Protestant friend told me that Catholics err by referring to our priests as "Father"

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apparently there is a NT passage that states that no one should be called Father, expect God the Father. I had no answer to my protestant friend’s claim that us catholics should not refer to the priest as Father. Im guessing that the protestant view on this, as in many other matters, is their strict literal view of the Bible.
 
I have heard that question being asked on CAL and the simplest answer was also literal aone. You can tell that person if that verse is to be taken literally, then we cannot also call our biological fathers “father” since the scripture says call no man on earth father.
 
Patty23 said:
I have heard that question being asked on CAL and the simplest answer was also literal aone. You can tell that person if that verse is to be taken literally, then we cannot also call our biological fathers “father” since the scripture says call no man on earth father.
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👍

Also, ask him if his eye has ever caused him to sin. Did he cut it out?

"Err… that’s not meant to be taken literally… "…

Then ask him how he knows which parts of the Bible are literal, and which are figurative.
 
What do you call the man who gave birth to you? If no man on earth should be called father, you’re sinning just as much by referring to that man in that way.

That illustrates two problems, one being the private interpretation of the Bible, taking parts one likes and interpreting them in a way to get the result one likes, and interpreting conflicting passages away, or “proof-texting” (as the above poster said, taking some parts literally and others figuratively, and deciding which is which on one’s own so that the Bible matches the preconceived notions brought to the reading of it); and the second being the literal hermeneutic that is either used inconsistently, again, in order to try to make the Scriptures return one’s own opinion, or, if applied consistently, reduces itself to absurdity in positions such as young earth creationism, the killing of disobedient children, and self-mutilation to prevent oneself from sinning, made famous in the case of Origen ("…who makes himself a eunuch for the Kingdom of Heaven…").
 
blaskoman said:
apparently there is a NT passage that states that no one should be called Father, expect God the Father. I had no answer to my protestant friend’s claim that us catholics should not refer to the priest as Father. Im guessing that the protestant view on this, as in many other matters, is their strict literal view of the Bible.
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Not only do we by custom everywhere in the world call our male parent ‘father’ but consider also that: St. Paul calls himself ‘father’ in the scriptures; Abraham is father Abraham in scripture, including in Christ’s own parable of the rich man and Lazarus; God himself calls our parents ‘your father & mother’ in the 4th commandment where he commands us to honor them.

Ask your protestant friend whether/not he believes that God never contradicts himself. If yes, ask him whether/not he believes all scripture to be equally inerrant and inspired by the Holy Spirit. If he again says Yes, then there can only be one possibility: Jesus was not speaking literally but metaphorically. For the same God cannot say in one place not to call any man father and then in another inspire one to call himself father and then to call another father. Any other understanding makes scripture contradictory and therefore false. 🤷

PS- I’ve discovered that many fundamentalists read the Bible in bits, never as one whole. That’s why they tend to interpret the scriptures in the bizarre and inconsistent manner they do.

Peace!
 
blaskoman said:
apparently there is a NT passage that states that no one should be called Father, expect God the Father. I had no answer to my protestant friend’s claim that us catholics should not refer to the priest as Father. Im guessing that the protestant view on this, as in many other matters, is their strict literal view of the Bible.
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Hmmm… Well, ask them to explain:
  1. Acts 7:2 - Where Stephen refers to “father Abraham”
and
  1. Roman 9:10 - Where Paul refers to “our father Isaac”
and of course the most famous verse
  1. 1 Cor. 4:14-15 - “I do not write this to make you ashamed, but to admonish you as my beloved children. For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel.”
Additioanlly, Matt. 23:8–10 (where this comes from) also says to call no man “rabbi” (which translates “teacher”) or “master.” Yet, in 1 Tim 2:7 Paul says this:
"*For this I was appointed a preacher and apostle . . . a **teacher *of the Gentiles in faith and truth." And then he does it again in 2 Tim 1:11, “For this gospel I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher.”

Also, ask him or her if they know what the Latin word for teacher is… Have them look it up. If they do, I suspect that they will then have to say, “I’m going to my physician” instead of saying, “I’m going to my doctor.” (docēre - to teach) the next time they need medical treatment.

The word “Mister” comes from the word “master” so the friend never uses that word either I suppose? It’s always amazing how some will focus on the fact that Catholics call priests father and they’ll get all upset over this when they themselves violate Matt 23:8-10. That assumes, of course, that any of us are actually violating it, since obviously the Apostles and today’s Catholics understand that the verse was never meant to be taken literally.
 
While there is a bible passage which states, let no man call anyone Father except God, I think the whole point is being missed here.

When Catholics call a priest “Father”, it is a form of respect for his exalted status. But God is a jealous God and we must remember not to place the priest’s position as “Father” above God. For He is the only one who is truly Our Father. This I think, is the point the Protestant friend, and all Protestants are trying to make.

God Rocks
 
Ask your protestant friend why he doesn’t take 1 Corinthians 11:24 (And giving thanks, broke, and said: Take ye, and eat: this is my body, which shall be delivered for you: this do for the commemoration of me”) nearly as literally as he takes Matthew 23:9 (“Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven). Is there some difficulty in understanding “do this?” Why isn’t he doing it?

Or ask him, if the good Lord is good, then why Mark 10:18 (And Jesus said to him, Why callest thou me good? None is good but one, that is God).

And then ask him to turn to 1 Maccabees…oh, wait. I guess he can’t. Ask him if he needs to borrow a couple of bucks to buy the rest of that Catholic book he thinks fell from the sky into an English king’s lap.
Cryptic1 said:
While there is a bible passage which states, let no man call anyone Father except God, I think the whole point is being missed here.

When Catholics call a priest “Father”, it is a form of respect for his exalted status. But God is a jealous God and we must remember not to place the priest’s position as “Father” above God. For He is the only one who is truly Our Father. This I think, is the point the Protestant friend, and all Protestants are trying to make.
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Why would a protestant feel the need to make such an obvious and ridiculous point? No Catholic put’s a priest’s position anywhere near that of God’s. I think the protestant in question and most protestants have memorized a long list of what they erroneously believe to be Catholic wrong-headedness in their usual anti-Catholic efforts. It’s not like most of us haven’t had this discussion with our own protestant friends, and your explanation doesn’t cut it. They are parrots who have read too many Jack Chick comic books and believed what was scribbled there.
 
Cryptic1 said:
While there is a bible passage which states, let no man call anyone Father except God, I think the whole point is being missed here.

When Catholics call a priest “Father”, it is a form of respect for his exalted status. But God is a jealous God and we must remember not to place the priest’s position as “Father” above God. For He is the only one who is truly Our Father. This I think, is the point the Protestant friend, and all Protestants are trying to make.

God Rocks
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Having spent years in evangelical/fundamentalist churches (not all Protestants agree with the ‘call no man father’ line) I can tell you many times the ‘pastor’ is placed in an exalted God-like status.
Ya think its more about the POINT Jesus was making about exaltation rather than a particular word?
 
lutherlic said:
In charity I don’t believe this issue is raised to be anti-Catholic, but rather reflects reading scripture out of context and without authoritative interpretation (the Magisterium).
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Ummm. Then why not protest schools for using the word “teacher”? Or trade schools for graduating “master” technicians? 😛

Thanks for the excellent links.
 
blaskoman said:
apparently there is a NT passage that states that no one should be called Father, expect God the Father. I had no answer to my protestant friend’s claim that us catholics should not refer to the priest as Father. Im guessing that the protestant view on this, as in many other matters, is their strict literal view of the Bible.
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I will just add this to those excellent responses given:

Your friend focuses on Matt 23, v 9 only…9 And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven.

But later in the same chapter, Jesus says this:

29 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye build the sepulchres of the prophets, and garnish the tombs of the righteous,

30 and say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we should not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.

31 Wherefore ye witness to yourselves, that ye are sons of them that slew the prophets.

32 Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers.

Ask you friend this…Was Jesus contradicting Himself when He refers to fathers again later in the chapter?

And here in Mark 11, Jesus hears crowd saying this, but He does not stop them:

9 And they that went before, and they that followed, cried, Hosanna; Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord:

10 Blessed is the kingdom that cometh, the kingdom of our father David: Hosanna in the highest.
 
blaskoman said:
apparently there is a NT passage that states that no one should be called Father, expect God the Father. I had no answer to my protestant friend’s claim that us catholics should not refer to the priest as Father. Im guessing that the protestant view on this, as in many other matters, is their strict literal view of the Bible.
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U-huh and tell your friend to keep on reading and if I am correct it also says not to call anyone else teacher.
 
Nicea325 said:
U-huh and tell your friend to keep on reading and if I am correct it also says no to call anyone else teacher.
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It’s the silliest of anti-Catholic accusations and easiest to rufute.
I guess when they visit the queen of England they say “Yo Liz, whats up?” :rolleyes:
 
JustaServant said:
It’s the silliest of anti-Catholic accusations and easiest to rufute.
I guess when they visit the queen of England they say “Yo Liz, whats up?” :rolleyes:
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It is the classic case of slicing and dicing scripture passages to prove a false agenda. I get many Protestants telling me:

Catholics also isolate passages to prove Catholic beliefs.

Nope! We apply the specific passage with the entirety of Scripture,big difference!
 
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