A wonderful point, however, your exegesis is incorrect. Protestants do not call their pastors father because they share your confusion about the meaning of the term âAbbaâ.
What we call priests is not a derivative of the word âAbbaâ. It is a derivative of the word Pater (latin) or Ho Pater (greek), or Ahb (arabic), or Av (hebrew), etc. These are formal non-honorifics. These use father as a title.
As I already stated, the word Abba is a combination of the greek familiar word âbaâ meaning âdadâ or âdaddyâ with the aramaic honorific A- which converts the greek term into a proper name⌠not a title. In other words, the word Abba is a aramaic-greek word which is NOT a title, NOT something we would call a man. It is the name of God, like, as I said, the Tetragammon.
Incorrect historically. The people who were supposed to be called âAbbaâ were the Caesars. No scribe or pharisee would have wanted to be called Abba because 1) it is a name, not a title and 2) it is a greek/aramaic word, not a hebrew title⌠which would be spurned by the scribes and the pharisees. Jews who wanted to go as âfatherâ would have requested to be called âhaâavâ, not Abba.
Nonetheless, when you call a priest father, you are not calling him âAbbaâ, but rather pater, a latin title, not a proper name.
That is correct, but incorrectly applied. Abba is not a word for the title father (it means a proper name, not a title), hence why Paul does not use Abba when referring to spiritual fatherhood.
I think the mistake you are making is thinking that there was only one greek/aramaic/hebrew word for father. That is incorrect. There were MANY terms in the time of Christ for father, but ONE which was a proper name and which was forbidden to be used for mere men.
Iâm not disagreeing that we call God by the name Abba. Iâm disagreeing that we should ever be asked to call any man by this name for any reason.
Except that Abba is only a word that APPEARS in the aramaic and greek languages. It is a combination of the two. Ba is correct for the familiar form of âfatherâ in greek, and this is what I would call MY father, had I grown up in Jesusâ day (unless I were in trouble, then I might address him in greek as âho paterâ). Adding the formal honorific turns it into a personal usage of a formal name⌠Godâs name. Abba does not just mean the title âdaddyâ, it is formally a NAME.
this is not an argument. The moderators allow an atheist to go with the handle ânon-serviamâ⌠the blasphemous words of Satan when presented the image of Christ in Godâs plan. I sincerely doubt that if theyâll allow that, that theyâre strictly looking at your name either.
Fair enough, and that is my intention. I just wanted you to understand that my refusal to call you âAbbaâ is not out of disrespect for you, but out of ultimate respect for God.
Hey, out of sight out of mind. I have been changing diapers. It would be nice to get a refresher course.
