A FATHER AND FUTURE FELON 

This project, the book, is dedicated to those fathers who have committed themselves to the care of their children and even children who lack a parent and such care. 

Title 

Saint Augustine 

Father's Voice
FELLOWS/FATHERS

WHO CAN MAP OUT THE VARIOUS FORCES AT PLAY IN ONE SOUL?  MAN IS A GREAT DEPTH, O LORD. THE HAIRS OF HIS HEAD ARE EASIER BY FAR TO COUNT THAN HIS FEELING, THE MOVEMENT S OF HIS HEART.

"Fellows/Fathers" is an expression...
FORE-WORDS To seek the highest Good is to live well.  I did not know ... but now I present this book entitled: 

A FATHER AND FUTURE FELON.

 
FORMER-FATHER GOD JUDGED IT BETTER TO BRING GOOD OUT OF EVIL THEN TO SUFFER NO EVIL TO EXIST.

Parents that I know...
FARAWAY- FATHER IT IS NOT PUNISHMENT BUT THE CAUSE THAT MAKES THE MARTYR.

 I have referred to the matter of divorce
FARAWAY- FATHER Will is to grace as the horse is to the rider.

 I was re-introduced to some form of due-process:  
FELLOW- FATHER Men go abroad to wonder at the heights of mountains, at the huge waves of the sea, at the long courses of the rivers, at the vast compass of the ocean, at the circular motions of the stars, and they pass by themselves without wondering.

  jail was a remarkable and unique experience; it has made... 
FELLOW- FATHER The greatest evil is physical pain.

Where have all the father's gone? 

FELLOW- FATHER By faithfulness we are collected and wound up into unity within ourselves, whereas we had been scattered abroad in multiplicity.

  one day you are seemingly caring for your children as fatherly-friend  
FAMILY- FATHER No eulogy is due to him who simply does his duty and nothing more.

"Being a Good Father"  
FAMILY- FATHER What does love look like?

 It has the hands to help others. It has the feet to hasten to the poor and needy. It has eyes to see misery and want. It has the ears to hear the sighs and sorrows of men. 

That is what love looks like.

they had been dealing with these destructive ambitions before...
FAMILY- FATHER Indeed, man wishes to be happy even when he so lives as to make happiness impossible.

Words alone cannot describe...
FAMILY- FATHER Habit, if not resisted, soon becomes necessity.

Credibility that is lost through such conduct must be constantly kept in check; 
FAMILY- FATHER This is the very perfection of a man, to find out his own imperfections. The concept of brokenness can be seen in the book of Job
FORE-FATHER In the absence of justice, what is sovereignty but organized robbery? The background of my letter will be self-evident; that I was unjustifiably charged and arrested for nothing more than what millions of parents do everyday-as they care for their children.
FORE-FATHER O Holy Spirit, descend plentifully into my heart. 

Enlighten the dark corners of this neglected dwelling and scatter 

there Thy cheerful beams.

Reading and further understanding was in store; not just about the Patriots of old, but also the parents of today
FORE-FATHER He that is kind is free, though he is a slave; he that is evil is a slave, though he be a king. And no matter the family, the law is quite clear on the model of unilateral divorce and the addition of yet more fatherlessness in America
FOunding-FATHER An unjust law is no law at all.  Dying is one of the sacrifices that have yet to be mentioned in the passion and pursuit of the patriot-and the patriot has yet to mentioned in the sacrifices other than Colonial America
FOunding-FATHER Virtue and Vice are not the same. Even if they undergo the same torment. Somewhere in the collection of books or the local newspaper
Farthing-FATHER hear the other side

To understand the conduct of the court is to accept that collaboration-and perceived collusion-is apparent in even the most farthing cases.
FARTHING-FATHER there is not possible source of evil except good

What is one parent to do when the other has the law at her beckoned call?
Farthing- FATHER do you wish to be great? then begin by being

do you wish to construct a vast and lofty fabric? think first about the foundations of humility

the higher you structure to be, the deeper must be its foundation

As a post-entry: a court continuation would be anticipated because of the power to prosecute through plea bargaining
FORGETTING-FATHER o' lord, help me to be pure, but not yet

I am not perfect, of course; but neither were the patriots of old or all-but-one of the patriarchs of the ages. Imperfection is not the cause for incriminating a parent; but when the courts must decide in matters of divorce and custody, precedence and pragmatism enjoin power (or authority) to ensure that something be done to satisfy someone.
Forgetting-FATHER FORGIVENESS IS THE REMISSION OF SINS. 

FOR IT IS BY THIS THAT WHAT HAS BEEN LOST, AND WAS FOUND, IS SAVED FROM BEING LOST AGAIN

One positive or promising aspect of jail was the opportunity to read. 
forgiving-father we are certainly in a common class with the beast. 

every action of animal life is concerned with seeking bodily pleasure and avoiding pain

An institution becomes the singular authority to disengage the family through de facto dissolution or divorce on demand. The

forgiving-father thou has created us for thyself and our heart is not quiet until it rest in thee

When I choose not forgive (or to enable God to help me forgive), I am purposing-pain. Further, I am refusing to obey my Lord and, in my disobedience, I

forgiving-father god judged it better to bring good out of evil then to suffer no evil to exist

In the complexity of reconciliation is the requirement for mutual desire-just as in a marriage or healthy relationship. Unlike uncontested divorce,

forgiving-father TO ABSTAIN FROM SIN WHEN ONE CAN NO LONGER SIN IS TO BE FORSAKEN BY SIN--NOT TO FORSAKE IT  Forgiveness in not a checklist, a ledger or some similar calculated entry (as I may have thought); but if a similar association could be made, it is more like a trust fund with limitations immeasurable by humankind-individual or institution. Trust then in the trust fund…without limitations.
fEARING-father DON'T YOU BELIEVE THAT THERE IS IN A MAN A DEEP SO PROFOUND AS TO BE HIDDEN EVEN TO HIM IN WHOM IT IS?  Fear has been felt as no other time in my life (that I recall); not an instant or impulse, but a prevailing dark cloud-a malaise from the malevolence of the one-once by marriage. Is it a "fear of falling", as somewhat described in Barbara's book, or is something more? Whatever the nature of the fear, it is not what God desires for his child.
fEARing-father SEEK NOT TO UNDERSTAND THAT YOU MAY BELIEVE BUT BELIEVE THAT YOU MAY UNDERSTAND Fear is not a feeling or condition so easily admitted or affirmed; even as children, we may recall being scared to death—but saying nothing of it.  These memories or experiences are comical in retrospect; no matter the seriousness, the moment and emotions were thinly veiled in what was thought a theatrical-toughness.
fEARING-father IT WAS PRIDE THAT CHANGED ANGELS INTO DEVILS; IT IS HUMILITY THAT MAKES MEN AS ANGELS  Saul was the people’s choice. In the present day, “a Saul” could be a president that looks very presidential.  A problem will looking the part is that “the right stuff” is not necessarily significant—even important to the place or position.  Perception is the point—feelings over substance….
fEARING-father HE THAT IS JEALOUS IS NOT IN LOVE Love can mysteriously overcome; it is a force that prevails beyond…our fears and pride, our struggles to forgive (and self-powering bitterness).  Love can bring healing and renewal—even reconciliation. Christ is the source of this love: naturally, love is endowed through common grace; socially, love is fostered through familial relationships.
FOR-(E)-BEARING-FATHER THE PURPOSE OF ALL WARS IS PEACE  Allegations lodged during the divorce process had no substantive evidence; by word or statement alone, the plaintiff and a neighbor (at the time) attempted a ruse. While "the accused" were exonerated (by virtue of the resulting unsupervised visitation with my children), the use of such unsubstantiated allegations was (or has been) part of my "education".
FOR-(E)-BEARING-FATHER CHARITY IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR JUSTICE WITHHELD  The "battles" that the authors describe is indeed an assault on the family; not just on the causalities of the "tactics long-deployed", but the conventional family in general. When no-fault entered the states , the convention of a contract marriage was undermined-the consequence of which was the first wave of skyrocketing divorce; then followed by a second wave-a secondary consequence-of declining marriage per capita. 
FOR-(E)-BEARING-FATHER WE MAKE A LADDER OUT OF OUR VICES IF WE TRAMPLE THE VICES UNDER FOOT Family is the central concern. Divorce is the threat so imposed on families as part of the larger assault on the family. The dilemma of a parent regarding the best interest of children is derived from his role and responsibility in the family: the choice to remain married is not without his want for happiness-but the choice that regards the best interest of the children too. He (or she) is sacrificing, as parent's do… for their children's sake.
FOR-(E)-BEARING-FATHER PATIENCE IS THE COMPANION OF WISDOM In his time, Ralph was familiar with sacrifice. He lived through the Great Depression, the decline of small farms, and the migration sometimes necessary for work and sustenance. Moving from south to north Alabama is not significant today; but in his time, relocation from family was more significant and serious. Still, he set-out to find opportunity in the industry of the emerging south and, in the course, found marriage and family.
FOR-(E)-BEARING-FATHER WE CANNOT PASS OUR GUARDIAN ANGEL'S BOUNDS, RESIGNED OR SULLEN, HE WILL HEAR OUR SIGHS The better angels may be the higher-road, but it is costly-involving great sacrifice and risks. This road is not the easy route-love and forgiveness-but it may be the inevitable way to deny the demons. As the Proverbs are so worth remembering: "A man's wisdom gives him patience; it is to his glory to overlook an offense."
FUTURE-FATHER  IF WE GIVE GOOD LIVES THE TIMES ARE ALSO GOOD

AS WE ARE SUCH ARE THE TIMES

 The point in continuing with Francis Schaeffer's book, and introducing Sheldon Richman's commentary on Democracy in America, is to draw some association between the story of a "Future Felon" and the bigger institution, The State. Before bringing this association to some completion however, I return to the last events of jail and my conviction.
FUTURE-FATHER  A THING IS NOT NECESSARILY TRUE BECAUSE BADLY UTTERED NOR FALSE BECAUSE SPOKEN MAGNIFICENTLY  Many would agree that The State is a poor nanny or exhibits personifications of narcissism; but not many have probably experienced the firsthand accounts of authority so able to create a criminal. Yes, when expediency and pragmatism are at play, reason and logic gives way to ridiculous and unrighteous conduct of those who both create the weather and then make it rain.
FUTURE-FATHER   HOPE HAD TWO BEAUTIFUL DAUGHTERS THEIR NAMES ARE ANGER AND COURAGE 

ANGER AT THE WAY THINGS ARE AND COURAGE TO SEE THAT THEY DO NOT REMAIN THE WAY THEY ARE

 In the last chapter of his book, Francis Schaeffer warns of the possibilities or "alternatives". A society with "impoverished values" is subject to "possible threats to personal peace and prosperity". As long as some semblance (or appearance) of personal peace and affluence remain, the majority of individuals will surrender their liberties.
FUTURE-FATHER   LOVE AND DO WHAT YOU LIKE There is sorrow however, and I don't pretend that it does not exist. I cannot deny my disgust with the divorce industry; but I cannot continue to dwell on this institution to the degree that it becomes (or remains) an idol . I hurt for my children-not because their lives are deprived-but because they have been depleted through deception or basic dishonesty of one so presumed as trustworthy and loving.
FINALLY-FATHER   Francis once more; and in reference to another distant influence of Western civilization, The Roman Empire, he writes of conflict and contention: 

No totalitarian authority nor authoritarian state can tolerate those who have an absolute by which to judge that state and its actions. The Christians had that absolute in God's revelation. Because the Christians had an absolute, universal standard by which to judge not only personal morals but the state, they were counted as enemies of totalitarian Rome and were thrown to the beasts.
FROM-FATHER   H. Kirk Rainer was born in Atlanta, Georgia, on June 16, 1961. Much of his adult life, and a few years of youth, was spent in Northeast Florida. At the present, and for the foreseeable future, he has made his home in Northeast Alabama.
FATHER-FILES   This and other information in "Father-Files": " 
  • Relevant-Reading & Reviews (of other materials)
  • Pleading-Punishment (about the plea bargain) 
  • Roman-Republic (fall of the Roman Empire) 
  • Block-Boundaries (a layout of the jail block)
  • Some-Statistics (of family and marriage…)
  • Reserved-References (or a Bibliography)

Last Edited:  05/11/2012