Mungo
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- Oct 21, 2019
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Catholics are sometimes accused of contradicting scripture because they call their priests "Father" but Jesus said (Mt 23:9):
And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven.
But is there really a contradiction?
Jesus himself uses the term in later in the same chapter (vs 32.)
Jesus refers to Abraham as father in Lk 16:24, as does James in Jas 2:21.
Paul writes “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.” (1Cor 4:15)
Matthew repeatedly refers to fathers in Matt 10:21-37, 15:4-6
John writes “I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning.” (1Jn 2:13)
And there are more examples I could give.
So what is going on?
What is going on is the logical fallacy of equivocation in the use of “call” – using a word with two different meanings.
The Collins Concise Dictionary gives 28 [yes, twenty eight] different meanings to the verb “call”. Some of these are specialist terms (e.g. to “call” at poker)
Here are two of them
8. (tr) to name or style: they called the dog Rover.
9. (tr) designate: they called him a coward.
or as the Concise Oxford English Dictionary [less comprehensive with only 8 meanings] puts it:- “[3.] give a specified name to. address by a specified name, title, etc.”
Catholics address or give their priests a title of Father. But this is not the same meaning as Jesus was using in Mt 23:9
According to a Greek Orthodox priest, who is also a Greek translator, the word translated “call” in Mt 23:9 is misunderstood. I do not understand the technicalities of Greek but apparently the word used (kalesete) is not any of those used to imply a name or title, but means summon or call forth and is in the second person aorist active subjunctive plural form (and no, I don’t understand what that is!).
This would be the following from the Collins Concise Dictionary
1. to speak out or utter (words, sounds etc.) loudly so as to attract attention
2. (tr) to ask or order to come
or as the Concise Oxford English Dictionary put it:- “[1.] cry out to (someone) in order to summon them or attract their attention.”
The issue does not arise in the Greek because two different words are used.
In Mt 23:9 the Greek is kalesete.
But the Greek word for call in the sense of addressing someone is legeis as in this example (Lk 18:18-19)
And a ruler asked him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call [legeis] me good? No one is good but God alone.
Here is an example using both meanings
As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. And he said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." Immediately they left their nets and followed him. And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. (Mt 4:18-21)
Here are the two uses of called. The first meaning named or addressed (Simon who is called Peter) is legomenon (Strong 3004). The second is call in the sense of call out to (he called them) ekalesen (Strong 2564)
And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven.
But is there really a contradiction?
Jesus himself uses the term in later in the same chapter (vs 32.)
Jesus refers to Abraham as father in Lk 16:24, as does James in Jas 2:21.
Paul writes “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.” (1Cor 4:15)
Matthew repeatedly refers to fathers in Matt 10:21-37, 15:4-6
John writes “I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning.” (1Jn 2:13)
And there are more examples I could give.
So what is going on?
What is going on is the logical fallacy of equivocation in the use of “call” – using a word with two different meanings.
The Collins Concise Dictionary gives 28 [yes, twenty eight] different meanings to the verb “call”. Some of these are specialist terms (e.g. to “call” at poker)
Here are two of them
8. (tr) to name or style: they called the dog Rover.
9. (tr) designate: they called him a coward.
or as the Concise Oxford English Dictionary [less comprehensive with only 8 meanings] puts it:- “[3.] give a specified name to. address by a specified name, title, etc.”
Catholics address or give their priests a title of Father. But this is not the same meaning as Jesus was using in Mt 23:9
According to a Greek Orthodox priest, who is also a Greek translator, the word translated “call” in Mt 23:9 is misunderstood. I do not understand the technicalities of Greek but apparently the word used (kalesete) is not any of those used to imply a name or title, but means summon or call forth and is in the second person aorist active subjunctive plural form (and no, I don’t understand what that is!).
This would be the following from the Collins Concise Dictionary
1. to speak out or utter (words, sounds etc.) loudly so as to attract attention
2. (tr) to ask or order to come
or as the Concise Oxford English Dictionary put it:- “[1.] cry out to (someone) in order to summon them or attract their attention.”
The issue does not arise in the Greek because two different words are used.
In Mt 23:9 the Greek is kalesete.
But the Greek word for call in the sense of addressing someone is legeis as in this example (Lk 18:18-19)
And a ruler asked him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call [legeis] me good? No one is good but God alone.
Here is an example using both meanings
As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. And he said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." Immediately they left their nets and followed him. And going on from there he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them. (Mt 4:18-21)
Here are the two uses of called. The first meaning named or addressed (Simon who is called Peter) is legomenon (Strong 3004). The second is call in the sense of call out to (he called them) ekalesen (Strong 2564)