Call No Man Father on Matthew 23:8

Matthew 23:8ff - “But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers. And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one Instructor, the Messiah."


Notice that if we take what Jesus out of context and misinterpret the texts we should not call anybody "teachers" and "instructors" and "fathers" anymore.

Most Protestants and anti-Catholics like to use that verse from the bible to discredit the Catholic practice of calling our ordained Priests "Father" as their formal title.

Here are the the Biblical New Testament references to the theology of the spiritual fatherhood came from:

1 Cor. 4:14–15 - "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".

Acts 7:2 - "To this he replied: “Brothers and fathers, listen to me! The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Harran."

1 John 2:13-14 - "I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I write to you, children, because you know the Father. I write to you, fathers, because you know him who is from
the beginning."

Romans 9:10 - "And not only this; but when Rebecca also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac..."

We only have one Father (Abba) who is God Himself. We don't equate calling our Catholic Priests "father" to God but simply as spiritual fathers like the apostles were from the Bible verses above.

No one would deny a child 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". The role as spiritual fathers came from the apostles as stated above.

How to Talk to Mormons in Your Area

I met 2 missionaries from the Mormon church a few days ago. They were pleasant and friendly. I had a great discussion and asked them the hard questions about why they believe what they believe.

Here are some of the basic questions I asked them:

1. Who started your church?

2. Who was Joseph Smith to start a new church?

3. If Jesus started the Church in Matthew 16:18 when he said, "I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it," why would Joseph Smith or any other person contradict Jesus and start their own church which can only mean that what Jesus started from the beginning was not adequate?

4. Why would anyone even consider becoming a Mormon when it only existed a few decades ago when there was already an established church from the beginning of Christianity? Which church was that that should still be existing right now?

5. Why do you believe that the Book of Mormon is equal to the Bible?

6. If the Book of Mormon is truly God's word, why does it contradict the Bible when it comes to basic Christian faith in the Trinity and Jesus's Divine nature?

7. If Mormonism was truly inspired by the same God who inspired the Bible, why are you not even considered Christians in the proper sense of the word?

As faithful Catholics, we should all engage these well meaning people to the reasons, apart from the grace of faith, of why the Catholic Church is the One True Church that Jesus started without antagonizing them. We need to remind ourselves that we should not judge them as individual people but we are here to question and challenge the new teachings of Mormonism that contradicts the revealed teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ through the Catholic Church.

Conversion is not up to us, conversion is up to the person and God alone. Pray before and after any conversation you may have.