Catholics, why do you call the priest "Father"?

Question

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

Can you show me one passage or verse in the Bible (the real Bible, not the ~*special*~ Catholic Bible) that teaches that the priest is a "Father"? Or that he has the ability to forgive sins? Or that the Pope is infallible? Any of these things? How about praying to Mary? And the use of the rosary? Just verses please, no commentary. Let the scriptures speak for themselves if you can. Thanks. :)

Once again, I asked for this to be done without commentary. Let the Word of God speak for itself.

Answer 1

Catholics can't do it with just scripture. They use their "apocrypha" and their "catechisms". They don't believe the Word of God.

Answer 2

Why do Protestant's commit grave sins, willfully and knowingly, by refusing to obey God and chose to call the man that sired them "dad" instead of by their given names? Disgraceful! Hypocritical! Why do Protestant's commit grave sins, willfully and knowingly, by refusing to obey God and chose to call their superiors and mentors in the class room "teacher?" (See Matthew 23:10). Why do Protestant's claim to be able to read The Bible by themselves (easily done) but be able to understand it without instruction, even when The Bible says plainly that this is not possible? (Acts Of Apostles 8:31) Why do they continue to make silly arguments that are based on a simple, and for want of a better word, "understanding" of what The Bible says, when this "understanding" is incorrect? Why do Protestants keep bringing this up when the apostles clearly has a "father and child" relationship with the early Christians? (1 Timothy 1:18, 1 Timothy. 1:2, Philippians 2:22)

Answer 3

All of these answers are very good!!!! However they all need their own explanation or commentary.
Unfortunately you wanted at least one verse of the scriptures that explicitly teaches that a priest is a "father"; their ability to "forgive" sins; the Pope; Mary and so on and so on. And you wanted the verse of the scriptures without any commentaries at all, "let the scriptures speak for themselves"
But.....
Unfortunately again, I do not think you could show ONE SINGLE VERSE OF THE SCRIPTURES where it explicitly reads "Everything has to be shown in the scriptures WITHOUT INTERPRETATION OF AN AUTHORITATIVE BODY (i.e. a Magisterium) because Scriptures speak for themselves"
Or can you?, Thanks. :)

Answer 4

Matthew 23:6-9 reads, "They love places of honor at banquets, seats of honor in synagogues, greetings in marketplaces, and the salutation 'Rabbi.' As for you, do not be called 'Rabbi.' You have but one teacher, and you are all brothers. Call no one on earth your father; you have but one Father in heaven."

Are we also not to call anyone "teacher" or "doctor" which is how "rabbi' would translate? I think not.

This is call for humility for those in leadership roles. Not to be taken literally.

We are not to deny our male parent and cut the Commandment to honor our father and mother in half.

Some leaders in any church may fall into the same folly of a lack of humility as the pharisees of Jesus' day.

The Apostle Paul writes:

I am writing you this not to shame you, but to admonish you as my beloved children. Even if you should have countless guides to Christ, yet you do not have many fathers, for I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel. (1 Corinthians 4:14-15)

And:

As you know, we treated each one of you as a father treats his children, exhorting and encouraging you and insisting that you conduct yourselves as worthy of the God who calls you into his kingdom and glory. (1 Thessalonians 2:11-12)

And:

I urge you on behalf of my child Onesimus, whose father I have become in my imprisonment, who was once useless to you but is now useful to (both) you and me. (Philemon 10-11)

And finally, Peter calls himself the "father" of Mark:

The chosen one at Babylon sends you greeting, as does Mark, my son. (1 Peter 5:13)

With love in Christ.

Answer 5

well brother you sure got alot of commentary and the catholic
interpretation of the bible.
abraham wasnt on earth and besides it referring to abraham
in the geneology sense

Answer 6

Pedophiles prefer it this way. I wish I were kidding. Okay, so I'm kidding... barely. But to call someone father is to bow and give credence to his "wisdom" - while loving him, I mean, come on, you have to love dad. I do. You probably do. The universe does. It's a great scam they (especially Catholics) have going. But it's coming to an end because people, at least in the western world, are beginning to clue in. Dads are great. "Fathers" are dysfunctional.

To all those "Fathers" out there... get a job.

Answer 7

omg for the 1000001th day
we do not want to put someone is gods place

why do u call ur birth father "Father"
HMMM?

Answer 8

that's what their religion requires of them to do, how ever it is to no avail and against bible doctrine.

Answer 9

Judges

"Micah said to him, "Where do you come from?" He answered him, "I am a Levite from Bethlehem in Judah, and am on my way to find some other place of residence. Stay with me," Micah said to him. "Be father and priest to me, and I will give you ten silver shekels a year, a set of garments, and your food. So the young Levite decided to stay with the man, to whom he became as one of his own sons. " (Judges 17:9-11)

"They said to him, "Be still: put your hand over your mouth. Come with us and be our father and priest. Is it better for you to be priest for the family of one man or to be priest for a tribe and a clan in Israel?" (Judges 18:19)


St. Paul

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. 4:15)


EWTN's FAQ

Matthew 23:1-12 [1] Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples, [2] saying, "The scribes and the Pharisees have taken their seat on the chair of Moses. [3] Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you, but do not follow their example. For they preach but they do not practice. [4] They tie up heavy burdens (hard to carry) and lay them on people's shoulders, but they will not lift a finger to move them. [5] All their works are performed to be seen. They widen their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels. [6] They love places of honor at banquets, seats of honor in synagogues, [7] greetings in marketplaces, and the salutation 'Rabbi.' [8] As for you, do not be called 'Rabbi.' You have but one teacher, and you are all brothers. [9] Call no one on earth your father; you have but one Father in heaven. [10] Do not be called 'Master'; you have but one master, the Messiah. [11] The greatest among you must be your servant. [12] Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

There is a curious blindness regarding both the context and other elements of this text. The text says to call no one Rabbi, no one Master and no one Father, yet "literalists" home in only on the Catholic priesthood. Who has ever rejected calling a Jewish expert in the Torah "Rabbi," or refused his "Master" of Divinity degree, or refrained from calling his male parent "Father," lest he violate the injunction of Christ? The fact is that all of these things are done without regret by biblical "literalists," who are strangely un-literal in this as in other matters.

But a true literalism is guided not by prejudice (prejudging the guilt of Catholics), but by understanding the intention of the author, the literary style (which can effect meaning), the context of the text and other relevant factors - all of which point to the necessity of an authority such as the Magisterium, since what individual, even a great scholar, can discern every nuance of history, language and theology that might apply. In this Catholics have the advantage of the Apostolic Tradition of interpretation, an advantage private interpreters lack.

So, what was Jesus saying? Well, in Matthew 16 we see in verses 5-12 that Jesus warned his disciples about the leaven (teaching) of the Pharisees and Sadducees. This meant that they were the purveyors of human opinions about the truth. The Pharisees, in particular, had raised opinion to a science, with different schools of thought lead by a Master, Rabbi, Teacher, Father, whose opinions on the Law were meticulously transmitted to, and followed by, his disciples. These groups often tried to get Jesus on their side against their opponents, since people recognized that He spoke with authority, not like their scribes and lawyers.

It should not surprise us that the answer to human opinion in matters of doctrine follows immediately upon Christ's warning to His disciples about the human opinions of the Jewish teachers. "Simon, flesh and blood has not revealed this to you but my Father in heaven. Thou art Rock and upon this Rock I will build my Church" (Mt. 16:13-18). The antidote to error is a teaching authority whose teaching is not opinion but comes from God the Father, the Source of all Truth.

God the Father is the ultimate principle of life, truth and love both within God (the Son and Spirit receive everything from Him) and within creation. The authority of all fatherhood comes from God the Father (Eph. 3:15). He graciously wills to allow human participation in the communication of natural life and to associate with human males the authority of His fatherhood. The male human parent is rightly called Father for his cooperation with the Fatherhood of God in giving life.

God the Father also graciously wills to allow human participation in the communication of supernatural life and truth, and to associate with those who share the priesthood of His Son the authority of His Fatherhood. The male spiritual parent of sons and daughters in Christ is rightly called Father, therefore, for the dignity of their cooperation in the redemptive work of Christ and His Father. Like a natural father they communicate life, the supernatural life of Christ flowing from the Father. Like a natural father they teach their children about truth, the supernatural Truth which is Christ, the perfect image of the Father. Like a natural father they provide a point of unity in love, communion, around which the supernatural family of God forms.

Catholic priests deserve to be called Father as long as they are the faithful conduits of supernatural life, truth and love, passing on the Apostolic Faith, Sacraments and unity in Communion first transmitted to Peter and the other Apostles. Thus, St. Paul was able to say to the Corinthians that while they had 10,000 guides in Christ they had only one Father, himself (1 Cor. 4:15).

Source: EWTN
http://www.ewtn.com/expert/expertfaqframe.asp?source=/ewtn/experts/conference.htm



http://www.call2holiness.org/faith.html

http://www.call2holiness.org/ScriptureAlone/ScriptureAlone.htm

Answer 10

I could answer all your questions if you want to unblock your email. But, we'll go with the "Father" question:

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, as we shall see. A careful examination of the context of Matthew 23 shows that Jesus didn’t intend for his words here to be understood literally. The whole passage reads, "But you are not to be called ‘rabbi,’ for you have one teacher, and you are all brethren. And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. Neither be called ‘masters,’ for you have one master, the Christ" (Matt. 23:8–10).

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.

Perhaps the most pointed New Testament reference to the theology of the spiritual fatherhood of priests is Paul’s statement, "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.