In this insightful video, Cy Kellett welcomes a new Catholic, Karen, as they tackle a common question posed by Protestant friends: Why do Catholics call priests “Father” when the Bible instructs us to call no man Father? Together, they explore the biblical context of this phrase and discuss the spiritual role of priests as spiritual fathers who guide their congregations closer to God.
Transcript:
Caller: I’m a new Catholic, Praise God. Now all my Protestant friends are asking me questions. I was a Protestant for 50 years. And the one question that they’re nagging me about is, why do you call the priest Father? No man could be called Father because our heavenly Father is our Father.
Trent Horn: So it sounds like they have two questions here. One is, why would you call priest Father at all? Because some of you may say, you know, curiously, why do you call a priest Father? And you can answer with a simple reply. We call a priest Father because they are a spiritual father to us. They act in a way to help. They imitate Christ, they imitate God the Father. They are our pastors in that sense that they help to. They take us as the priest stands in the person of Christ, the church is his bride. And so we are kind of children for a priest to lead and guide closer to God. So they become a spiritual father to us. And a lot of us can identify with that. I mean, I’m a convert, so my family’s not Catholic, so a lot of converts kind of have a Catholic mom and a Catholic dad that adopt them and teach them things. And. And I had that growing up. I had a Catholic dad in a sense, and back in Arizona that I would go to ask questions to. So really, even if you have Catholic parents, the priest kind of serves as your spiritual father to help, you know, lead you to Christ to administer the sacraments. But it sounds like your Protestant friends have more of an objection. It’s not just, why would you do that? But why do you do that? When the Bible says, don’t call priests Father, and it sounds like they’re talking about Matthew 23:9, where Jesus says, and call no man your Father on earth, for you have one Father who is in heaven. Is that what they’re pointing at? One. That’s the one. I see. Well, you could ask him a few questions. You could say, why does Jesus say we shouldn’t call people Father? And you could say, so which people? And you can ask them, do you call your own father Father? Do you? I mean, do you do that? I mean, Jesus said, honor your father and mother in Mark, chapter seven, when he talked about the traditions of the Pharisees that broke the fourth commandment. He said, honor your father and mother. Wait a minute. I thought we were supposed to call anyone on earth Father. I don’t know if that’s ever come up with them. You’ve asked them, do you ever call your own dad dad? Have you ever tried that?
Caller: Ah, good. One other question. Is it says, nobody comes under the Father but through me. Amen. How come you pray to Mary and the saints if nobody can go unto the Father but through me? That’s what one of my other Protestant friends.
Trent Horn: Sure, let me address that in one second. But I’d like to put a bow on Call no man Father. Be specific when they say. Well, sometimes they’ll say, this is just talking about spiritual fathers. Read the verse back to them. Matthew 23:9 is, call no man your Father on earth, for you have one Father who is in heaven. Now, if you took that literally, you couldn’t even. I know a Protestant who doesn’t even call his own dad dad Father because of this verse. But most of them don’t believe that. Ask them to read the whole context, what Jesus is saying here. The Pharisees loved being called Father to fill up their pride. Don’t call someone Father just to fill up their ego, so they take the place of God. But you can point them back to First Corinthians, chapter 4, where St. Paul calls himself Father in 1 Corinthians 4, chapter, First Corinthians 4:15, St. Paul says to the Corinthians, 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. I urge you then be imitators of me. So there you go, right there. St. Paul can call himself a father to the Corinthians. Spiritually, we can have the successors of the apostles, the bishops and the priests they ordained. We can call them fathers too. So that’s a good point to bring up there. Now, the question when Jesus says, no one can come to the Father except through me, that’s absolutely right. It is through the grace of Christ that secures our salvation and ultimately leads us to God and to eternal life. But that doesn’t preclude us from. From participating in Christ’s one mediation that he has for us by being mediators for one another. So when people say, why do you pray to Mary? Why do you pray to the saints? Why don’t you just go straight to God? You can say to them, well, do you ever ask your friends to pray for you? Do you ask your family to pray for you? Why do you do that? Why don’t you go straight to Jesus? It’s Jesus who takes us to the Father. Why would you ask other people to pray for you? You say, well, because we’re the body of Christ. We’re supposed to pray for one another. You say, yeah, exactly. So who belongs to the body of Christ. If someone’s dead and they’re a believer and they’re in heaven, are they a part of the body of Christ? If they’re not, where are they? Are they in hell? No. So if a dead person who is saved is in heaven, they’re part of the body of Christ. So they would logically pray for us, too, and we would ask for their intercession. Especially because James chapter five says that the prayers of a righteous person are very powerful, and who’s more righteous than the saints in heaven? So how is that? As kind of a few guides. Oh, that’s perfect. That’s perfect. Okay, good. I’m a new Catholic, so I’m learning. I’m a beginner in this faith, and they catch me off guard. And here’s. Here’s the thing, Karen. Listen. When they ask you a question you don’t know the answer to, you just tell them that is a really good question. And I know people who have been studying this a lot longer than I have. So let me go get an answer from them so I can go get you a really good answer for your really good question. Don’t feel stressed, like you got to have all the answers. Nobody has all the answers. I don’t have all the answers. And I know that even people are Catholic. Answers. We don’t have all the answers. We’re all journeying to the truth together. I tell you what, if you don’t have it already, I would very much enjoy sending you a copy of my book, why We’re Catholic, since you’re a new Catholic, and it’ll help maybe fill in a few gaps you have here and there. Would you like to receive that? Yes, I’d love to. All right, great. Why don’t you stay on the line? Our call screener will get your information and call anytime. Karen, you know, we’re here just about every day.
Caller: Yeah, I’ve been listening to you for three years. That’s why I’m Catholic!
Cy Kellett: Oh, praise God for that. Well, thank you for sharing that with us. Thank you very much.