@garee, I'm having a hard time following the point you're making.
I see that you object to the word "father". If we referred to the early Christian writers as "early Christians" or "early Christian teachers", would you be okay with that?
I see that you object to church leaders "lording it over" other Christians. For clarification: Do you object to having ordained clergy altogether? Or is it the abuse of power that you object to?
Sorry, now I'm really lost. The people commonly called "early church fathers" are a few dozen regular human beings from the first few centuries AD. They weren't disembodied workers with familiar spirits. Can you explain what you have in mind?
Again, I'm having trouble following your overall point. Could you state it clearly in one or two sentences for me?
I am not against clergy more interested in looking to define just what they are assigned to do seeing they have no power in their earthen bodies of death and must rely on our Unseen Holy Father in heaven.
In that way the fathers are just as powerless of the pew sitters .
2 Corinthians 4:7 We have this
treasure from
God, but we are only like
clay jars that hold the
treasure. This is to show that the amazing
power we have is
from God, not from
us.
The word father must be rightly divided or understood. The father of lies. . the father of a brood of vipers called fathers would make it all one thing.
There is not one word of encouragement in the Bible that would have us call men fathers . The word is reserved for our one unseen Father when it comes to venerating the Spirit that works in those born again from above. .
The overall point is we are to call no man on earth father or infallible teacher . One is our Good teaching father as Lord and master in heaven
One teaching father
Matthew 23:8-9 (ERV) “But you
must not be called
‘Teacher.’ You are all equal as
brothers and sisters. You have only
one Teacher. And don’t call anyone on earth
‘Father.’ You have
one Father. He is in heaven.
.
Christians as apostles today (those sent with the word of God) can plant the seed and water it but are considered
nothing (no authority) seeing he does the actual teaching making our hearts soft . If he does not do the work of applying His teaching to our hearts called forming Christ in us then we have not been taught be Him as His way he has designed to seek His approval
Not the approval of men (fathers, kings, princes) that simply opens the way for a Queen of heaven to be squeezed in as if God was a man as us..
We are warned of those who would try and seduce us we do need a man to teach us by usurping the actual teaching ministry of the anointing or teaching one, Christ. We abide in him as he teaches us. Not a brood of vipers called fathers.
Studying the difference on how the word father is used can be beneficial. Its not that I reject using the word "father" but how "brood of vipers" one of the terms Jesus used to define fathers .
Using the word father improperly opposes the gospel in the end making the word of God sola scriptura or as
it is written without effect or desolate.
Calling them "early Christians" would be must safer when rightly dividing the word of truth than calling them early church fathers or early kings.
The early is someone trying to set a standard in the new testament by creating a division that is not there.
The church or bride of Christ as one who plants the gospel seed began in the Genesis with Abel the first apostle, martyr. Abel would be considered a father in the proper us of the word.
Disembodied workers with familiar spirits called patron saints is the product of what some a call ECFs mind set assigned a patron saints by the venerable fathers (brood of vipers) who lord it over the non venerable pew sitter who seek the approval of men seen and not our unseen Father in heaven .
The ECF's make up part of the legion(3500 and rising) those that rejects sola scriptura the true reforming authority in any generation.
Venerable mystics another part of the available 3500 . an alternate way to seek help each one is assigned a particular task by the task master called a Pope by some. Called a daysman in the bible.
They call all things written in the law and prophets heresy so that they can keep the laws I heard it through the grapevine oral traditions of men the ECF's