In 1 Timothy 4:1-3, St. Paul speaks of a time when some will turn away from the faith and “give heed to…doctrines of demons,” which he identifies as the forbidding of marriage and the consumption of meat. Some Protestants see this passage as a condemnation of the Catholic disciplines of consecrated celibacy for clergy and mandatory abstinence from meat on Fridays during Lent.
Are Catholics heeding doctrines of demons? No, and here are some reasons why.
First, Paul can’t be condemning consecrated celibacy because in the next chapter he gives Timothy instructions on proper implementation of consecrated celibacy with regard to “enrolled” widows (v. 9-11). And Paul indicates that such enrollment involved vows when he gives instruction to forbid enrollment for widows less than sixty years of age lest they desire to marry again and violate their first pledge (v. 11-15).
Also, Paul can’t be condemning all abstinence from meat, since he was part of the decision-making process at the Council of Jerusalem in Acts 15 that decreed Gentile Christians abstain from meats offered to idols.
What Paul is condemning is the idea that nobody should marry, and the idea that one should always abstain from meats, because both were considered evil. This becomes evident in the subsequent verses where Paul counters those forbidding such things and reaffirms that they’re good. For example, he says, “God created [them] to be received with thanksgiving” (v. 3), and “everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving” (v. 4). Paul’s instruction indicates that those forbidding marriage and meats were doing so because they considered such things evil, ideas that would later become dominant in Gnostic beliefs.
So, to my Catholic friends, I say, fear not! We’re not heeding doctrines of demons. We’re in good company with Paul in thinking celibacy and abstinence from meats, when done with the proper motive, are permitted Christian practice.
***This article was originally published in the Indulgences column for Catholic Answers Magazine Online on February 15, 2024.