Calling a Catholic Priest…… Father?

[DAYWITHNAIA]

Catholic Bible says, in Matthew 23.9, You must call no one on earth your father, since you have only one Father, and he is in heaven. How do we justify this? Thank you

 

[NHInsider]

This is one of those questions that comes up over and over.

Short answer is that it is pretty clear that this is one of those places where Jesus is using hyperbole to make His point. No one builds a theology on the notion that you have to hate your mother and father (Luke 14:26) in order to be a Christian.

There are also examples in the New Testament of the use of the notion of fatherhood to describe the relationship between the apostles and those they led (since the letters are from the Apostles, what we see is “my son” not “my father” but the point is there).

Here’s a couple of more detailed explanations:

this one is on Catholic Answers: catholic.com/library/Call_No_Man_Father.asp

this one is from Scripture Catholic:
scripturecatholic.com/the_priesthood.html

 

[Joe_5859]

Welcome to CAF, DAYWITHNAIA!

 

[Spencerian]

Catholic Bible says, in Matthew 23.9, You must call no one on earth your father, since you have only one Father, and he is in heaven. How do we justify this? Thank you

Hi.

As noted by another, this is a very common question here on CAF.

Christ is pointing out (through hyperbole, a common tool of emphasis that He used with the disciples) that fathers (be it a natural father, a spiritual father such as pastor, or God the Father) are intended to stay true to these roles as leaders and guides. When one steps out of the proper role of father-guide, you are not worthy to be called by the name. It would be illogical not to be able to call your natural father as “father,” so Christ was not being literalist here.

In Matthew 23:9, Christ is warning his disciples that the Pharisees, through their own self-serving hypocrisy, should not be looked upon as legitimate spiritual fathers in the Judaic faith, and that the disciples need to reacquaint themselves with God the Father as the penultimate spiritual father in order to understand properly the new covenant that He was about to fulfill.

Once that new covenant was fulfilled at the Crucifixion, Christ anointed the Twelve (and, later, Paul) as the new spiritual fathers, the Apostles, the first bishops and leaders of the faith (John 20:21) when He breathed the Holy Spirit and tasked them (and any man worthy that they anointed in succession) with the ability to forgive or retain confessed sins through His appointment. These men over the millenia are also known, as proper spiritual guides in the Church, as Bishops and, of course Catholic priests known under the title of “Father.”

For more on this, see this Catholic.com article that goes into this verse in extensive detail.

 

[Zooey]

Catholic Bible says, in Matthew 23.9, You must call no one on earth your father, since you have only one Father, and he is in heaven. How do we justify this? Thank you

I don’t really know how to put this in a way that will sound polite, so forgive me, but:
What do** you** call your father? “Uncle Edward?” Cousin Jacob?" “Aunt Louisa May”?No, of course not; you call him “Father’ or “Dad” or Daddy”* just like the rest of us*.

Which is to say: It’s a nonquestion, because you are basing it on a false premise. Namely: that the verse means what somebody told you it means, not what it actually says, in context.
And you know the old saying : “A text without a context is a pretext”.

Welcome to CAF.

 

[Brother_Juniper]

catholiceducation.org/articles/religion/re0325.html

Another good article.

 

[Pakesh]

Catholic Bible says, in Matthew 23.9, You must call no one on earth your father, since you have only one Father, and he is in heaven. How do we justify this? Thank you

Also, if you are to take this at face value, no one would or should ever call their dad “father.”!

 

[jmcrae]

Also, if you are to take this at face value, no one would or should ever call their dad “father.”!

Nor “Dad” either, since “Dad” is a word that means the same thing as “Father.”

In the same passage, we see Jesus apparently forbidding us to call anyone “Master” or “Teacher” and yet I have never seen any campaign from the Evangelical Church to rid the world of school teachers, or master builders.

Whatever it is that makes you okay with having school teachers and master builders continue to be called teachers and masters, is the same thing that makes it okay to call a priest, or your Dad, “Father.”

Jesus’ point was to remind His followers that God alone is a Father who has never been anyone’s son; a Master who has never been anyone’s apprentice, and a Teacher who has never been anyone’s student. Human beings, regardless of their titles, continue to be children, students, and apprentices, even as they fill the necessary roles of father (both spiritual and biological), teacher, and master.

 

[Zooey]

Nor “Dad” either, since “Dad” is a word that means the same thing as “Father.”

In the same passage, we see Jesus apparently forbidding us to call anyone “Master” or “Teacher” and yet I have never seen any campaign from the Evangelical Church to rid the world of school teachers, or master builders.

Whatever it is that makes you okay with having school teachers and master builders continue to be called teachers and masters, is the same thing that makes it okay to call a priest, or your Dad, “Father.”

Jesus’ point was to remind His followers that God alone is a Father who has never been anyone’s son; a Master who has never been anyone’s apprentice, and a Teacher who has never been anyone’s student. Human beings, regardless of their titles, continue to be children, students, and apprentices, even as they fill the necessary roles of father (both spiritual and biological), teacher, and master.

 

[suissemissed]

Catholic Bible says, in Matthew 23.9, You must call no one on earth your father, since you have only one Father, and he is in heaven. How do we justify this? Thank you

In Luke 16:24, look what Jesus Himself has the rich man say to Abraham in the parable: “So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’” [emphasis mine]

 

[Erich]

Nor “Dad” either, since “Dad” is a word that means the same thing as “Father.”

In the same passage, we see Jesus apparently forbidding us to call anyone “Master” or “Teacher” and yet I have never seen any campaign from the Evangelical Church to rid the world of school teachers, or master builders.

Don’t call a doctor “Doctor” either, because (as the Oxford English Dictionary informs us) that word’s origin is from the Old French “doctor” – which in turn is from the Latin “doctor,” meaning “teacher.” And that noun came from the verb “docre” which meant “to teach.”

(Hmm, wonder if the OP has even checked back to see these responses… as of a few minutes ago I still saw “Posts: 1”)

 

[ConstantineTG]

Catholic Bible says, in Matthew 23.9, You must call no one on earth your father, since you have only one Father, and he is in heaven. How do we justify this? Thank you

How do you call the man who is married to your mother then?

 

[Randy_Carson]

Catholic Bible says, in Matthew 23.9, You must call no one on earth your father, since you have only one Father, and he is in heaven. How do we justify this?

Call No Man Father – The Loss of the Fatherhood of God

If we followed the “Call No Man Father” prohibition literally, then no human on earth would have that title, and we would have lost the feel for the meaning of fatherhood since the word would have been expunged from our vocabulary and our conscience.

Think not? Consider how the trappings of European royalty have no meaning for Americans, and I think you’ll get some sense of how this happens.

Now, if we had no understanding of what it means to have or to be a human father, the "Fatherhood’ of God as revealed to us by Him would be completely sterile.

Now let’s look at the scriptures for additional insight.

Matthew 23:8-10
8"But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ (Gr. rabbi) for you have only one Master (Gr. didaskalos, kathegetes) and you are all brothers. 9And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ (Gr. patera) for you have one Father (Gr. pater), and he is in heaven. 10Nor are you to be called ‘teacher,’ (Gr. kathegetai) for you have one Teacher (Gr. kathegetes), the Christ.” (NIV)

Matthew 23:8-10
8”But be not ye called Rabbi (Gr. rabbi): for one is your Master (Gr. didaskalos, kathegetes), even Christ; and all ye are brethren. 9And call no man your father (Gr. patera) upon the earth: for one is your Father (Gr. pater), which is in heaven. 10Neither be ye called masters (Gr. kathegetai) : for one is your Master (Gr. kathegetes), even Christ.” (KJV)

Based on the preceding passage, many non-Catholics claim that the Catholic Church violates the scriptural prohibition against calling anyone “father” since its priests are commonly called “father” and the pope is referred to as the “Holy Father.” Is this really what the Bible teaches? Let’s take a closer look at other verses to see whether this is really what the Bible tells us.

Jesus Violates This Command

Luke 16:24
24So he called to him, “Father (Gr. pater) Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.”

Jesus tells a parable in which He has one of the characters speak to “Father Abraham” which would obviously be a bad example for His audience. Does Jesus contradict Himself?

Paul Violates This Command

Romans 4:1-18
1What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather, discovered in this matter?

In this passage, Paul refers to Abraham as a spiritual father eight times. This is a terrible precedent to establish if Jesus has prohibited us from using the term “father.”

1 Corinthians 4:14-15
14I am not writing this to shame you, but to warn you, as my dear children. 15Even though you have ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers (Gr. pateras), for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel.

In this passage, Paul refers to himself as the spiritual father of the Corinthians. This is a terrible precedent to establish if Jesus has prohibited us from using the term “father.”

Ephesians 4:11-13
11It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers (Gr. didaskalovs), 12to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, says that God has established some people as “teachers” in the Church; this appears to be a direct violation of Jesus’ prohibition against calling anyone “teacher”. Does God contradict Himself?

James Violates This Command

James 3:1
1Not many of you should presume to be teachers (Gr. didaskaloi), my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.

James, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, says that not many believers should presume to be “teachers.” This implies that a few (though not many) should and would rightfully have that position. Does God contradict Himself?

James 2:21
21Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?

James, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, refers to the spiritual fatherhood of Abraham. This is a terrible precedent to establish if Jesus has prohibited us from using the term “father.”

Stephen Violates This Command

Acts 7:2
2To this he replied: "Brothers and fathers, listen to me!

 

[roveau]

Catholic Bible says, in Matthew 23.9, You must call no one on earth your father, since you have only one Father, and he is in heaven. How do we justify this? Thank you

Very thoughtful answers.

Plus the absurdity of taking this quote literally is in that if we stopped using the word ‘father’ a new word would have to be made up to have this meaning otherwise we wouldn’t be able to communicate properly. But what ever word we chose to replace father would then automatically become the word for father… and so would still be condemned for use.

 

[StrawberryJam]

If I were taking all this very very literally, I would remind you that neither the Father or the Son is literally here anyway.

 

[StrawberryJam]

How do you call the man who is married to your mother then?

What your mother and he decided on.
You must mean NO.

 

[ConstantineTG]

What your mother and he decided on.
You must mean NO.

LOL
I wonder how many of these anti-Catholics are on a fist-name basis with their dad

 

[Pax]

Fathers, Teachers, Master

During Jesus time there were a number of sects within Judaism. These were the
Pharisees, Saducees, Essenes, and Zealots

These sects had houses of teaching within them .

Within the Pharisees there were two famous rival houses.
They were the House of Shammai(Beit Shammai) and the House of Hillel (founder of the Beit Hillel school). The individuals that these houses were named after were considered the “father” of the house.

Jesus warns the apostles not to be fathers to “separate” houses for there is but one house of the Lord. Jesus also says to call no man “teacher” or “master.”

The apostle Paul was taught by Gamaliel[Acts22:3], a pharisee from the house of Hillel. Gamaliel was, in fact, the grandson of Hillel. Gamaliel was known as an elder and had the title of “Rabban” which means “Our Master.” This title explains why Jesus also said call no one “master”, for there is but one house and one master of all.

Again, Jesus wanted unity see John 17], and does not want the apostles to set up separate houses or schools of thought. The corollary of this is clearly expressed in Paul’s complaint in 1 Cor 1:10-15 where some are arguing their superiority by being baptized by, and belonging to, Paul vs. Apollos, or Cephas, etc. Paul goes on elsewhere to further warn against factions and divisions, and stresses the importance of one mind and unity of doctrine.

The meaning of “call no man father, teacher, or master” concerns unity and consistency of doctrine and has nothing to do with the commonly used references that are seen elsewhere in scripture or everyday use.

I hope this helps.