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To: NYer
No disrespect meant to those that want to worship Jesus as a Catholic does but to me, this:

They are fathers (“pope” means “papa”) who hold a unique office for one reason: they were called by Christ to hold the keys of the household of God.

doesn't jibe with this:

Matt 23:8 “But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have only one Master and you are all brothers. 9 And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. 10 Nor are you to be called ‘teacher,’ for you have one Teacher, the Christ

Not only the Pope but Priests (or Mary) standing between Jesus and me are also off my list because:

1 Tim 2:5 For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,

7 posted on 08/21/2011 3:35:15 PM PDT by 1forall (America - my home, my land, my country.)
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To: 1forall
I think you're taking one passage of Scripture out of context and misunderstanding it. Please read this article. Short version: Jesus was speaking hyperbolically against the Pharisees who wanted to kill him. Paul directly endorses and claims for himself the mantle of spiritual father in 1 Cor 4:14-15.

Not only the Pope but Priests (or Mary) standing between Jesus and me are also off my list

I'm a Catholic, and I don't think of priests as "standing between Jesus and me" at all. They hold their office as part of God's plan to bring Jesus to me.

Again, the passage you quote does not say anything against priests, the Pope, or Mary. In fact, taken in context, it's part of a passage that specifically commands intercessory prayer (cf 1 Tm 2:1-2). It's not mediation to the Father instead of Jesus' mediation with the Father, but mediation that proceeds through that mediation of the One Mediator and relies on it.

Otherwise, we're forced to conclude that it's some kind of offense to the mediation of Christ for Christians to pray for one another. However, Scripture directly commands Christians to pray for one another! (cf James 5:16, Gal 6:2, Heb 13:18, 2 Thess 3:1, etc.)

8 posted on 08/21/2011 3:51:58 PM PDT by Campion ("Fallacies do not cease to be fallacies when they become fashions." -- GKC)
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