Why don't Catholic apologetics believe Jesus, when he said not to call anyone one on earth your father?

Question

Matthew 23: 9And do not call anyone on earth 'father,' for you have one Father, and he is in heaven.

Catholic apologetics justify this by saying that the pope is the "father" over the Catholic Church, not their Holy Father.

Whatever the justification may be, it goes directly against what Jesus said.

I pray that those who truly want to follow the commands of Jesus, will wake up and realize what is truth and what it falsehood disguised as truth.

The Bible warned that even Satan masquerades as an angel of light.

Isn't is interesting that Catholic apologetics say they believe in Jesus, but do not do what he says. These are false prophets that people need to be weary of.

They are all over this forum.

Answer 1

This was but one of the many things I had trouble reconciling that eventually led me to leave the Catholic church for salvation by grace through faith. Along with that, the term "holy father" used for the pope. The phrase "holy father" appears ONE TIME in the entire Bible -- John 17:11 -- and it is Jesus addressing God by that term.

Answer 2

. whilst Jesus walked the earth, the factors of the day in the two pagan and Jewish worlds, Greek or Roman or Israeli, FATHER mentioned authority parent. He became speaking approximately adhering to obedience to issues different than the daddy, God. He wasn't bearing on any widely used colloquialisms, this is what calling a Catholic priest "Father" is. do you comprehend lots with regard to the English language? In English, the top comparable be conscious can mean countless issues. that may no longer unique to English the two. the buyer saint of the Catholic Church is Saint Joseph, Jesus's father. The Church as an entire is our mom (examine John's Gospel) and the clergymen are the Fathers, those % adult men who're married to The Church. .

Answer 3

Jesus also said to call non-one "good" for only God is good.

So to get around these prohibitions all we have to do is invent a different word for "father" and "good" and it's all fine? I don't think so. Jesus wasn't teaching us about what words to use (and if He was then we don't really have a problem here because we are not using the aramaic word he used for father anyway - "abba" - which is more accurately translated as "dad" or "daddy", not "father").

He was very obviously referring to the MEANING or sense of the word. And in that case the Catholic interpretation is correct. We should never ever ascribe the qualities of God to any man.

Answer 4

So, what do you call the male who helped in your conception? I suppose you call him "dad" and that satisfies your literal interpretation of the bible. Oh, I see. Jesus wasn't talking about our "physical father." Just another Protestant excuse to interpret the bible the way they want to and then condemn others for doing the same. How unique. Can we say "hypocrite?"



Isn't it interesting that you people say you believe in Jesus, yet you feel that Jesus is so small that he can only exist in the bible and is no greater than that? Isn't it interesting that your religion is probably no more than 25 years old and yet Catholicism is 2000 years old? Who, then, is the false prophet of whom we should be wary? A religion, which has been staple for two millennium or a new religion who interrupts the bible in it's own way?



How do you justify those Catholics who are able to quote scripture to you? Or are you unfamiliar with those particular scriptural passages because you pick and choose which parts of scripture you will believe and which parts you will choose not to?



I pray that you and your fallen brethren will return to the one true religion of Jesus Christ lest you spend eternity in hell. Come home, prodigal son, God will welcome you, as we will, with open and joyful arms!

Answer 5

And once again we have an argument because you have taken Jesus words out of context. You cannot take one line and twist it around anyway you want it to go to find meaning. It's called "crossing the priciplizing bridge" back to that time and culture, that language and intent and the real intent of Jesus in the entire first part of chapter 23 was directed to the people about the errors of Pharisaism.

Your statement was skewed to infer that any male sire should not be called "father" is in error of what Jesus intended. Jesus was calling into question that people should not be calling their own "dads" tantamount "Father" in heaven.

Jesus also showed the error of calling certain people "rabbi" and "leaders".

Next time you want to question Scripture - read more than ONE LINE if you can do that.

Answer 6

Good question. Jesus pretty much only spoke about things in the spiritual sense. Your one and true Father is yopur spiritual fathjer(God the Father) all others are really your brothers and sisters as it will be in Heaven. No the catholics shoul;d not use this term loosely. They believe their Fathers can forgive sin which only God can do. The pope is a physical man with a god complex. You and I and every single person alive has the same direct connection/line of communication with the One true God. No one need to go thru anyone but Jesus to have a direct relationship with God the Father.

Answer 7

Jesus was talking about not giving the reverence due to God to men. He was not forbidding the practice of recognizing someone who is your teacher in the Faith as your father, or master, since that is what they are. Check out Paul's words to the Corinthians:



"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" (1 Cor. 4:14–15).



This article may help:

http://www.catholic.com/library/Call_No_Man_Father.asp



God bless.

Answer 8

So why do those in the New Testament refer to each other as spiritual fathers? What does Paul mean when he says, "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"? (1 Corinthians 4:14–15)

Answer 9

I'm a Catholic. Allow me to clear this up for you.

If you call your dad "father" does that mean you're sinning? Does that mean that by calling dad "father'' you don't love Jesus?

Of course not. That'd ridiculous, isn't it? What Scripture is talking of is that you are to WORSHIP NO ONE BUT YOUR FATHER IN HEAVEN.

I'm assuming that you are bothered by Catholics calling priests ''father''. When we do this we are not calling them "God" or worshiping them. That's absurd. A father is someone who teaches children, discplines them, instructs them... priests are simply there to help the people understand things, to INSTRUCT THEM. By calling them "father'' we are referring to them as our teachers who preach God's word.

Catholics certainly do not take away from God by doing this. Why should God be offended if we go to his instructors for help?

I hope this cleared it up for you.

Answer 10

Just a little for you read your bible and the catechism for the rest



Did Abraham belong to a Cult he let people call him Father against what is taught in Mathew 23





Who said: Ye men, brethren and fathers, hear. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charan





16:24. And he cried and said: Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water to cool my tongue: for I am tormented in this flame.



16:27. And he said: Then, father, I beseech thee that thou wouldst send him to my father's house, for I have five brethren,



16:30. But he said: No, father Abraham: but if one went to them from the dead, they will do penance.



do you do what Jesus says John 6:66 or did you run from him too

Answer 11

isn't one of the commandments to honour thy father and mother ?



can you say hypocrite ?



how do you know what Jesus meant ? .... all you are doing is taking someone else word for it by their interpretation

or did the disciples give a little mini book along with the bible on how to interpret Jesus's words ?

Answer 12

The same reason they don't go berserk when everyone on earth calls their father "father". Do you have a father?





.

Answer 13

Bible Literalists should start their Bible readings with "Printed in China, Copyright 2002"

Answer 14

Catholics rather rely on church tradition than the Word of God. The popes have the audacity to claim that they are here in Jesus' stead.



HA!



Rev 18:4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.

Answer 15

So you say daddy or dad instead of Father. Anti Catholics like you are so dumb. Have you even read the catechism?

Answer 16

I call my dad father

Answer 17

Even your master, Satan, can quote the Bilble.

Answer 18

Doesn't that mean you shouldn't call your father "father" either?



It's just symbolism. It's not a big deal.

Answer 19

OK so who's your father then?



Can you still call another man 'Dad'? Or 'Pop'?

Answer 20

You read the Bible but do not understand it.

Answer 21

The Elders of the Church are Called "Fathers" and the Faithful "Children"

Matt. 23:9 - Jesus says, "call no man father." But Protestants use this verse in an attempt to prove that it is wrong for Catholics to call priests "father." This is an example of "eisegesis" (imposing one's views upon a passage) as opposed to "exegesis" (drawing out the meaning of the passage from its context). In this verse, Jesus was discouraging His followers from elevating the scribes and Pharisees to the titles of “fathers” and “rabbis” because they were hypocrites. Jesus warns us not to elevate anyone to the level of our heavenly Father.



Matt. 23:8 – in this teaching, Jesus also says not to call anyone teacher or rabbi as well. But don’t Protestants call their teachers “teacher?” What about this commandment of Jesus? When Protestants say “call no man father,” they must also argue that we cannot call any man teacher either.



Judges 17:10; 18:19 - priesthood and fatherhood have always been identified together. Fatherhood literally means "communicating one's nature," and just as biological fathers communicate their nature to their children, so do spiritual fathers communicate the nature of God to us, their children, through (hopefully) teaching and example.



Eph. 3:14-15 - every family in heaven and on earth is named from the "Father." We are fathers in the Father.



Acts 7:2; 22:1,1 John 2:13 - elders of the Church are called "fathers." Therefore, we should ask the question, "Why don't Protestants call their pastors "father?"



1 Cor. 4:15 - Paul writes, "I became your father in Christ Jesus."



1 Cor. 4:17 - Paul calls Bishop Timothy a beloved and faithful "child" in the Lord.



2 Cor. 12:14 - Paul describes his role as parent over his "children" the Corinthians.



Phil. 2:22 - Paul calls Timothy's service to him as a son serves a "father."



1 Thess. 2:11- Paul compares the Church elders' ministry to the people like a father with his children.



1 Tim. 1:2,18; 2 Tim. 1:2-3 - Paul calls Timothy his true "child" in the faith and his son.



Titus 1:4 - Paul calls Titus his true "child" in a common faith. Priests are our spiritual fathers in the family of God.



Philemon 10 - Paul says he has become the "father" of Onesimus.



Heb. 12:7,9 - emphasizes our earthly "fathers." But these are not just biological but also spiritual (the priests of the Church).



1 Peter 5:13 - Peter refers to himself as father by calling Mark his "son."



1 John 2:1,13,14 - John calls the elders of the Church "fathers."



1 John 2:1,18,28; 3:18; 5:21; 3 John 4 - John calls members of the Church "children."



1 Macc. 2:65 - Mattathias the priest tells his sons that Simeon will be their "father."





The Lord, Mary, the Apostles and Others Refer to Spiritual Leaders as "Fathers"

Matt. 3:9; Luke 3:8 - Jesus refers to Abraham as our "father."



Mark 11:10 - the people cried out blessed is the kingdom of our "father" David that is coming!



Luke 1:32 - God's angel says Jesus will be great and be given the throne of his "father" David.



Luke 1:55 - Mary says that He spoke to our "fathers," to Abraham and to his posterity for ever.



Luke 1:73 - Zechariah says the oath which he swore to our "father" Abraham.



Luke 16:24,30 - Jesus, in His parable about the rich man, says our "father" Abraham.



John 4:12 - the Samaritan woman asks Jesus if He is greater than our "father" Jacob.



John 7:22 - Jesus refers to the "fathers" who gave the Jews the practice of circumcision.



John 8:56 - Jesus tells the Jews your "Father" Abraham rejoiced that he was to see my day.



Acts 3:13,25; 5:30 - Peter teaches that the God of our "fathers" glorified His servant Jesus and raised Him to life.



Acts 4:25 - Peter and John pray to God and refer to our "father" David.



Acts 7:11-12, 15,19,38,44-45,51-52 - Stephen refers to our "fathers" in the faith.



Acts 7:32 - Stephen calls God the God of our "fathers."



Acts 13:17,32,36; 24:14; 26:6; 28:17,25 - Paul also refers to the God of our "fathers" in the faith.



Acts 22:3 - Paul says he was educated according to the strict law of our "fathers."



Acts 22:14 - Ananias says the God of our "fathers."



Rom. 4:1 - Paul calls Abraham our "forefather."



Rom. 4:16-17 - Paul says that Abraham is the "father" of us all and the "father" of many nations.



Rom. 9:10 - Paul calls Isaac, a spiritual leader, our "forefather."



1 Cor. 10:1 - Paul says that our "fathers" were all under the cloud, referring to the Old Testament spiritual leaders.



Gal. 1:14 - Paul says that he was zealous for the tradition of his "fathers."



2 Tim. 1:3 - Paul thanks God whom he serves with a clear conscience as did his "fathers" in faith.



Heb. 1:1 - the author says God spoke of old to our "fathers."



Heb. 3:9 - the Holy Spirit says that your "fathers" put me to the test.



Heb. 8:9 - God says not like the covenant that I made with their "fathers."



James 2:21 - James says was not our "father" Abraham justified by works when he offered his son Isaac?



1 Peter 1:18 - Peter says you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your "fathers."



2 Peter 3:4 - Peter says ever since the "fathers" fell asleep, all things have continued as they were from the beginning.



Other Examples Where Jesus Uses the Word "Father" When Teaching

Matt. 15:4-5; 19:19 - Jesus uses "father" when He teaches God's commandment to "Honor your father and your mother."



Mark 7:10-12; Luke 18:20 - these are more examples of Jesus using "father" when teaching about honoring our fathers and mothers.



Eph. 6:2,4 - Paul also teaches to honor your "father" and mother, and says "fathers," do not provoke your children.



Matt. 10:21; 35,37; Mark 13:12 - Jesus says "father" will deliver up his child in the last days.



Matt. 19:5; Mark 10:7,19 - Jesus says a man shall leave his "father" and mother and be joined to his wife. See also Eph. 5:31.



Matt. 19:29; Mark 10:29-30 - Jesus says whoever has left mother or "father" for His sake shall receive a hundredfold.



Matt. 21:31 - Jesus uses "father" when he teaches about the parable of the two sons and asks, "who did the will of his "father?"



Luke 6:23,26 - Jesus speaks about reward and punishment with reference to what their "fathers" did to the prophets.



Luke 11:11 - Jesus says what "father" among you will give his child a serpent when he asks for a fish.



Luke 11:47-48 - Jesus tells the lawyers they are witnesses to the deeds of their "fathers."



Luke 14:26 - Jesus says we must leave our "fathers" and mothers and come to him, or we cannot be His disciple.



Luke 15:12,17-18,20-22,27-29 - Jesus repeatedly uses "father" when teaching about the prodigal son.



Luke 16:27 - Jesus uses "father" when teaching about the rich man in purgatory.



John 6:49,58 - Jesus says your "fathers" ate the manna in the wilderness and died.

Answer 22

They pick and choose. Oh, and interpret what they do choose however they want.

Answer 23

Oh hogwash.



To understand why that charge does not work, one must first understand the use of the word "father" in reference to our earthly fathers. No one would deny a little girl the opportunity to tell someone that she loves her father. Common sense tells us that Jesus wasn’t forbidding this type of use of the word "father."



Joseph tells his brothers of a special fatherly relationship God had given him with the king of Egypt: "So it was not you who sent me here, but God; and he has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt" (Gen. 45:8).



Job indicates he played a fatherly role with the less fortunate: "I was a father to the poor, and I searched out the cause of him whom I did not know" (Job 29:16). And God himself declares that he will give a fatherly role to Eliakim, the steward of the house of David: "In that day I will call my servant Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah . . . and I will clothe him with [a] robe, and will bind [a] girdle on him, and will commit . . . authority to his hand; and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah" (Is. 22:20–21).



This type of fatherhood not only applies to those who are wise counselors (like Joseph) or benefactors (like Job) or both (like Eliakim), it also applies to those who have a fatherly spiritual relationship with one. For example, Elisha cries, "My father, my father!" to Elijah as the latter is carried up to heaven in a whirlwind (2 Kgs. 2:12). Later, Elisha himself is called a father by the king of Israel (2 Kgs. 6:21).



It also doesn’t exclude calling one’s ancestors "father," as is shown in Acts 7:2, where Stephen refers to "our father Abraham," or in Romans 9:10, where Paul speaks of "our father Isaac."



Second, there are numerous examples in the New Testament of the term "father" being used as a form of address and reference, even for men who are not biologically related to the speaker. There are, in fact, so many uses of "father" in the New Testament, that the Fundamentalist interpretation of Matthew 23 (and the objection to Catholics calling priests "father") must be wrong.



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).



Paul regularly referred to Timothy as his child: "Therefore I sent to you Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, to remind you of my ways in Christ" (1 Cor. 4:17); "To Timothy, my true child in the faith: grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord" (1 Tim. 1:2); "To Timothy, my beloved child: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord" (2 Tim. 1:2).



He also referred to Timothy as his son: "This charge I commit to you, Timothy, my son, in accordance with the prophetic utterances which pointed to you, that inspired by them you may wage the good warfare" (1 Tim 1:18); "You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus" (2 Tim. 2:1); "But Timothy’s worth you know, how as a son with a father he has served with me in the gospel" (Phil. 2:22).



Paul also referred to other of his converts in this way: "To Titus, my true child in a common faith: grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior" (Titus 1:4); "I appeal to you for my child, Onesimus, whose father I have become in my imprisonment" (Philem. 10). None of these men were Paul’s literal, biological sons. Rather, Paul is emphasizing his spiritual fatherhood with them.



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" (1 Cor. 4:14–15).



Peter followed the same custom, referring to Mark as his son: "She who is at Babylon, who is likewise chosen, sends you greetings; and so does my son Mark" (1 Pet. 5:13). The apostles sometimes referred to entire churches under their care as their children. Paul writes, "Here for the third time I am ready to come to you. And I will not be a burden, for I seek not what is yours but you; for children ought not to lay up for their parents, but parents for their children" (2 Cor. 12:14); and, "My little children, with whom I am again in travail until Christ be formed in you!" (Gal. 4:19).



John said, "My little children, I am writing this to you so that you may not sin; but if any one does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous" (1 John 2:1); "No greater joy can I have than this, to hear that my children follow the truth" (3 John 4). In fact, John also addresses men in his congregations as "fathers" (1 John 2:13–14).



By referring to these people as their spiritual sons and spiritual children, Peter, Paul, and John imply their own roles as spiritual fathers. Since the Bible frequently speaks of this spiritual fatherhood, we Catholics acknowledge it and follow the custom of the apostles by calling priests "father." Failure to acknowledge this is a failure to recognize and honor a great gift God has bestowed on the Church: the spiritual fatherhood of the priesthood.



Catholics know that as members of a parish, they have been committed to a priest’s spiritual care, thus they have great filial affection for priests and call them "father." Priests, in turn, follow the apostles’ biblical example by referring to members of their flock as "my son" or "my child" (cf. Gal. 4:19; 1 Tim. 1:18; 2 Tim. 2:1; Philem. 10; 1 Pet. 5:13; 1 John 2:1; 3 John 4).



All of these passages were written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and they express the infallibly recorded truth that Christ’s ministers do have a role as spiritual fathers. Jesus is not against acknowledging that. It is he who gave these men their role as spiritual fathers, and it is his Holy Spirit who recorded this role for us in the pages of Scripture. To acknowledge spiritual fatherhood is to acknowledge the truth, and no amount of anti-Catholic grumbling will change that fact.

Answer 24

Catholics are not Christians.They do not believe in the Bible.Their final authority is man.