nursing father

There are four, only four, nursing fathers of various beings!

A nursing father may take on the roles which have been traditionally or stereotypically assigned to women.

They have been my nursing mothers and my nursing fathers."

The concept of a "nursing father" for humans is mostly an emerging phenomenon of the 21st century.

A nursing father typically refers to the male parent of an infant which provides primary care for the infant.

Although the despotic character of his measures is contrary to modern sensibilities, he was indeed a "nursing father" of the Church.

The Nursing Father: Moses as a Political Leader.

But there was no toleration either: the magistrates or 'nursing fathers' were to tackle heresy, schism and disobedience, 'to be restrained and punished by civil authority'.

Without such nursing fathers, without this care of the governors, all governments would have sunk under the weakness and infirmities of their infancy, the prince and the people had soon perished together.

2 Nephi 10:9 9 Yea, the kings of the Gentiles shall be nursing fathers unto them, and their queens shall become nursing mothers; wherefore, the promises of the Lord are great unto the Gentiles, for he hath spoken it, and who can dispute?

As Michael Novak, author of the wonderful book On Two Wings, has observed: From 1776 to 1948, the dominant metaphor for church-state relations was that public officials must act as "nursing fathers" to the religious and moral habits of the people (the phrase in quotes comes from Isaiah).

Each was to shift for itself as it best could, without the aid or co-operation of the other; while kings and magistrates, instead of being bound by their office to be nursing fathers of the church, were engaged to nothing more, and could claim nothing higher, than what they might effect as mere members and private individuals.