[RSV Catholic]

I have to admit whenever I go to church, out of fear/ confussion I don't call my priest father.

BUT its the thing to do :blink:,
what did Jesus mean by this, what he said?
Matthew 23:9

OLD Testament:
Judges 17:10
"Stay with me, Micha said to him. Be Father and Priest to me..."

NEW Testament: word father used after what Glorious Christ said,
Acts 15:10
"Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?"
*1 Timothy 5:1
"Rebuke not an elder, but intreat him as a father; and the younger men as brethren..."

Thank you for your replies,

[StColette]

If one took Mt. 23:9 as literal we would not even be able to call our own biological fathers "father". I believe that this verse is reminding us that we have but one God and one God only and it He who reigns in Heaven. We have but one Heavenly Father, who is God. That doesn't mean to say we can not have spiritual leaders that can be fathers to us. St. Paul in 1 Cor calls Timothy his child in Christ. Many Christians call Abraham our father in faith as do the Jewish people. There's even the little song about "Father Abraham" which is taught to many Protestant children.

[phatcatholic]

jennie pretty much answered it. here's some articles, if you want to learn more:

Using the Title of "Father"
--Call No Man Father?
--Call No Man Father?
--Call No Man Father?
--Why Catholics Call Priests "Father"
--Why Do We Call Priests "Father"?
--Call No Man Father? Understanding Matthew 23:9
--Don't Be Called a Teacher and Call No Man Your Father
--What Do I Tell a Person Who Insists on Calling a Priest "Mister" Instead of "Father"?
--Calling Men "Father"

[Fides_et_Ratio]

Not sure if phat's articles mention this or not...

But there is also a sense of participation here... Priests (and earthly biological fathers included) are only "father" insofar as they participate in the Fatherhood of God. That is what we mean when we call priests (and dads) "father". They are called to example fatherly qualities that we find perfected in the One who is Father--God.

Christ's instruction to not call anyone Father is an explanation of roles. God is the true Father, true Teacher, etc. All others are "father" only insofar as they participate in and example "father-like" qualities.

There are many other examples of participation like this found in the Scriptures... we are all called to share in the priesthood of Christ (who is the High Priest)--1 Peter 2:5, we are all called to be children of God (which we do by participating in the divine sonship of Christ... Galatians 4:5), and we all (obviously) participate in grace.

Just thought I'd throw that out there for you to ponder.

[RSV Catholic]

thanks again for the links "phatcatholic" :tiphat:

[phatcatholic]

i gotcha back bro ;)

[theculturewarrior]

This is just a hypothesis, which I honestly haven't investigated, but I think it may have something to do with Roman deification of secular leaders. I'm imagining the Roman emperor telling the Jews "I'm your Father." But we know that nobody loves us like God does.

That aside, it also says not to let anybody call you master or teacher. That's quite a prohibition. My doctor would have to ask me to call him Bill...I couldn't even call him Mister Bill. Doctor comes from the Latin word for teacher, and Mister comes from the word Master.

Really, does God ask that we be on a first name basis with everyone? Does he really profit from our scruples? :blink:

[m2thebizzax]

Some people take word for word in the Bible literally. For example: Whether Adam and Eve really existed, it's the message that is really important. Now, I'm not saying that they didn't exist, lol, just making a point.

~*~ Mary ~*~

[phatcatholic]

m2thebizzax, on May 8 2005, 09:25 AM, said:

Some people take word for word in the Bible literally. For example: Whether Adam and Eve really existed, it's the message that is really important. Now, I'm not saying that they didn't exist, lol, just making a point.

~*~ Mary ~*~

hehe, i hear ya ;)

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