Jesus said, "And do not call anyone on earth 'father,'for you have one Father, and he is in heaven"(Mat23:9)..

Question

why do Catholics call all their priests Father and the Pope even worse "Holy Father"!? What part of DON'T CALL ANYONE A FATHER don't they understand?

Answer 1

Same part YOU don't understand if you call the Sunday school people teachers since Jesus next line was not to call anyone "teacher".

Actually, He obviously wasn't referring to Catholics when he said this.....Catholicism had not yet come into being -- and so the term for Catholic clergy did not exist...since, well...there was no Catholicism.

You ARE aware -- aren't you -- that Paul tells us that he IS our Father since he brought us the Gospel.....see 1 Cor. 4:15.

ALSO, God himself called himself the God "of your fathers" -- referring of course, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob....see Acts 7:32

As far as calling the Pope "another Christ".....like it or not that is what ALL of us are called to: To love one another as Christ himself. Mother theresa also said, "If you do not see Jesus Christ in the very next person that you meet, it is pointless to look anywhere else". We are here to serve God IN others....we are called to be Christ for one another....that visible, tangible, flesh and blood sign of Jesus Christ on earth among us.

We Catholics do not "pick and choose" what we want from the bible....that Protestantism to the core! Its why there are more than 30,000 different Protestant denominations in the world.....each following his/her own interpretation of the Bible. A real slap in the face to Jesus who wanted us to be "one".....not 30,000. Truth, of course, is one....not 30,000 because the Holy spirit is not divided against himself.

P.S. Have any of you ever called your mother by her first name? It's why Jesus never called his mother, "Mary".

If you accept Jesus as your brother, you MUST accept Mary as your mother!!!

Answer 2

That is a great question! I happen to be an ex patriot Lutheran who once wanted to be a minister. You are taking the passage out of context. Jesus is actually talking about how the scribes and Pharisees have set themselves up in a position equal to Moses (verse 2). In verse 3 He points out their hypocrisy, "They say and do not". Jesus is making a comparison and in the context, the reference is strictly aimed at the Pharisees and how they wanted the people Jesus is addressing to regard them (the Pharisees). In other words, if the Pharisees claim they are "Father" don't believe them or anything they say unless they are willing to set an example and humble themselves to the same level as those they teach. The sermon had nothing to do with the Pope! If you want to get a really great Bible, I suggest George M. Lamsa's translation from the original Aramaic of the Peshitta...the ancient eastern text. It is published by Harper San Francisco with the original translation by Lamsa in 1933. Anything else is watered down by Greek, Latin and heaven forbid the politics of King James! Lamsa is an Arab convert to Christianity who was a professor of the language Jesus spoke...the Aramaic. It is an eye opener!

Answer 3

precise 10 Questions Fundamentalists locate maximum annoying Anti-Catholics oftentimes pepper Catholics with speedy-hearth questions of the kind "the place is X pronounced interior the Bible?", as though each concept must be explicitly pronounced in Scripture, and pronounced making use of precisely an identical term for it that's used in the present day. next time that occurs to you, attempt out the distinctive following questions in respond... 10. the place is the term altar call interior the Bible? 9. the place is the term Rapture interior the Bible? 8. the place is the term premillenialism interior the Bible? 7. the place is the term entire immersion interior the Bible? 6. the place is the term eternal secure practices interior the Bible? 5. the place is the term King James version interior the Bible? 4. the place is the term sola scriptura interior the Bible? 3. the place is the term entire depravity interior the Bible? 2. the place is the term faith on my own interior the Bible? (in straight forward terms in James 2:24, the place that's rejected) And the #a million question Fundamentalists locate maximum annoying… a million. the place is the term Bible interior the Bible?

Answer 4

AMEN!!!!!! AND GOD BLESS YOU!!!!! I've been asking that question for years of catholics. Knowing the past, present, and future, God KNEW of Satan's plan to set up an apostate church in which the "faithful" would call mere men "father" in a spiritual sense. Also, Jesus called His mother "woman" because He knew that in a future time people would, under the deception of the "holy" catholic church , start this nonsense of "Mary" worship. Never ONCE did Christ call His mother "Mary". It was always "woman". Thank you for a truly intelligent and mature question. You have just made my day. May God keep you safe from all manner of harm and evil and prosper the work of your hands. Again, thank you!!!

Answer 5

You need to read the verses before and after this one. Jesus is talking about exalting yourself as greater than your brothers in the faith. When he says "...And do not call anyone on earth 'father'..." he is not saying "Do not call he who raised you and of whom you were born father", he is saying to not exalt men over God.

That's my take, anyway...

Answer 6

Also, many Christians tend to refer to their male parents as their fathers.

Answer 7

I go to a Catholic school..but im not catholic..im just Christian. i have also wondered about this...im gonna ask my religion teacher. i just do not understand....they must think that God means...just dont worship anyone else...because they rnt ur father...the one who created u. that is also true...but they pray to the saints....when clearly it says in the Bible...i forget which verse....that it is witchcraft to try and have contact with the dead. and they say mary was born without orginal sin...what made her an exception? she was born with sin also..she was human!


catholics only read the new testament because it applies to them more than the old testament...they need to read the WHOLE Bible.

Answer 8

Because they place tradition over Scriptures. They consider the priest to be "another Christ" (words of Mother Teresa) and they just about worship the pope as God anyhow.

Answer 9

I agree with you and I have thought this way for a long time specifically due to the scripture that you quoted.

Answer 10

Many innovations catholics have made from christians.