To begin with, Ayodhya, you have rightly pointed out that the bible praises marriage. I would also like to point out that, in my opinion,
no other religion and no other Christian denomination reveres marriage more than the Catholic Church. We revere the institution of marriage as a full-fledged sacrament, whereas many Protestant denominations don't. Furthermore, Catholics hold the marital bond to be so sacred that we do not believe in divorce.
But whereas the bible praises marriage, it
also praises another lifestyle: celibacy. The idea is not to debate one over the other. Rather, the idea is that God calls some people to a married life and God calls others to a celibate single life. Furthermore, because Catholic morality holds that sexual union is a gift that can only be shared between a husband and wife, anyone who is not married is called to be celibate. Those who violate this commit the sin of fornication.
Not only is celibacy not required by God, it is a doctrine of demons. The Bible announces that those who teach this doctrine are "giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy;"
Please understand, these are not my words, they are God's Words.
First of all, I think you have to admit that even though Hebrews states that "Marriage is honourable in all..." (Hebrews 13:4), not everyone
can be married. Not everyone is suitable for marriage, and not everyone who is suitable is able to find a partner to walk the aisle with. In this case, contrary to what you have stated, celibacy is most certainly required by God, because He condemns those who engage in fornication (1Cor 6:9).
Jesus' Teachings on Celibacy:And even though marriage is praiseworthy, it is an earthly state. A marriage bond, after all, is made "until death do we part." Once a spouse dies, the marriage bond is forever severed and the surviving spouse is free to marry again.
But marriage only takes place on earth; no one in heaven is married.
And Jesus said to them, "The children of this age marry and remarry; but those who are deemed worthy to attain the coming age and to the resurrection of the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage" (Luke 20:34-35).Jesus also tells us (as Seeker pointed out) that there are those who renounce marriage for the sake of the kingdom. He first points out that there are those who are made "eunuchs" due to birth defects and there are those made eunuchs by others.
But there are also "those who have made themselves eunuchs (i.e., renounced marriage and chose to be celibate) for the sake of the kingdom" (Mt 19:12).In other words, those who chose to live a life of celibacy "for the sake of the kingdom" have decided to be a witness in this life to the sort of life that awaits people in heaven. They begin to live this aspect of heaven in the here and now. Because marriage is so wonderful, giving it up for the sake of witnessing to the kingdom takes great faith, devotion, temperance and perseverance. And Jesus praises this lifestyle and says,
"He who is able to accept this, let him accept it" (Mt 19:12).Paul's Teachings on CelibacyPaul flat out states that it is better for those engaged in Christian ministry to be celibate.
I want you to be free from anxieties. The unmarried man is anxious about the affairs of the Lord; but the married man is anxious about worldly affairs, how to please his wife, and his interests are divided. And the unmarried woman or girl is anxious about the affairs of the Lord, how to be holy in body and spirit; but the married woman is anxious about worldly affairs, how to please her husband. I say this for your own benefit, not to lay any restraint upon you, but to promote good order and to secure your undivided devotion to the Lord. (1Cor 7:29-35)Paul goes on to admit that there are those who cannot endure the celibate life, so they can marry, and that it is no sin for them to get married. Nevertheless, he firmly states,
"So that he who marries his betrothed does well; and he who refrains from marriage will do better" (1Cor 7:38).Now Ayodhya, none of this should come to a surprise to you. As a matter-of-fact, you should already be well familiar with these biblical texts. I say this because you, yourself, quoted this passage from the Catechism:
"All the ordained ministers of the Latin Church, with the exception of permanent deacons, are normally chosen from among men of faith who live a celibate life and who intend to remain celibate 'for the sake of the kingdom of heaven' ... Celibacy is a sign of this new life to the service of which the Church's minister is consecrated; accepted with a joyous heart celibacy radiantly proclaims the Reign of God." Pg. 395, #1579
And in that passage from the Catechism the verses from Matthew and Corinthians are clearly footnoted as the biblical support for #1579. And yet you did not acknowledge that the Catholic Church has a firm scriptural basis for its practice of celibacy among the clergy. Instead you chose to ignore this and accuse the Church of teaching satanic doctrines. If you did not bother to check the footnotes then I would humbly suggest that you do so in the future. If you checked the footnotes and chose to ignore them, and instead present your own interpretations as to the motives of the Church, then you are engaging in a form of intellectual dishonesty. If the Church truly is a satanic organization teaching satanic doctrines then you should not have to resort to purposely misrepresenting the Catechism to prove this.
I also realize that it is your style to initially post a very critical sounding post that negatively rejects Catholic positions, but you should have realized from the footnotes for #1579 that your criticism of the Church was built on a very shakey foundation. Therefore, I honestly don't know why you chose to pursuit this particular topic. Nevertheless, it is the topic at hand, so I will continue.
How tragic that priests and nuns around the world are foregoing the pleasure of sharing their lives with a spouse, believing that their sacrifice pleases God, when in reality they are falling prey to a powerful demonic scheme.
As we can now see, these nuns and priests are not falling prey to a demonic scheme, but are rather trying to live the celibate life that Jesus and Paul praised.
How tragic, rather, that Protestant ministers seem to have absolutely no desire to do the same. Where are the Protestant ministers who have renounced marriage "for the sake of the kingdom"? Where are the Protestant ministers who agree with Paul that the best way to minister to others is through a celibate lifestyle, because otherwise their "interest is divided"? So let us be thankful for the Catholic clergy and religious who believe Paul when he says that celibacy is the key for securing "undivided devotion to the Lord." Because if Catholics weren't doing this, who would?
A married pope? Few Catholics realize that Peter, the "first pope," was a married man: "But Simon's wife's mother lay sick of a fever..." Mark 1:30. This Simon is none other than the Apostle Peter. (See Matthew 4:18 and Matthew 10:2.) Why this doctrine?
Actually, I think that most Catholics know that Peter had a mother-in-law. But on one hand, Peter could have been a widower (his filial responsibilities for his in-laws would have remained even if his wife died). But it does not matter even if Peter was married all throughout his reign as pope. And here's why:
From the Catholic stance, Christ founded a Church and gave the popes and bishops the authority to run it. Christ calls people to the priesthood, but the popes and bishops have the responsibility of setting down requirements for suitable candidates for the priesthood. One of the requirements that the Church currently uses is celibacy, based on what Jesus and Paul said. This is not a historic requirement, and it is not set in stone. To use the language of the Church, it is simply a "discipline," not a doctrine (in other owrds, it is not an official teaching on faith and morals). There have been times in the past that the Church did not require celibacy, and there may be future times when celibacy is no longer required, but for now it is.
Let me pose this hypothetical situation: Let us imagine that there never was a vow of celibacy and for 2000 years, all popes, bishops and priests were married. And let us say that while reading the bible tonight, Pope John Paul II stumbled upon the passages I quoted above from Matthew and Paul. Inspired by that, he could officially declare tomorrow that from now on, all candidates for Holy Orders need to be celibate. Despite the fact that there was no celibacy for 2000 years, his pronouncement would be completely authentic and valid. It would be law until he or another pope changed it. This is because each pope has the same authority given to Peter. So even if Peter was married while he was pope, it doesn't matter. All that matters is what the current pope decides.
Doctrines of Devils?And now let us talk about the "Doctrines of Devils" from 1 Timothy 4:1-3, which you quoted in your post. Obviously, Paul cannot be referring those who renounce marriage for the sake Christian ministry because he, himself, preached this. Hence, the Vow of Celibacy in the Catholic Church cannot be the Doctrine of Devils that forbids marriage. So what was Paul talking about? He was referring to the teachings of certain schools of philosophical thought that denounced all material things as evil, including the human body. According to this idea, marriage should be forbidden because bodily union is evil and procreation only serves to drag down an innocent soul from the goodness of the spiritual realm and lock it into a evil fleshy body. This sort of thinking would actually grow in popularity in the second century and be represented among the Gnostics (if my memory serves me correctly).
This Catholic doctrine, like all others we have discussed, directly opposes God's Word. One must wonder why Catholicism would teach that celibacy "radiantly proclaims the Reign of God," when the Lord has declared that this doctrine originated in hell.
This is another statement you made despite the fact that, apparently, you were aware of the passages from Matthew and Corinthians. And yet, once again, you chose to ignore this sound biblical support of the Vow of Celibacy and call it a "doctrine that originated in hell."
Is it because the Catholic church does not want to pay the millions of dollars it would cost each year to support the families of priests and nuns?
First of all, nuns (as well as religious sisters, monks and friars) do not have a Vow of Celibacy imposed upon them by Rome. Each indvidual religious order elects to require that of its members. If Pope John Paul II decided tomorrow to cease making celibacy a requirement for priests, all nuns (as well as religious sisters, monks and friars) would still continue the Vow of Celibacy.
Furthermore, with the exception of missions, each parish pays for the upkeep of its priests. Protestant churches have supported ministers and their families for centuries, so I doubt that Catholic parishes would much trouble doing the same.
So, in other words, money has nothing to do with the Catholic Church maintaining the Vow of Celibacy.
Finally, I would like to point out that there are people in the Catholic Church who chose to take a personal Vow of Celibacy "for the sake of the kingdom" who do not become priests or join religious orders. This is called the "single celibate" lifestyle, and many pursue this as a lifelong devotion. So it would be a disservice to them for me not to acknowledge this in my post. Not all Catholic celibates are, say, priests and nuns.
And finally, Ayodhya, you concluded your post with the following:
Now that you know what the Bible teaches on this subject, you must decide whether you will believe the Word of God or the traditions of the Catholic church. If you happen to be a priest or a nun, please ask yourself who your sacrifice is really pleasing
Well, Ayodhya, if I recall correctly, you said that you were single in your Introduction Post.
So now that
you know what the bible
truly teaches on this subject (Matthew and Corinthians), you must decide if you want to one day get married (but remember, Paul advises against it) or live a life of heroic celibacy for the sake of the kingdom.
You know, I live
right down the hall from the Vocations Office for the Benedictine Archabbey of St. Vincent!
I could give you their number and you could start the life of religious celibacy
right away! Ever think about becoming a monk, Ayodhya?
God bless,
Rev. Eric (the Celibate Cleric!)
The Glorify God Community
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