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Rating: 
Summary: Practical, spiritual help for fathers
Review: FACT: Four out of ten American children will go to bed tonight in a home without their fathers (Blankenhorn, David, Fatherless America, 1995).FACT: About 90 percent of single-parent homes are without a father. (U.S. Bureau of the Census, "Poverty in the U.S.: 1992") FACT: Seventy percent of long-term prison inmates come from homes where the father wasn't present. ("Family Values Gain Control," The Wall Street Journal, December 12, 1995, p. A6) So go the statistics...Drawing from the Bible and works such as Pope Pius XI's, Christian Marriage (Casti Connubii), Pope Paul VI's, Of Human Life (Humanae Vitae), and John Paul II's, The Role of the Christian Family in the Modern World (Familiaris Consortio) and Letter to Families, former Protestant minister turned Catholic, Steve Wood, offers 8 practical commitments that fathers can make to ensure they will leave a positive, lasting mark on their children and their children's children. Wood takes the "Eight Commitments of the St. Joseph Covenant Keepers" and goes into much greater depth on them than he has in his audiotapes or brochures. Those commitments include: - Affirming Christ's Lordship Over Our Families - Following St. Joseph, the Loving Leader and Head of the Holy Family - Loving Our Wives All Our Lives - Turning Our Heart Toward Our Children - Educating Our Children in the Discipline and Instruction of the Lord - Protecting Our Families - Providing for Our Families - Building Our Marriages and Families on the "Rock" Wood effectively uses Scripture, secular statistics, and papal encyclicals to provide practical things that fathers can do to build solid marriages and secure families. The book shows how desperately fathers are needed in a world which seems to say that they are not. Any father wondering how he can raise a faithful family needs to own a copy of this book.
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Summary: Follow John Paul II instead!
Review: I was horrified when a friend showed me this book's outrageous claim that Pope John Paul II neither teaches or endorses the mutual subjection of spouses. The book's claim is, of course, patently false. The reasoning behind this false claim includes, among other things, an appeal to the writings of Wayne Grudem, a Protestant with a weak understanding of both scripture and linguistics whose works have been debunked time and again by better scholars. What Pope John Paul II *actually* teaches about the mutual subjection of spouses may be found in his apostolic exhortation "On the Dignity and Vocation of Women" (Mulieris Dignitatem): "The author [of Ephesians] knows that this way of speaking [in Ephesians 5:22-23], so profoundly rooted in the customs and religious tradition of the time, is to be understood and carried out in a new way: as a 'mutual subjection out of reverence for Christ' (cf. Eph 5:21).... However, whereas in the relationship between Christ and the Church the subjection is only on the part of the Church, in the relationship between husband and wife the 'subjection' is not one-sided but mutual.... the awareness that in marriage there is mutual 'subjection of the spouses out of reverence for Christ,' and not just that of the wife to the husband, must gradually establish itself in hearts, consciences, behavior and customs. This is a call which from that time onwards does not cease to challenge succeeding generations; it is a call which people have to accept ever anew. St. Paul not only wrote: 'In Christ Jesus...there is no more man or woman,' but also wrote: 'There is no more slave or freeman.' Yet how many generations were needed for such a principle to be realized in the history of humanity through the abolition of slavery! ....But the challenge presented by the 'ethos' of the Redemption is clear and definitive. All the reasons in favor of the 'subjection' of woman to man in marriage must be understood in the sense of a 'mutual subjection' of both 'out of reverence for Christ.'" (section 24) How could Steve Wood so flagrantly deny a clear teaching of Pope John Paul II? The only possible explanation I can think of is that perhaps his conversion to Catholicism was not yet complete when he wrote this book. At any rate, Catholics should follow Pope John Paul II rather than Steve Wood. "Mutual subjection" of wife to husband AND husband to wife is the authentic Gospel ethos.
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Summary: Perfect for Fathers Everywhere
Review: Steve Wood and James Burnham have hit the nail on the head. They have identified the critical areas where fathers become either successes or failures. If you're a young father and want to know how to be a great father - this is the book for you. If you're an old father - and want validation for what you did right and identification for where you went wrong - this is the book for you. The critical areas they deal with involve devotion to God, to Church, and to family. They show how to love and be faithful to your wife. They show how to love your children, and it's spelled T-I-M-E. They show the necessity of rightly ordering family life so that it aims at more than this family's life. Having observed both Mr. Wood and Mr. Burnham's families, I can say that they practice what they preach and their children (while giving the struggles to their parents that is ordinary) are happy, healthy, and holy. The happiness of their wives and the marvels that are their childrens are astoundingly powerful testimonies of the truth they speak in this book.
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Summary: To Be Shared
Review: Steve Wood's, "Christian Fatherhood" has had a continuing and growing influence on me. Having been married fourteen years, my wife and I have had our share of challenges. The wisdom and charity within this book has helped me be a more loving husband, a better father and has given me the confidence to teach my faith to my children.
Rating:
Summary: To Be Shared
Review: Steve Wood's, "Christian Fatherhood" has had a continuing and growing influence on me. Having been married fourteen years, my wife and I have had our share of challenges. The wisdom and charity within this book has helped me be a more loving husband, a better father and has given me the confidence to teach my faith to my children.
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Summary: Excellent book for dads
Review: This book is an excellent resource for fathers. The book describes how to follow St. Joseph, affirming Christ's lordship over our families, loving our wives, educating our children in the instruction of the lord, etc. Good resource for small mens discussion groups, too.
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Summary: A must read for Catholics
Review: This is an outstanding book aimed at fathers like me that are Catholic and have embraced their faith but haven't fully realized the consequences if we neglect to pass our faith on to our children. One cannot read this book and not realize there is no greater obligation we have than to pass on our Catholic faith to our children. What could possibly be more urgent? Several times while reading this book I got that uncomfortable "hot under the collar" feeling because Mr. Wood is so effective at making one realize the things we are NOT doing as parents, and I'm a good parent!! I know Jim Burnham from when I used to live in New Mexico and he is a tremendous person and teaches Apologetics wonderfully. The lady who expressed concerns over Mr. Wood's thoughts on mutual subjection I think has either misunderstood the author's intent or focused on one thing that shouldn't lessen the message this book sends. I truly wish every father would read this book - there isn't time to lose.
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Summary: A must read for Catholics
Review: This is an outstanding book aimed at fathers like me that are Catholic and have embraced their faith but haven't fully realized the consequences if we neglect to pass our faith on to our children. One cannot read this book and not realize there is no greater obligation we have than to pass on our Catholic faith to our children. What could possibly be more urgent? Several times while reading this book I got that uncomfortable "hot under the collar" feeling because Mr. Wood is so effective at making one realize the things we are NOT doing as parents, and I'm a good parent!! I know Jim Burnham from when I used to live in New Mexico and he is a tremendous person and teaches Apologetics wonderfully. The lady who expressed concerns over Mr. Wood's thoughts on mutual subjection I think has either misunderstood the author's intent or focused on one thing that shouldn't lessen the message this book sends. I truly wish every father would read this book - there isn't time to lose.
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