This topic manages to be offensive to both gays, lesbians AND adoptive heterosexual people.

"Biological fathers" are best? Only ones who are compassionate, tolerant, open, fair-minded, loving, giving, supportive and loving, I know I already said 'loving', but there is clearly a dearth of it here in Warwick Marsh's tiny little world.

Sexual orientation does not dictate how decent and caring a person is, however holding dogmatic religious beliefs clearly does place limits on compassion and acceptance.

What a vile topic!

Quite right Severin. If Marsh's 'Dads4Kids' wasn't just a thinly disguised front for fundamentalist Christian godbothering, Warwick would be advocating for the rights of gay dads as well as straight dads.

Welcome back :)

Happy Father's Day to all of the fathers out there. May this day be very happy and memorable for you.

Father by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
He never made a fortune, or a noise
In the world where men are seeking after fame;
But he had a healthy brood of girls and boys
Who loved the very ground on which he trod.
They thought him just little short of God;
Oh you should have heard the way they said his name –
‘Father.’

There seemed to be a loving little prayer
In their voices, even when they called him ‘Dad.’
Though the man was never heard of anywhere,
As a hero, yet somehow understood
He was doing well his part and making good;
And you knew it, by the way his children had
Of saying ‘Father.’

He gave them neither eminence nor wealth,
But he gave them blood untainted with a vice,
And opulence of undiluted health.
He was honest, and unpurchable and kind;
He was clean in heart, and body, and in mind.
So he made them heirs to riches without price –
This father.

He never preached or scolded; and the rod –
Well, he used it as a turning pole in play.
But he showed the tender sympathy of God.
To his children in their troubles, and their joys.
He was always chum and comrade with his boys,
And his daughters – oh, you ought to hear them say
‘Father.’

Now I think of all achievements ‘tis the least
To perpetuate the species; it is done
By the insect and the serpent, and the beast.
But the man who keeps his body, and his thought,
Worth bestowing on an offspring love-begot,
Then the highest earthly glory he was won,
When in pride a grown-up daughter or a son
Says ‘That’s Father.’

C J Morgan,
You seem to be very ready with name-calling and abuse of others. Must be something you picked up while lecturing.

Would you like to nominate an academic from an Australian university who has written one good thing about fathers. There are a lot of academics, so it shouldn't be too difficult, although I haven't actually seen anything written by an academic in an Australian university that does say one good thing about fathers.

Cornflower,
Thanks, and I think many other fathers would appreciate your kind words.

'Sexual orientation does not dictate how decent and caring a person is, however holding dogmatic religious beliefs clearly does place limits on compassion and acceptance.'

No doubt men and woman that have left normal relations to join a perverted lifestyle are just as loving and caring for those who change common decency to suit their dogma.

Happy Fathers day to all dads out there...
no matter what their sexual orientation.

We all love our children.

Cheers, Suze.