I stumbled upon this Catholic theology of masculinity explanation on my Facebook news feed this morning and thought it was a good example of the new gender gospel that seems to be sweeping through our churches like mad fire. Since it is pretty much based on the same tired assumptions about gender, I thought it would be worth picking through it all. Because frankly, I'm sick of it.
Where to even start? This is much too vague to make any earthly sense. It talks a lot about "leaving the feminine," but it never actually does define what is the feminine, does it? So "the feminine" is the standard (but we can't actually define what really that standard is), and masculinity then is defined in distinction to that.
Does anyone else echo my sentiments when I say... Hu?
And I will say it again as I have before, becoming less like a woman is not the equivalent of acting more like a man. One can act less like a woman, for example, by acting like a pig.
But let's move on, shall we?
Does the feminine not sacrifice through blood and hardships? I think so...otherwise there would be no masculine in the first place. And seriously - if masculinity can be defined as the willingness to sacrifice for the other, then the inescapable implication of that statement is that femininity is the unwillingness to sacrifice for the other. (Remember? Masculinity can only be defined in distinction to femininity.)
Maybe it wasn't intended, and maybe it's not reflected in the hearts of the people who believe this ideology, but this is very demeaning to the feminine "kind."
And while we're on that note, I think it's also important to point out something else before we skip ahead to our next point.
Women, just as well as men, are intended to leave the safety of their homes and cleave to their spouses, to protect, fight for, and defend their old and new families and communities. Women aren't intended to be passive about their families, communities, or their faith any more than men are.
Now, to our next point.
What is this about Christianity appealing more to women than to men? What church pew have you hit your head on? What Bible have you been reading?
Let's do a very quick re-cap on Christianity.
Moving on...
Are we seriously considering "masculinizing" the church to manipulate more men in, or worse, to keep them in? Do we really have to resort to this in church to make men feel strong and "manly?" If we do, this is not because the church has been feminized, it is because these men are not being caught up in the very real spiritual battle that they are, incidentally, goofing off right smack in the middle of. But instead of looking at things through spiritual eyes that the Holy Spirit gives us, these men are too busy fooling around like children to get out there and wage war against the enemy. These kinds of movements in the church are merely compensations for a lack of spiritual war.
That is not the fault of the church...and it is definitely not the fault of the women who are engaging in the real battles that actually change things that matter.
The reality is that both men and women enter a spiritual war zone upon conversion. And both men and women are commanded to be armed and suited up with our Armour so we can fight the powers that come against us, so we can defend and protect all those who the Lord sees fit to place in our circle of influence. If men are bored with Christianity it is only because they are not engaged in the battle with the rest of the men who are fighting alongside those women prayer-warriors, justice seekers, and evangelists and missionaries.
Lastly but definitely not the least, the only reason many men associate Christianity with femininity is b/c they have a warped conception of what masculinity actually is since the only models they have are these hyper-masculinized (violent, aggressive) examples of 'men' through the media. So we work to change that and expose boys and girls to healthier, more balanced men who are not so insecure in their own masculinity that they can't be dependent on others (even God), or cry, or feel, or show weakness, or ask another for help (ie pray). Jesus did every one of these things. But we are not told as Christians to be conformed to the pattern of this world, we are told to be transformed by the renewing of our minds - and we do this not by setting up these little systems and pressing people into them, but we do this by seeking the face of God - the God who has created both masculinity and femininity (these are creation of God, not attributes of God Himself) in His own image to reflect something of His own nature. God is not masculine because "masculinity" is a human attribute. We cannot and should not minimize God in this way.
I believe that if a person focuses on seeking the face of God and becoming more Christ-like, his masculinity, or her femininity, respectively, will flow naturally from that. Constructing these artificial sex-roles is, on the other hand, hypocrisy and an unhealthy distortion of gender. Why do I say this? Well, throughout the entire Bible we see no evidence of the Lord ascribing any gender-specific roles or any other kind of roles to Christ-indewelled believers. In fact, the closest biblical reference to "role" that we can find is the Greek 'hupokritēs', which translates into the English "an actor, stage player, pretender, hypocrite."
Jesus never used this word in a positive light, for sure. He doesn't want his people to "act" in a "role" at all. He is not glorified when we are disingenuous in the ministries we undertake in His name. He made us exactly the way we are so these ministries will flow naturally from a regenerate person who is walking closely with the Lord. He gave us gifts and personalities so that we will have a genuine desire to fulfill whatever particular task we have been called to.
So I'm asking this of the church of Jesus Christ: Please. Just stop.
We are turning aside from the path of freedom and life. We are taking our eyes off Jesus in order to focus on gender-roles. This is a perversion. This is not the Gospel. This is not from God. This is hurting people and crippling them. This is hurting the church and our testimony.
When we all come to the unity of the faith - when we all fix our eyes on Jesus Christ alone - women will submit to their husbands. Husbands will also submit to their wives. Both men and women will take care of their homes, children, and one another. Both men and women will respect one another. Both husbands and wives will love one another with self-sacrificial love, just like Jesus, since it is the character of Jesus that is being cultivated in each of us. There is no female version Jesus as head for us women to all grow up into - so our duties, and how we live out our faith, is not any different than those of the men.
Stop perverting the simplicity and freedom that is in Christ. No more gender gospel. The world needs the Lord Jesus Christ. The Church needs the Lord Jesus Christ.
Where to even start? This is much too vague to make any earthly sense. It talks a lot about "leaving the feminine," but it never actually does define what is the feminine, does it? So "the feminine" is the standard (but we can't actually define what really that standard is), and masculinity then is defined in distinction to that.
Does anyone else echo my sentiments when I say... Hu?
And I will say it again as I have before, becoming less like a woman is not the equivalent of acting more like a man. One can act less like a woman, for example, by acting like a pig.
But let's move on, shall we?
Does the feminine not sacrifice through blood and hardships? I think so...otherwise there would be no masculine in the first place. And seriously - if masculinity can be defined as the willingness to sacrifice for the other, then the inescapable implication of that statement is that femininity is the unwillingness to sacrifice for the other. (Remember? Masculinity can only be defined in distinction to femininity.)
Maybe it wasn't intended, and maybe it's not reflected in the hearts of the people who believe this ideology, but this is very demeaning to the feminine "kind."
And while we're on that note, I think it's also important to point out something else before we skip ahead to our next point.
Women, just as well as men, are intended to leave the safety of their homes and cleave to their spouses, to protect, fight for, and defend their old and new families and communities. Women aren't intended to be passive about their families, communities, or their faith any more than men are.
Now, to our next point.
What is this about Christianity appealing more to women than to men? What church pew have you hit your head on? What Bible have you been reading?
Let's do a very quick re-cap on Christianity.
- God identifies himself using male terms (Father, Son)
- All the writers of the Bible were male
- Virtually all the canonized prophecies were prophesied by males
- All of Jesus' inner-circle of disciples were male
- Jesus is male
- There seem to be tasks within the church that only men can fill - and these happen to be the tasks that involve leadership and real tangible influence over the church.
Moving on...
Are we seriously considering "masculinizing" the church to manipulate more men in, or worse, to keep them in? Do we really have to resort to this in church to make men feel strong and "manly?" If we do, this is not because the church has been feminized, it is because these men are not being caught up in the very real spiritual battle that they are, incidentally, goofing off right smack in the middle of. But instead of looking at things through spiritual eyes that the Holy Spirit gives us, these men are too busy fooling around like children to get out there and wage war against the enemy. These kinds of movements in the church are merely compensations for a lack of spiritual war.
That is not the fault of the church...and it is definitely not the fault of the women who are engaging in the real battles that actually change things that matter.
The reality is that both men and women enter a spiritual war zone upon conversion. And both men and women are commanded to be armed and suited up with our Armour so we can fight the powers that come against us, so we can defend and protect all those who the Lord sees fit to place in our circle of influence. If men are bored with Christianity it is only because they are not engaged in the battle with the rest of the men who are fighting alongside those women prayer-warriors, justice seekers, and evangelists and missionaries.
Lastly but definitely not the least, the only reason many men associate Christianity with femininity is b/c they have a warped conception of what masculinity actually is since the only models they have are these hyper-masculinized (violent, aggressive) examples of 'men' through the media. So we work to change that and expose boys and girls to healthier, more balanced men who are not so insecure in their own masculinity that they can't be dependent on others (even God), or cry, or feel, or show weakness, or ask another for help (ie pray). Jesus did every one of these things. But we are not told as Christians to be conformed to the pattern of this world, we are told to be transformed by the renewing of our minds - and we do this not by setting up these little systems and pressing people into them, but we do this by seeking the face of God - the God who has created both masculinity and femininity (these are creation of God, not attributes of God Himself) in His own image to reflect something of His own nature. God is not masculine because "masculinity" is a human attribute. We cannot and should not minimize God in this way.
I believe that if a person focuses on seeking the face of God and becoming more Christ-like, his masculinity, or her femininity, respectively, will flow naturally from that. Constructing these artificial sex-roles is, on the other hand, hypocrisy and an unhealthy distortion of gender. Why do I say this? Well, throughout the entire Bible we see no evidence of the Lord ascribing any gender-specific roles or any other kind of roles to Christ-indewelled believers. In fact, the closest biblical reference to "role" that we can find is the Greek 'hupokritēs', which translates into the English "an actor, stage player, pretender, hypocrite."
Jesus never used this word in a positive light, for sure. He doesn't want his people to "act" in a "role" at all. He is not glorified when we are disingenuous in the ministries we undertake in His name. He made us exactly the way we are so these ministries will flow naturally from a regenerate person who is walking closely with the Lord. He gave us gifts and personalities so that we will have a genuine desire to fulfill whatever particular task we have been called to.
So I'm asking this of the church of Jesus Christ: Please. Just stop.
We are turning aside from the path of freedom and life. We are taking our eyes off Jesus in order to focus on gender-roles. This is a perversion. This is not the Gospel. This is not from God. This is hurting people and crippling them. This is hurting the church and our testimony.
When we all come to the unity of the faith - when we all fix our eyes on Jesus Christ alone - women will submit to their husbands. Husbands will also submit to their wives. Both men and women will take care of their homes, children, and one another. Both men and women will respect one another. Both husbands and wives will love one another with self-sacrificial love, just like Jesus, since it is the character of Jesus that is being cultivated in each of us. There is no female version Jesus as head for us women to all grow up into - so our duties, and how we live out our faith, is not any different than those of the men.
Stop perverting the simplicity and freedom that is in Christ. No more gender gospel. The world needs the Lord Jesus Christ. The Church needs the Lord Jesus Christ.
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