My Daily Domestic Diigolet 04/01/2008

This is a good example of rejecting a perfectly
biblical Catholic practice by taking Scripture out of context.  Jesus
was simply using his customary hyperbole to emphasise the fact that no
man is to take the place of God in our lives.  The exaggeration 
is reminiscent of his exhortation to cut your hand off if it causes you
to sin (Matt 5:29-30), or his saying that mountains can be moved with just
a little faith (Matt 17:20) or his statement that one must hate one’s father
and mother to be his disciple (Luke 14:26).

But is Christ’s saying to be taken at face value? If so, several other passages in the Bible are immediately in conflict, including some statements by the Apostle Paul in the New Testament. To the church at Corinth he wrote, “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”.2 Does not Paul claim to be the spiritual father of the Corinthians–“Father Paul”, if you please? Furthermore, he boldly refers to his spiritual ancestry as “our fathers”.3 And he did address earthly fathers in Colosse in this way: “Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged”.4 It would appear the Apostle Paul certainly did not interpret the Lord Jesus Christ’s words to mean only One was to be called “father”, that is, the heavenly Father. In addition to this, when the rich man saw Abraham in heaven with Lazarus in his bosom, and addressed him as “Father Abraham”, Abraham’s response was not, “Do you not realize that only God the Father is to be called `father?” Rather, he replied, “Son, remember..”.5 Instances like the above could be multiplied from Scripture to show that a great many people are acknowledged to be “fathers”.

n. But is Christ’s saying to be taken at face value? If so, several other passages in the Bible are immediately in conflict, including some statements by the Apostle Paul in the New Testament. To the church at Corinth he wrote, “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”.2 Does not Paul claim to be the spiritual father of the Corinthians–“Father Paul”, if you please? Furthermore, he boldly refers to his spiritual ancestry as “our fathers”.3 And he did address earthly fathers in Colosse in this way: “Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged”.4 It would appear the Apostle Paul certainly did not interpret the Lord Jesus Christ’s words to mean only One was to be called “father”, that is, the heavenly Father. In addition to this, when the rich man saw Abraham in heaven with Lazarus in his bosom, and addressed him as “Father Abraham”, Abraham’s response was not, “Do you not realize that only God the Father is to be called `father?” Rather, he replied, “Son, remember..”.5 Instances like the above could be multiplied from Scripture to show that a great many people are acknowledged to be “fathers”.