Questions

[Christ_is_King]

Why do we call priests “Father” when in Matthew 23: 8- 10, Jesus specifically speaks against doing such?

 

[adrift]

catholic.com/library/Call_No_Man_Father.asp

This link will give you an answer.
Here is part of what it says.

Jesus criticized Jewish leaders who love “the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues, and salutations in the market places, and being called ‘rabbi’ by men” (Matt. 23:6–7). His admonition here is a response to the Pharisees’ proud hearts and their grasping after marks of status and prestige.

He was using hyperbole (exaggeration to make a point) to show the scribes and Pharisees how sinful and proud they were for not looking humbly to God as the source of all authority and fatherhood and teaching, and instead setting themselves up as the ultimate authorities, father figures, and teachers.

Christ used hyperbole often, for example when he declared, “If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and throw it away; it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell” (Matt. 5:29, cf. 18:9; Mark 9:47). Christ certainly did not intend this to be applied literally, for otherwise all Christians would be blind amputees! (cf. 1 John 1:8; 1 Tim. 1:15). We are all subject to “the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life” (1 John 2:16).

 

[LilyM]

Why do we call priests “Father” when in Matthew 23: 8- 10, Jesus specifically speaks against doing such?

Well … what do you call your male parent, if not your ‘father’? Doesn’t Jesus say to call NO MAN (and not just priests) Father?

There is a danger in taking some of the words of the Gospel hyper-literally. I mean does anyone that you know actually pluck out their eyes or cut off their hands if they are the instruments of sin? Jesus definitely mentions doing such.

Sometimes he used ‘hyperbole’ - exaggerating a little in order to make a point. Many many people do his at times, listen to the lyrics of most love songs.

With the ‘if your hand offends you cut it off’ statement Jesus simply means we should strenously resist and perhaps remove ourselves from all temptation to sin. Similarly with ‘call no man father’ he is making the point that we should not give to any human being any respect, honour and worship that is due to God alone. :yup:

 

[Mommyof02green]

Q: The Bible says to call no man Father, so why do we call our priests “Father”?
Click Here for Answer

Also this might help:

It’s not out of place to question Protestants about their own adherence to this text. Many of their churches have Sunday school teachers. Often their ministers have advanced degrees and are referred to as “doctor.” The problem is that in the verse following the one in which the title “father” is forbidden, the titles “teacher” and “doctor” (which comes from the Latin word doctor and means “teacher”) are forbidden: “Do not call anyone teacher, because your teacher is one, the Christ” (Matt. 23:10). Similarly, the title “rabbi” is forbidden.

Thus it might appear all of us–Catholics, Protestants, Jews–are in the same boat. I do not propose to condemn these honorific titles, but to show there is a solid basis in the Bible for calling men father, teacher, doctor, or rabbi, rightly understood.

To read more of Call No Man Father? by Mitchell Pacwa S.J. click here

 

[mom2three]

Why do we call priests “Father” when in Matthew 23: 8- 10, Jesus specifically speaks against doing such?

Note also, that if this is to be taken literally, these verses would not make sense:

Acts 7:2
2To this he replied: "Brothers and fathers, listen to me! The God of glory appeared to **our father Abraham **while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran.

Acts 21:40-22:1
40Having received the commander’s permission, Paul stood on the steps and motioned to the crowd. When they were all silent, he said to them in Aramaic[a]:
1"Brothers and fathers, listen now to my defense."

Romans 4:16-17
16Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring—not only to those who are of the law but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all. 17As it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations.”[a] He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed—the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were.

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, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel.

Hebrews 12:7-9
7Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? 8If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. 9Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live!

Also: Luke 14:26, 1 Thess 2:11, Philem 10, 1 John 2:13-14

This is actually a common attack against Catholicism but it is also a recently common attack:

David L. Holmes stated, “Congregationalists, Baptists, Methodists, and German Reformed commonly addressed older ministers as ‘Father’ well into the nineteenth century.”

He has an article here: www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=1916

 

[Philthy]

There is a danger in taking some of the words of the Gospel hyper-literally. I mean does anyone that you know actually pluck out their eyes or cut off their hands if they are the instruments of sin? Jesus definitely mentions doing such.

With the ‘if your hand offends you cut it off’ statement Jesus simply means we should strenously resist and perhaps remove ourselves from all temptation to sin. Similarly with ‘call no man father’ he is making the point that we should not give to any human being any respect, honour and worship that is due to God alone. :yup:

There is perhaps some wiggle room theologically to disagree with what you have presented here. Remember, Christ said that “IF your eye CAUSES you to sin…” The reality is that our eyes never CAUSE us to sin - that is the exclusive domain of our fallen wills. Remember, Christ also said “It is not what enters you which defiles you, but what comes out FROM WITHIN that defiles you” In the same way, our hands and eyes do not defile us, but what comes out from within us (made manifest with our bodies) which defiles us.
The hyperbole being used by Christ is to force people to realize where sin comes from - he is revealing the essence of human nature to them.
For this reason I prefer the argument presented by Fr Pacwa above…

 

[ricko]

As said in previous posts, it is not the word itself that is forbidden but the idea that some leaders “lord” it over others thinking they are better. This verse is commonly used against Catholics for calling their priests Father. It is nothing but a ploy to mislead others by pointing to a verse taken out of context and saying “See, it is forbidden to call anyone Father”. However they would never want you to know that there are many places in the bible where the word father and teacher are used such as Acts 7:2, “To this Stephen replied: ‘My brothers! Fathers! Listen to me….’”.

I just wonder if those who are against using “father” blot it out on job applications and other documents where it says “Fathers name”. Bet they don’t. If they do what do they put in its place? Da da?

 

[Eireann]

Why do we call priests “Father” when in Matthew 23: 8- 10, Jesus specifically speaks against doing such?

What would we call our natural fathers ? mother, dear, you, dad, sir, grumpy, know it all good for nothing ?

How about father.