Archive for the ‘Biblical Masculinity’ Category:
“Give Him Your Cloak (Coat?) As Well”
OK… so for a red-meat eating dude with a background in military and law enforcement, I found this NPR article both humbling and convicting. Here’s an excerpt:
But one night last month, as Diaz stepped off the No. 6 train and onto a nearly empty platform, his evening took an unexpected turn. He was walking toward the stairs when a teenage boy approached and pulled out a knife. “He wants my money, so I just gave him my wallet and told him, ‘Here you go,’” Diaz says. As the teen began to walk away, Diaz told him, “Hey, wait a minute. You forgot something. If you’re going to be robbing people for the rest of the night, you might as well take my coat to keep you warm.”The would-be robber looked at his would-be victim, “like what’s going on here?” Diaz says. “He asked me, ‘Why are you doing this?’” Diaz replied: “If you’re willing to risk your freedom for a few dollars, then I guess you must really need the money. I mean, all I wanted to do was get dinner and if you really want to join me … hey, you’re more than welcome.
My wife and I just moved into the city from suburban St. Louis… Read more »
“My HomoErotic Relationship with Jesus”
Your lips, O my spouse, Drip as the honeycomb; Honey and milk are under your tongue; And the fragrance of your garments Is like the fragrance of Lebanon. - Song of Songs 4:11
Popular Christianity places an emphasis on believers having a Personal Relationship with Jesus. As a Christian, I proudly proclaimed that I did not follow a religion, but that I had a relationship - a personal one-on-one with the Messiah. Looking back, I have no idea how to Biblically justify the idea of a personal relationship. I am pretty certain it is nothing more than modern Christian pop culture. And on a more practical level, I don’t think Jesus wants a relationship with any of us anyway. As a Christian, I talked to Jesus for years, but never heard a word back from him. That is in no way a relationship, despite all the effort I put into it. Read more »
“Masculine” Discussions Around the Wire
Our good friend Duncan McFadzean over at “What’s Your Point Caller?” stopped by to comment on my review of David Murrow’s “Why Men Hate Going To Church” and has linked it for some even further discussion in a post entitled “Where have all the real men gone?” Normally, I wouldn’t link to a discussion that linked to one of our discussions (kind of redundant, isn’t it?), but some of the points and questions being brought up are REALLY good and very different from the pages of comments we received on the initial post. I highly recommend it! Thanks Duncan!
Also, another good friend, Anthony Bradley wrote a post called “One of the Many Ways To Escort Men Out of Evangelical Churches In America” concerning music and masculine spirituality on his blog at the Institute. Why does South Park make some of the best points about the lackings of the church? Warning: If you are easily offended… it may be better that you don’t read it. 
The Value of Risk in a Risk-Averse Culture
When I was in high school, my Dad encouraged me to pursue a career in financial planning. I really did like the idea of helping people get out of debt, invest wisely, and build wealth. But the career I really wanted was in law enforcement. While my Dad wanted me safely behind a desk from 8-5, I wanted the freedom of keeping the peace in a roaming patrol car at all hours of the night.
I’ve learned over the last several years that I’m a bit of a closet adrenaline junky, and thrive in stressful or risk-inherent environments. But I’ve also learned that this is not necessarily the norm for our culture.
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