Why is there a pope?

[UsernameKyle]

So I was reading in Matthew 23, and verse 9 says “And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven.”
It seems clear that Catholicism is a pagan religion. So now I pose the question. If we are not to perform this kind of worship, isn’t the Vatican it’s own governing body under the religion of Catholicism? We wouldn’t call our governors or officials “father”. Shouldn’t they repent?

 

[LuckyDuck]

I do believe that you most likely called your daddy father as you got older.
That aside, the world needs a pope...if only for the pomp and circumstance, for the sheep to hold in awe. It's entertainment.

 

[Gracie]

The pope is just a man. Not my father, no anyone elses father. When they call him that, its an insult.
Can you see Jesus living in luxury like the pope does? They treat that guy like he's God. And no...he doesn't speak for God either.

I honstly don't understand that religion and why they do what they do.

 

[Moonglow]

The Roman Catholic church was set up in the tradition of Rome where the pontiff was the spiritual and the political leader. Catholicism is a religion with pagan and Christian religions that are melded together to draw in pagans thinking they can get them to join in the worship of Christ. The church had to convince Christians that it was a monotheistic religion by creating the Father/Son/holy ghost trinity which tries to combined three entities into one God. Which is a load.

 

[Picaro]

He's the head administrator over other administrators. Organizations that don't have a top executive over all the other executives, Bishops and Cardinals in this case, usually don't fare well, which is why corporations aren't run like democracies. Popes do a lot more than just sitting around waiting to walk out on a balcony and make speeches once in a while, they actively run a worldwide corporation.

 

[Penelope]

So I was reading in Matthew 23, and verse 9 says “And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven.”
It seems clear that Catholicism is a pagan religion. So now I pose the question. If we are not to perform this kind of worship, isn’t the Vatican it’s own governing body under the religion of Catholicism? We wouldn’t call our governors or officials “father”. Shouldn’t they repent?

Without Catholicism you wouldn't have the Christian religions.

 

[Penelope]

The pope is just a man. Not my father, no anyone elses father. When they call him that, its an insult.
Can you see Jesus living in luxury like the pope does? They treat that guy like he's God. And no...he doesn't speak for God either.

I honstly don't understand that religion and why they do what they do.

He has an apartment, he is a humble man, unlike Jesus, do you even know who the REAL Jesus is??
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But since his election Pope Francis has been living in a simple two-room suite in the Domus Santa Marta - a hotel-style residence built by Pope John Paul II next to St Peter's Basilica. And he intends to go on living there for the foreseeable future, according to the Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi.Mar 26, 2013
Pope Francis shuns grand apartment for two rooms - BBC News

 

[Penelope]

So I was reading in Matthew 23, and verse 9 says “And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven.”
It seems clear that Catholicism is a pagan religion. So now I pose the question. If we are not to perform this kind of worship, isn’t the Vatican it’s own governing body under the religion of Catholicism? We wouldn’t call our governors or officials “father”. Shouldn’t they repent?

1Cor 4:9
Paul becomes a Father

14I am writing you this not to shame you, but to admonish you as my beloved children.*

15Even if you should have countless guides to Christ, yet you do not have many fathers, for I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel.g
16Therefore, I urge you, be imitators of me.

 

[fncceo]

Who else is gonna wear the funny hat?

 

[fncceo]

Without Catholicism you wouldn't have the Christian religions.

Actually, the Orthodox Church pre-dates the Roman Catholic Church.

 

[Jonathan McCreevey]

I haven't found any reasons for a pope in the bible.

 

[Meriweather]

So I was reading in Matthew 23, and verse 9 says “And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven.”
It seems clear that Catholicism is a pagan religion. So now I pose the question. If we are not to perform this kind of worship, isn’t the Vatican it’s own governing body under the religion of Catholicism? We wouldn’t call our governors or officials “father”. Shouldn’t they repent?

You are forgetting that a word may have more than one definition. Father may mean a biological father, or in Jesus and the Apostles time a spiritual father, or it was often used as a title of a man who began a new religion. Father Abraham is a well-known example of this, but there were many Jewish sects during the time of Jesus and the Apostles. Each sect was began by someone, and this person was called Father just as Abraham was. Jesus was directing his comments at the latter. In other words, you have one Father of one Faith and that is God.

Jesus had no intention of eliminating biological or spiritual fathers--those who exercise paternal care. You will notice both Jesus and the Apostle often referred to their flocks as children or sons. Even so, even with Jesus, the Father (author and architect of our faith) is God alone. In the Catholic faith no priest, bishop, cardinal, or pope can change anything to suit himself for God is our Father.

The Catholic Church was designed to be one body. Each parish is run separately by its Pastor. While each parish is individual, they are also united in a Diocese that is overseen by the Bishop so that all work harmoniously together when it comes to matters of faith. After this, is the Archdiocese overseen by a Cardinal to insure all diocese are working harmoniously together in matters of faith. Next comes the Pope whose position is to insure the Church is in harmony world-wide.

In Catholicism, we rarely see one a church separating because of differences, i.e., unlike many Baptist churches who sometimes feel that small differences indicate the congregation would be better off separating into their own sub-units. There are 31 major Baptist denominations plus all these sub-units. Be clear, I am not saying this is wrong, only pointing out the Catholic Church works hard to stay united because of Jesus prayer that we all remain one.

Hope this helps!

 

[Meriweather]

The pope is just a man. Not my father, no anyone elses father. When they call him that, its an insult.
Can you see Jesus living in luxury like the pope does? They treat that guy like he's God. And no...he doesn't speak for God either.

I honstly don't understand that religion and why they do what they do.

The Pope is just a man who upholds a responsibility. The etymology of 'Pope' traces back to 'Papa' which people were in the habit of calling the Bishop of Rome. The Bishop of Rome is now known as Pope. His major responsibility is to be a tie-breaker should a difference occur and remain deep within the Church. When the difference is resolved, it becomes 'infallible' meaning it may not be overturned by a future Pope; it becomes a part of all Church teaching. There have been three such 'infallible' rulings in the two-thousand year history of the Catholic Faith. All the other issues we consider to be infallible were set up by Christ and the Apostles--and the Catholic faith closely follows all of these traditions.

 

[Compost]

I haven't found any reasons for a pope in the bible.

How do you interpret Matthew 16:18 and John 21:15-17?

 

[Taz]

So I was reading in Matthew 23, and verse 9 says “And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven.”
It seems clear that Catholicism is a pagan religion. So now I pose the question. If we are not to perform this kind of worship, isn’t the Vatican it’s own governing body under the religion of Catholicism? We wouldn’t call our governors or officials “father”. Shouldn’t they repent?

Someone has to drink all the wine. That's why Francis always looks hammered.

 

[Taz]

The pope is just a man. Not my father, no anyone elses father. When they call him that, its an insult.
Can you see Jesus living in luxury like the pope does? They treat that guy like he's God. And no...he doesn't speak for God either.

I honstly don't understand that religion and why they do what they do.

The Pope is just a man who upholds a responsibility. The etymology of 'Pope' traces back to 'Papa' which people were in the habit of calling the Bishop of Rome. The Bishop of Rome is now known as Pope. His major responsibility is to be a tie-breaker should a difference occur and remain deep within the Church. When the difference is resolved, it becomes 'infallible' meaning it may not be overturned by a future Pope; it becomes a part of all Church teaching. There have been three such 'infallible' rulings in the two-thousand year history of the Catholic Faith. All the other issues we consider to be infallible were set up by Christ and the Apostles--and the Catholic faith closely follows all of these traditions.

So where in the bible does it say that they have to be gay...um, I mean celibate?

 

[Meriweather]

So where in the bible does it say that they have to be gay...um, I mean celibate?

That came much later when great disputes arose over what was Church property and what was the property of the family and heirs.

 

[Jonathan McCreevey]

I haven't found any reasons for a pope in the bible.

How do you interpret Matthew 16:18 and John 21:15-17?

Do you really believe the pope has the keys to heaven? Even if Peter was succeeded, why would the one apostolic line out of 12 have that control over who goes to heaven? Is the bible already written? Can the pope change the bible? Is the pope like the angel of death who supposedly escorts souls to heaven or hell? How does the papalhood relate to the white throne judgement in the book of revelation?

 

[Compost]

I haven't found any reasons for a pope in the bible.

How do you interpret Matthew 16:18 and John 21:15-17?

Do you really believe the pope has the keys to heaven? Even if Peter was succeeded, why would the one apostolic line out of 12 have that control over who goes to heaven? Is the bible already written? Can the pope change the bible? Is the pope like the angel of death who supposedly escorts souls to heaven or hell? How does the papalhood relate to the white throne judgement in the book of revelation?

So you don't have your own interpretation. Interesting.

 

[Meriweather]

Can the pope change the bible?

No. It is the Pope's responsibility to insure the Bible remains intact, as written. The big argument with Galileo is that Galileo was aghast that the number one book in the world contained verses about the sun moving around the earth, etc. He argued these verses should be changed to reflect the reality. The Church refused. Note, the Church had no problem with Galileo's theory, it just wasn't going to let him change the Bible. At that time, Galileo had no way of knowing that one day there would be more books in the world presenting his discovery than there would be Bibles. He just wanted to get the word out, and the best way of doing that was to write it in the Bible.

Decades later, there was another issue of Protestants wanting to translate the Bible only loosely following the original languages. The Pope protested this as well, and got labeled as not wanting people to read the Bible. (There were already accurate translations available, but they cost more than the less scholarly versions.)