Manhood (Part 3) – The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

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For two days now, I’ve been laying some background for the situation that men and manhood find themselves in today. I’d like to close out this week with an excerpt from a blog over at The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood. In a post titled “How to Play the Man”, Jeff Robinson made the following points:

How to act like a man is a humdinger of an issue if you are one. The late Steven L. Nock, a professor of sociology at the University of Virginia, said in an e-mail to me last year that it doesn’t take much for women to prove that they’re “real women” in the widely accepted senses, but men are in a more slippery situation, especially with the role of father/protector/provider not considered as necessary or desirable as it once was. “[M]asculinity must be continuously earned and displayed. It is never won,” (emphasis mine) Nock wrote. Without a traditional role to embrace, being a man requires constantly defining yourself in opposition to all things female: “No wonder things like man-purses attract attention.

You can read the rest of this very good post here.

I think that the answer has to start with a man and his God. If our faith dictates that God created the world and set all that we know in motion, then that is where we have to go for clues and answers into we should be. We can no longer let culture, society, our own impressions, TV, lack of education, or any other source of influence determine what a MAN really is and what that looks like.

So, next week, I’ll continue this series of posts by starting there. We will look at “A Man and His God”. Make sure you stop by Monday to join the discussion.

Manhood – The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (Part 2)

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Real men don’t cry! Real men are in touch with their feelings! Real men are tough! Real men are tender! Holy cow…talk about an identity crisis. Men have been receiving conflicting messages about manhood for years now. As a result, most men don’t even know who they are anymore. And the more men become unsure of themselves, their identity and their role, the more they retreat into their own controlled environment. And the more men disappear and retreat, the more everyone suffers. Families are spinning wildly out of control; and, since they are the building block of society, our culture is in crisis. And at the center of it all is the lack of men being men. (And being a male isn’t the same thing as being a man) Think I’m off the mark? Take a look at a few of these stats:

Manhood – The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (Part 1)

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Manhood is in pretty rough shape these days. We live in a cultural vacuum of trying to define manhood and manliness. Are men supposed to be the Marlboro Man of those famous cigarette ads or are they supposed to be metrosexuals? Are they supposed to be strong and silent or or they supposed to blubber all over themselves while they get in touch with their feminine side? It’s a really weird and difficult time to be a man. And it’s only getting harder.

Why do I even bring this up?

Emasculated Men & Church

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The blog world is a fascinating place to explore. It’s amazing the useful information that you can find out there. It’s also a great way to learn from people who have similar passions and thoughts. One such person is a gal by the name of Bridget. I don’t know who she is or even where she is, but I know where she stands. I ran across an article posted on her blog . The article is from worldnetdaily and addresses a subject we have been talking about for a couple of years now. Here are some of the key thoughts:

How the church has emasculated men

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Posted: January 31, 2008
1:00 a.m. Eastern
Ever wonder why Christian men are so emasculated? Or why most normal red-blooded men find it absolutely impossible to relate to today’s clergy?You’re not alone. I use to think the problem was me, that I was old fashioned – at least that’s what I was told.But then I had an epiphany.God didn’t send girly-men to preach the Gospel, build churches and reform society back in the days of the early church. And He certainly won’t do that today either.J. Grant Dys argues on his blog that the spinoff effects of this reality can be seen in our families (or at least what’s left of them), our schools, our clubs and in the prisons of our society. And ironically, with the death of genuine masculinity, an increasing number of young men are seeking to reclaim their manhood in homosexuality.

On a cultural level, we all know that the idea of a “real man” has almost been beaten out of our social consciousness.