Dear Editor,
Michael Haykin in ‘The reduction of fatherhood’ describes five aspects of 18th-century fatherhood and implies by the end of the article that the diminution of fatherhood in our day should be rectified by learning (uncritically?) from the 18th-century approach.
By his description, 18th-century fathers had the legal precedence and responsibility for their children, and the mothers’ role was secondary. This is the case in Islamic societies today, and not something the Bible advocates, as exemplified in these passages:
