Call no man Father?

[neon_knights]

"And do not call anyone on earth 'father,' for you have one Father, and he is in heaven"

I'm confused by this verse, as all Orthodox and Latin Catholics address priests as "Father".

[David Garner]

"“But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers.......nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one Instructor, the Messiah."

So do we refuse to call our teachers "teacher" or our instructors "instructor?"

Also, St. Paul didn't get the memo:

"Even if you had ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel."

[Asteriktos]

Yeah, going along with what David said, I think if you look at the context, it was not meant to be a prohibition of the term (Matt. 23), but it was pointing towards avoiding a certain mindset. Jesus Christ was saying to avoid lifting men up beyond their proper place or role, and thereby taking credit away from God. That he was trying to make a point and not actually saying that the term father shouldn't be used can be seen from examples like the following:

- The Gospel writers calls Zebedee the father of James and John (Matt. 4:21; Mk. 1:20)
- Jesus uses the term father when speaking of earhtly parents (Lk. 11:11)
- an angel says of Jesus that "the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David" (Lk. 1:32)
- The term father is used in the story of the birth of John the Baptist (Lk. 1)
- Paul speaks about human parents with this term (Heb. 12:9)

[Salpy]

Neon,

What do you call the man who is listed on your birth certificate along with your mother?  

I was told by someone once that the only true Father is God.  All other fathers, whether they be priests, or the guy who is married to mom, are imperfect imitations of Him.  I was told that is the message we should get out of that Biblical passage.

[Salpy]

Here is an article on the subject:

http://www.antiochian.org/node/19193

[Kasatkin fan]

The oddity is that those who claim an absolute interpretation of that verse are always guilty of refering to at least one man as "father".

The verse reminds us that ultimately we have only one who we are to follow, and that earthly leaders are fallible and should not be treated as gods on earth. It is not saying we are not to treat them with utmost respect, but only to remember they are not the final authority (that said, the individual is not the final authority either, as many Protestant denominations teach).

[NicholasMyra]

"And do not call anyone on earth 'father,' for you have one Father, and he is in heaven"

I'm confused by this verse, as all Orthodox and Latin Catholics address priests as "Father".

Christ is the only true Shepherd (pastor), Teacher, Minister, and along with the Holy Spirit, the only Comforter. God the Father is the only true Father.

And yet, as St. Paul tells us, we can have fathers IN CHRIST JESUS.

"For if you were to have countless tutors in Christ, yet you would not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel." -1 Corinthians 4:15
 
Just as no man is a Presbyter of his own accord, but only through participation in Christ's high priesthood, so no man is a spiritual father apart from Christ. Essentially, all good bishops, fathers, teachers, ministers, pastors, and comforters are "auxiliary" members of Christ's perfect Typos of these roles.

[NicholasMyra]

Here is Fr. Thomas Hopko's take on the issue:

http://ancientfaith.com/podcasts/hopko/call_no_man_father

[Marc1152]

And let's not forget Father Abraham.

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