they pretended that all flesh was from an evil principle. Whereas the church of God, so far from condemning marriage, holds it a holy sacrament; and forbids it to none but such as by vow have chosen the better part: and prohibits not the use of any meats whatsoever in proper times and seasons; though she does not judge all kind of diet proper for days of fasting and penance.
 
1.)But the Spirit says in latter times it will happen.

2.) In the West (as opposed to the Orthodox Church) the law of celibacy was universally required by the 11th century.

Is it possible that the Orthodox Church is the True Church, and it was the Roman Catholic Church which he referred to?

I am not bashing the RCC, I just am truly confused as to which is the True Church, Orthodox or Catholic.

(What is ironic is that down the street from my home, there are two churches next to each other, one Catholic and one Orthodox! Talk about irony!!)
 
shoewindow3000 said:
1 Timothy, 4:1-5 reads:

The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron.** They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods**, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth. For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, 5because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer.

The part that is highlighted, doesn’t that contradict what the Church teaches?
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Not at all. The Church doesn’t tell anyone that he or she cannot marry.

If you want to marry, go ahead.

On the other hand, the Church has requirements for ordination to the priesthood. So, if you choose freely to pursue a vocation to the priesthood, then you do so freely accepting the celibacy that the Church requires.

The choice is yours - not something forced upon you by the Church.
 
shoewindow3000 said:
1.)But the Spirit says in latter times it will happen.

2.) In the West (as opposed to the Orthodox Church) the law of celibacy was universally required by the 11th century.

Is it possible that the Orthodox Church is the True Church, and it was the Roman Catholic Church which he referred to?

I am not bashing the RCC, I just am truly confused as to which is the True Church, Orthodox or Catholic.

(What is ironic is that down the street from my home, there are two churches next to each other, one Catholic and one Orthodox! Talk about irony!!)
Click to expand...
Both in the Orthodox and Catholic Churches, Bishops have been completely celibate from the earliest times (~2nd-3rd century). Even the few cases where it seems that a Bishop was married in Apostolic times, it also appears that after becoming ordained that the Bishop lived with his wife as brother and sister.

Also, monks in Orthodoxy are also always celibate. As the commentary says, no one is forced to become a Priest or a vowed religious.
 
shoewindow3000 said:
1.)But the Spirit says in latter times it will happen.

2.) In the West (as opposed to the Orthodox Church) the law of celibacy was universally required by the 11th century.

Is it possible that the Orthodox Church is the True Church, and it was the Roman Catholic Church which he referred to?

I am not bashing the RCC, I just am truly confused as to which is the True Church, Orthodox or Catholic.

(What is ironic is that down the street from my home, there are two churches next to each other, one Catholic and one Orthodox! Talk about irony!!)
Click to expand...
Except that the Eastern Orthodox also have celibacy requirements (for example, for bishops), and more strict fasting rules… so if this was referring simply to clerical celibacy and fasting, then it would apply to both equally.

Of course, such an interpretation makes no sense. Jesus *promises *that after His Ascension, His Disciples will fast - see Luke 5:34-35. As for celibacy, He says that some of them will do that, too - see Matthew 19:12.

Responding to the other question about “in latter times,” there have been more recent groups banning marriage. The Shakers heavily restricted it under Joseph Meacham, for example.
 
I think the celibacy requirement was from Paul saying it is good to stay single if you can control yourself. (if you can’t, to marry)

Fasting from certain foods is not forbidding them, it’s giving it up for a temporary time, for instance, friday.
 
Latter times means the Age of the Church, the period from Jesus’ Resurrection to His Second Coming. It is during this “thousand years” - i.e., indefinite amount of time - that He reigns in the hearts of the righteous and the righteous reign with Him in doing God’s Will.

Latter times dose not mean the end of the world, just as Apocalypse dose not mean the end of the world and 666 dose not mean the day, hour, and minute of the Antichrist’s coming. It is all hogwash thought up by people who have read the Bible out of context.
 
Eucharisted said:
Latter times dose not mean the end of the world, just as Apocalypse dose not mean the end of the world and 666 dose not mean the day, hour, and minute of the Antichrist’s coming. It is all hogwash thought up by people who have read the Bible out of context.
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I know that “latter times” doesn’t mean the end of the world. It means in times after Paul’s own time.
 
The Catholic Church does not forbid people to marry. On the contrary, most Catholics are called to marriage and marriage is considered a sacrament, a source of grace for the couples. There are, however, some Catholics, called to live a more perfect lifestyle, who have voluntarily vowed to God to remain unmarried for the sake of the Kingdom of God. The Catholic Church has prudently decided to choose men for its bishops and priests from among this latter group of people. The only people the Catholic Church forbids to marry are those who have already voluntarily vowed to God that they would remain unmarried for the sake of the kingdom of God. The Church simply requires people to fulfill their vows to the Lord.

The Catholic Church does not order people to absolutely abstain from certain foods, as, for instance, the Jews were always forbidden to eat pork. On the contrary, Catholics can ordinarily eat anything they wish. The Catholic Church has, however, set aside certain special days, such as the Fridays throughout the year, as days for fasting on which healthy Catholics are generally* ordered to fast (abstain) from red meat but then it would not be a much of a fast if you didn’t abstain from something, right? (* Currently, Catholics in the United States are only ordered to abstain from red meat on Ash Wednesday, the Fridays of Lent, and Good Friday, though they are encouraged to do so on the remaining Fridays throughout the year as well.)
 
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