The actual phrase was, "Call no man on earth father" --- or master or teacher, in the next two phrases of the quote. Paul calls men on earth "fathers," "teachers," and "masters" quite freely.
And he calls himself father in the spiritual sense (1 Cor 4:15: "For I became your father in Jesus Christ through the Gospel") which is really even more germane.
Historically, American Protestant opposition to this is somehow both modern and quaint. According to studies done by Protestant historian David Holmes (LINK), American Protestants of all sorts called their clergy "Father" for over 200 years--- a practice that waned only when large numbers of Irish came into the U.S. after the Great Hunger of the late 1840's.
According to Holmes, (as cited above),
"Father" and "Mother" do not violate biblical nomenclature, and they have the sanction of Protestant tradition. Neither sacerdotal nor conventual, they have been employed by fervent Baptists as well as by biblicist Disciples of Christ. Not terms of self-exaltation, they were used voluntarily by congregations and colleagues to express affection and respect. More than "Mr.," "Mrs ," "Ms.," "Dame" or "Dr.," "Father" and "Mother" portray the strong familial nature of Christ’s church."
Historically, it was an anti-Irish polemical spirit that spurred American Protestants to refuse the term "Father," which before they had used.
Interestingly, "Father" was NOT used for secular (diocesan) Catholic priests --- outside of Ireland --- before this time, either. Secular priests were called "Mister," "Monsieur," "Don" or other vernacular equivalent. It was a distinctively Irish custom to say "Father," which did not catch on in the rest of the Church until Cardinal Henry Manning started promoting it in England, also in the 1840's.
Knowing your interest in history, I thought you would find this intriguing.
The Faiths of the Founding Fathers, by David Holmes
