1 Timothy 4:3-5 … part 1

1 Timothy 4:3-5 … part 1

I will be breaking this section into 3 parts as it covers a vast amount of information.

³ Forbidding to marry¹, and commanding to abstain from meats², which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.

⁴ For every creature of God is good³, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving:

⁵ For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer⁴.

 

Paul has been telling Timothy to watch out for false teachers and those that have strayed from the faith. Also, the future holds in it a man-made form of religion apart from the true faith. Let’s look into these prophecies and where they originated and where they live today.

Roman Catholic sacramental theology teaches that the ministers of the sacrament of holy matrimony are the man and woman, and therefore any marriage contracted voluntarily between two baptized and unmarried adults is valid, though under ordinary circumstances the marriage must be witnessed by clergy to be licit.

However, various provisions in current canon law (meaning this is subject to change) outline extraordinary circumstances that would form impediments to marital validity. What could possibly form an impediment? Well, according to Catholic LAW…

• Age. If the man is under 16 years of age, or the woman is under 14 years of age, then their marriage is invalid. This is an ecclesiastical impediment, and so does not apply to a marriage between two non-Catholics. However, in a marriage between a Catholic and a non-Catholic, the age limitation applies to the non-Catholic party as well. Each national episcopal conference has the authority to set a higher minimum age as a prohibitive impediment. In general, individual bishops do not have this authority (cf. CIC c. 1075 §2). In Canada, and also in New Zealand, this minimum age has been set to 18 years old for both parties. In England and Wales, this minimum age has been set to be in accordance with civil law (i.e., 16 years old for both parties). In Gambia, Liberia, and Sierre Leone, this minimum age has been set to 18 years old for the man and 16 years old for the woman. In the Philippines, this minimum has been set to 21 years old for the bridegroom, and 18 years old for the bride. In South Africa, and also in Switzerland, this minimum age has been set to be in accordance with civil law. In Nigeria, the episcopal conference has delegated the authority to set a higher prohibitive minimum age to the individual bishops. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has not enacted a higher prohibitive minimum age for marriage.

Not only do you need a note from your mother, but a map, calendar and an abacus!

• Physical capacity for consummation lacking. Per Canon 1084 §3 “Without prejudice to the provisions of Canon 1098, sterility- the absolute or probable inability to have children due to defects or abnormalities in the reproductive organs or other associated organs, or of the germ cells (the ova and sperm), neither forbids nor invalidates a marriage.” Both parties, however, must be physically capable of completed vaginal intercourse, wherein the man ejaculates “true semen”, even if the amount is small and/or if there are no viable sperm, into the woman’s vagina (even if the cervix or uterus are absent, the ova are absent or non-viable, or the vagina is deformed). (See [2] for details.) To invalidate a marriage, the impotence must be perpetual (i.e., incurable) and antecedent to the marriage. The impotence can either be absolute or relative. This impediment is generally considered to derive from divine natural law, and so cannot be dispensed. The reason behind this impediment is explained in the Summa Theologica: “In marriage there is a contract whereby one is bound to pay the other the marital debt: wherefore just as in other contracts, the bond is unfitting if a person bind himself to what he cannot give or do, so the marriage contract is unfitting, if it be made by one who cannot pay the marital debt.”

This makes hundreds of thousands of loving relationships worthless in the eyes of the church.

• Previous marriage. Previous marriages, whether conducted in the Catholic Church, in another church, or by the State. All previous attempts at marriage by both parties wishing to marry must be declared null prior to a wedding in the Catholic Church, without regard to the religion of the party previously married. Divine, absolute, temporary.

What about the death of a spouse. You are no longer bound by the contract, any contract, after death!

• Disparity of cult. A marriage between a Catholic and a non-baptized person is invalid, unless this impediment is dispensed by the local ordinary. Ecclesiastical, relative.

I am not sure what they are attempting to say here. How about we define a cult? The term cult usually refers to a social group defined by its religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs, or its common interest in a particular personality, object or goal. Such groups are labelled as cults for their “un-Christian”, or unorthodox beliefs. So, you marry a believer of Messiah who lives a life according to the scriptures just prior to their baptism and everything is void? I don’t recall Abraham being baptized before marrying Sarah. Don’t remember any scripture calling for baptism prior to marriage at all. If you make up rules that don’t exist in the Bible and pen them under a religious order isn’t that unorthodox and thus a cult? We will get back to that question later….

• Sacred orders. One of the parties has received sacred orders. Ecclesiastical, absolute, permanent (unless dispensed by the Apostolic See).

This is probably the reason for the exodus from Catholicism for many of the other denominational religions. Here the Catholic Church says sacred orders “are ordained ministries such as bishop, priest or deacon.” Didn’t we just read in 1 Timothy 3:12 “Let the deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well.”

• Perpetual vow of chastity. One of the parties has made a public perpetual (not just temporary vows or the novitiate or postulancy) vow of chastity. Ecclesiastical, absolute, permanent (unless dispensed by the Apostolic See).

Again we see the Catholic Church very attune to sex. Any wonder why we see it creating such a problem in their clergy.

• One of the parties, usually the woman, has been abducted with the view of contracting marriage. Ecclesiastical, temporary.

Here is one I can finally agree with… nothing says love like chloroform! The part that has me curious is that it is a “temporary” impediment!? Really?! Some people like putting on the lotion?

• One or both of the parties has brought about the death of a spouse with the view of entering marriage with each other. Ecclesiastical, relative, permanent (unless dispensed by the Apostolic See). Under the Decretals of Pope Gregory IX, (the “I don’t need God I can make it what I want” clause) the requirements were that either the adulterous pair should promise marriage after the death of the spouse, or that they should attempt marriage while the spouse was still living. While both partners had to be aware that they are committing adultery, affected ignorance, ignorance from refusal to investigate what they are doing, does not remove it. If the pair who wish to marry co-operated to kill the spouse of one of them, in order that they might be free to marry, the impediment is invoked, even if they had not committed adultery. Likewise, if one of an adulterous pair killed a spouse (of either partner) in order to marry, the impediment is invoked. Only the pope may dispense this impediment; there are no instances in which any pope has done so.[25]

Here is another that boggles the mind. Apparently the Pope can give you the thumbs up to marry after you have killed your spouse. (as long as there are conjugal visits….see rule 2)

• The parties are closely related by blood. Ecclesiastical or divine, depending on the degree of relationship. Relative, permanent.

Again this was not the case with Abraham and Sarah so the RCC stands in opposition to the Bible here as well.

• The parties are related by marriage in a prohibited degree. Ecclesiastical, relative, permanent.

I had to look this one up to figure it out; affinity is “due to the relationship which either party has as a result of a kinship relationship created by another marriage or as a result of extramarital intercourse.” I am guessing this means marrying a ½ blood sibling?

• Public propriety. The parties are “related” by notorious concubinage. (Example: A man and a woman live together without marrying; this impediment prevents the man marrying the woman’s mother or daughter–but not the woman herself–even if the cohabiting relationship has ended or the woman has died.) Ecclesiastical, relative, permanent.

I can’t quite wrap my head around this one. This would make it illegal for 2 people to share an apartment and fall in love with one of their relatives instead of each other.

• The parties are related by adoption. Ecclesiastical, relative, permanent.

While it may seem weird, what would this matter if the two were not directly blood related?

At the end of the day the only reason these “rules” exist are for the control of humanity by the RCC. This was the goal of Constantine, to rule the world, and he has succeeded through the RCC. YHVH has already established all the perimeters for marriage, we do not need the consult of the RCC.