Macho Christianity
According to churchformen.com, “It’s hard for a man to be real in church because he must squeeze himself into this feminine religio
us mold.” Apparently there aren’t as many men being manly in church.. and well.. did you know, Christianity as we know it has been 
feminized.. and yes, that most definitely is a bad thing. That must be why church attendance among men is down.
They call the pastor “Coach D”, because you’re not a real man if you don’t love sports. And instead of those womanly songs people usually sing.. why not military-like cadences?
Cadences are a good match for men for a number of reasons:
-
Cadences feel more masculine
-
They are more physical, involving a man’s whole body instead of just his mind
-
They can be serious or lighthearted (they can poke fun, whereas praise choruses are generally serious)
-
They promote a feeling of unity, brotherhood and shared mission
We really need men to step-it-up. Start keeping your women in line and quit being a sissy. The Jesus churches like to portray is “a dangerous caricature of ‘gentle Jesus meek and 
mild’ which is as fictitious as anything found in The Da Vinci Code.”
It’s pathetic how many “nice” guys are sitting in the pews these days. “Nice” behavior is often just fear and passivity in disguise. As a former Christian Nice Guy, author Paul Coughlin knows that “some people are ‘nice’ not because they are virtuous but because they lack virtue.” Deep thoughts Paul.
That’s not all. “With the dawning of the industrial revolution, large numbers of men sought work in mines, mills and factories, far from home and familiar parish. Women stayed behind, and began remaking the church in their image,” and that has got to change. All those things you hate about church – they are womens’ fault! Blame yourself no more men.
As I’m sure this movement will sweep across the nation very soon, look for churches to gear towards men by following in this church’s footsteps by decorating with hunting/camping/fishing gear, topped off with a trophy buck peering from behind trees positioned at the back of the stage.
Really though, step aside women. Men need to take center stage more in services – it’s not like they do the majority of the teaching, preaching or worship leading. If we expect men to attend our churches we need to quit “catering to women and the elderly” and describe Jesus and Christianity the way it ought to be – in stereotypically masculine terms of course.
Attached is a photo illustrating the damage caused to my friend’s home in Houston from the hurricane Rita that passed through.
It really makes you cherish what you have, and reminds us not to take things too much for granted.
Jim Brady
May 11, 1927 – October 8, 2005
After several grueling days of living breath to breath, my Dad silently slipped away in his house surrounded by five of his children who loved him dearly.
I had never seen someone die before and I don’t think I can even describe the intensity of the experience. I had been going back & forth about whether or not I wanted to be there when it happened. I was scared. Several hours before he passed away he had a seizure & series of horrible muscle spasms that was the scariest thing I’ve ever seen… and was so thankful that when he finally went, it was incredibly peacefully.
The two nights before he died he managed to get himself down onto the floor to kneel and pray. Even as I think about it I can’t help but think of how beautiful God’s grace truly is.
I feel pretty torn up. Even though I knew it was inevitable, I can’t describe the hole in my heart.
Nick arrived from Wisconsin Friday afternoon and spent time entertaining himself with my brother Jonathan (on my mom’s side) & my roomie Katie while I went away to be with my family. When I arrived shell-shocked in the middle of the night he simply took my hand and quietly held me. His presence this weekend has honestly made all the difference. Just to be able to sit and cry, or talk, or laugh… it’s what I desperately needed to be able to do.
I’m sure the next few weeks will be a blur… the funeral will be in a few days and at this point I’m just trying to keep my head above water as I continue to plug along in school with my 20 credits of classes. I know there are dozens of people praying and loving me through this.. I know it’s hard for people to know what to say.. and honestly, I don’t know what to say either.
The day before Dad died he said, “The world is going to keep turning without Jim Brady. Go on with your life – be happy and enjoy it. Come visit me once a year, but that’s all – I will see you again.”
The last 24 hours have been a rollercoaster emotionally. I got a call at 8am yesterday from my oldest sister Donna that my Dad had taken a drastic turn for the worse that evening. About an hour later I met up with the rest of my siblings at his house where we spent the day sitting with him, talking for the few minutes he was awake, and just leaning on each other for support.
We all thought he’d pass away yesterday, and although he didn’t, he was able to tell us that it’s okay if we weren’t there when he did – not to feel guilty because he wasn’t worried. He told us he loved us, and he loved Jesus and that he’s talked to Jesus and everything is okay now.. and that he was content, and that our lives would go on after he is gone, and that he will see us again. And I believe him, which has given me a lot of peace in the midst of this ugly storm.
Yesterday I got time alone to talk to just my Dad and God.. and quietly sang him songs and quoted verses as I stroked his tiny arm. I didn’t know how much I had needed that time with him..
So I don’t know what today holds.. but I know my Dad’s time left can be counted in hours and not days or weeks. I’ve prepared myself as much as I can – however little I guess that is.. I know now he’s ready to go, and like he said yesterday, “Now it’s just between me and Jesus.”
I miss him already.
Editor’s Addition: This is all quite interesting to read different perspectives. And please, keep responding! I just have a “special access” pass to my blog and wanted to add this…. =)
I didn’t mean to get so bogged down in the fact that women wear clothes to impress men, although of course they do, but I think most people recognize that fact. I meant that more as an example of the over-arching male perspective we live our lives seeing through.
Take virutally all of human history – we know it all through male eyes… very little is known about women’s lives/ideas/thoughts because they weren’t the ones writing history. And a man writing about women’s lives is definitely not the same, particularly when the men writing saw women as a species between animals and men, as the Greeks did.
I do think women are oppressed – not because our clothing is designed for men’s pleasure (I think that’s just a symptom)… the real problem is that we are second-class citizens around the entire world.
____________________________________
In class on Friday my professor said, “Women look at themselves through men’s eyes,” and that simple comment has resulted in an epiphany of sorts for me.
My first thought was – women’s clothing. I don’t know any girl who dresses for herself. Obviously clothing manufacturers are not attempting to create clothes that are the most comfortable, they are attempting to accentuate features that men are attracted to. If women weren’t trying to impress men then they wouldn’t wear ridiculously uncomfortable items.
Everything from our footwear, to our bras & panties are designed for men.
We (as women) have so deeply internalized the male perspective that we don’t even realize it. When I stand naked in the mirror I don’t see Esther - seriously, I don’t. I see my imperfections. I know all the typical features I should/shouldn’t have that would be attractive to guys, and that’s what I judge myself up against.
And I do the same to other women. I see them through male eyes. I am trained to notice breasts, waists, thighs – and have much higher standards for women than for men. If a guy is overweight I am much, much more forgiving. Even popular sitcoms and movies portray beautiful women in relationships with average, to ugly, men.. but almost never, ever the other way around.
I then started to realize that this isn’t just an American problem – the same goes for every culture and country I have been in. Women in the Middle East also dress solely for men – it just so happens that their men want to see something different than our men. They like the control factor of having women covered – it’s so that husbands have a “special access” pass of sorts over their wives, whereas European/American men like to “show off” their women.
It seems Westerners in general are so quick to point the finger towards “Eastern” women and say “Ha, look how oppressed those women are”.. and yet we don’t even see our own problems, and just how similar they are.
I think that’s why the genital mutation practices of some North African countries has gotten so much press – it is horrific, and makes us think we have figured something out that “they” haven’t. But really – women here mutiliate themselves too – we just give them fancier names like breast augmentation, lyposuction, bulimia, etc.
Anyways.. I don’t have time to write all I want to about this, so I’m sure I’ll revisit this topic soon… I’m interested to hear what other people think about this.
