timbo3
Newbie
I know what the opening of Timothy says. A forged $100.00 bill says it's a $100.00 bill also. Sadly the catholic movement of the second century had no problem forging a multitude of scriptures, three or four of which made it into the New Testament.
Timothy 1&2 and Titus were forged in Paul's name to counter Marcionism, whose followers would only accept Paul.
We know from his genuine letters, that Paul was friends with, and actively supported women preachers. The Marcionites followed this tradition, which the catholic movement felt was an abomination.(§5. The very women of these heretics, how wanton they are! For they are bold enough to teach, to dispute, to enact exorcisms, to undertake cures-it may be even to baptize. ~Tertullian)
~Earlychristianwritings.com
It's relatively easy; Marcion introduced the Pauline corpus to the Christian world. If it's not in Marcion's canon---it ain't Paul.
The internal evidence points to 1 Timothy being written by Paul around 61-64 C.E., and 2 Timothy not much later, perhaps around 65 C.E., both being inspired by Jehovah God, for Paul had written to Timothy that his death was now imminent at the hands of Roman Emperor Nero (ruled from 54-68 C.E.), saying to him: "For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the due time for my releasing is imminent. I have fought the fine fight, I have run the course to the finish, I have observed the faith.From this time on there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me as a reward in that day, yet not only to me, but also to all those who have loved his manifestation."(2 Tim 4:6-8)
The authenticity of First and Second Timothy is well established. All outstanding ancient catalogs, starting with the Muratorian Fragment of the second century C.E. (about 170 C.E.), list both letters as canonical. Most important, these letters are in complete agreement with the rest of the Scriptures and quote from them. They contain quotations from or allusions to Numbers (16:5; 2 Tim 2:19), Deuteronomy (19:15; 25:4; 1Tim 5:18, 19), Isaiah (26:13; 2 Tim 2:19), and the words of Jesus Christ (Matt 10:10; Luke 10:7; 1Tim 5:18). Noteworthy are the frequent references to faith (1Tim 1:2, 4, 5, 14, 19; 2:7, 15; 3:9, 13; 4:1, 6, 12; 5:8, 12; 6:10, 11, 12, 21; 2 Tim 1:5, 13; 2:18, 22; 3:8, 10, 15; 4:7), as well as the emphasis on right doctrine (1Tim 1:3, 4; 4:1-3, 6, 7; 6:3, 4, 20, 21; 2 Tim 1:13; 3:14, 15; 4:3, 5), conduct (1Tim 2:8-11, 15; 3:2-13; 4:12; 5:1-21; 6:1, 2, 11-14; 2 Tim 2:22), prayer (1Tim 2:1, 2, 8; 4:5; 5:5; 2 Tim 1:3), and faithful endurance through suffering (2 Tim 1:8, 12; 2:3, 8-13). (Insight on the Scriptures, Vol 2, pg 1106)
First and second Timothy has nothing to do with "the catholic movement", but rather Paul countered apostasy that was starting to exhibit itself in the Christian congregation, writing to Timothy that "the inspired utterance says definitely that in later periods of time some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to misleading inspired utterances and teachings of demons, by the hypocrisy of men who speak lies, marked in their conscience as with a branding iron; forbidding to marry, commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be partaken of with thanksgiving by those who have faith and accurately know the truth."
It is the Catholic church that later forbid it's priest to marry (in 1022 C.E, at the orders of Pope Benedict VIII), to remain celibate, and condemned anyone who ate "meat on Friday". Former Jesuit Peter de Rosa in his book Vicars of Christ: The Dark Side of the Papacy (1988), wrote: "In the view of some historians, [priestly celibacy] has probably done more harm to morals than any other institution in the West, including prostitution. . . . [It] has been more often than not a stain on the name of Christianity. . . . Enforced celibacy has always led to hypocrisy in the ranks of the clergy. . . . A priest can fall a thousand times but he is forbidden by canon law to marry once.
Or the eating of meat on Friday's, the Catholic church has ' commanded to abstain from foods which God created to partake of with thanksgiving." Or of Lent, the 40-day period preceding Easter, in which there is the practice of fasting. Thus, Paul was inspired by God to foretell what would happen once the apostasy that Jesus identified in an illustration at Matthew 13:24-30 would begin to fully blossom around the beginning of the 4th century C.E.
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